Content marketing in Australia continues to grow (report)

Sixty-three per cent of Australian marketers plan to increase their content marketing budget during the next 12 months, according to the 3rd annual Content Marketing in Australia: 2015 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends report by the Content Marketing Institute (CMI).

However, marketers are still ‘learning the ropes’ when it comes to content marketing, with just under a third of respondents claiming their content efforts are effective.

The report, undertaken with the Association for Data-driven Marketing and Advertising (ADMA), represents findings from 251 for-profit marketers in Australia who responded to a mid-year survey; these marketers represented business-to-business (136 ), business-to-consumer (40), and 75 both B2B+B2C).

Here is an interview I recorded today with Joe Pulizzi, founder of Content Marketing Institute, in which he extrapolates on the findings of the report, and what they mean for the Australian content marketing industry.

Key takeaways from the research:

• Slightly fewer Australian marketers consider their companies effective at content marketing (33% last year vs. 29% this year). Interestingly, however, is that 44 per cent of those who have a documented content strategy believe their content marketing activity to be effective. (MY TAKE: Marketers who make the effort to develop a strategic plan are more likely to be successful at content marketing).

• Only 20 per cent say their organisations are successful at tracking ROI of their content marketing. However having a documented content marketing strategy helps (33% of those who have one say they are successful at tracking ROI).

• Compared with last year’s results, Australian marketers are using fewer content marketing tactics on average – 12 this year vs. 13 last year (MY TAKE: After trialling a number of tools, marketers are probably starting to focus a bit more).

• As with last year, the top three tactics are social media content (other than blogs), articles on your website, and e-newsletters (MY TAKE: Good to see the ol’ e-newsletter still alive and kicking; articles on website could include a blog or online newsroom!). 

• 63 per cent of Australian marketers said they plan to increase their content marketing budget during the next 12 months, a slight decrease from 69 per cent last year (interestingly though, 73 per cent of Australian marketers with a documented content marketing strategy plan to increase spending over next 12 months).

DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT.