Survey: Content Marketing Tops List of Marketing Priorities in 2018

As marketers look toward their primary goals for the remainder of the new year, research shows that content marketing remains at the top of the list.

Recently, SmallBizTrends conducted a survey to gauge what objectives marketers are focused on in 2018. The statistics showed that when marketers were asked which projects would be most important to them and their business, the top answer (20 percent) was content marketing.

This was followed by big data (14 percent), artificial intelligence and machine learning (14 percent), and social media marketing (10 percent).

“Content is King and it’s no surprise to see content marketing at the top of the pile,” says Tom Demers, co-founder and managing partner with Measured SEM and Cornerstone Content. “Content marketing is the fuel that powers all digital communications from search to social to email marketing to creating website experiences which convert.”

Content Marketers Continue to Face Challenges

For marketers focused on content marketing, research suggests that it may be an uphill battle.

ClearVoice recently surveyed 1,000 content marketers from around the globe to gauge their biggest challenges when it comes to content marketing. Afterward, their responses were sorted into seven different categories comprised of 25 themes. According to the results, the number one challenge/top theme was “time.”

This was followed by “content quality,” “creating content” and “scaling content.” Other challenges noted by marketers had to do with creativity. “Getting creative” with their content, “coming up with original ideas,” and “producing quality and quantity” were deemed creative obstacles for marketers.