THE CONTENT

MARKETING
TREND STUDY
THE CONTENT MARKETING TREND STUDY

What is the current state of content marketing

worldwide? What strategies are B2B and B2C
businesses pursuing and how are these playing
out in different regions globally? What are the
most important success factors in the field today
and which trends and technologies are going Statista provides over 1 million statistics and facts NetLine Corporation empowers B2B Marketers with
to determine the future of content marketing? covering 600 industries and more than 50 countries on the reach, technology, and expertise required to drive
We surveyed businesses and agencies working a single platform. It also offers individualised market scalable lead generation results and accelerate the sales
research, research and analysis services. funnel. Operating the largest B2B content syndication
in content marketing from around the world to
lead generation network, NetLine reaches 125
discover the trends that are driving the topic The Statista Content & Design department is specialised million unique visitors and processes more than 700
in 2022. in data-based storytelling and the production of thousand leads monthly across 300 industry sectors.
visual content such as infographics, animated video, NetLine’s AudienceTarget™ technology drives prospect
microsites, presentations and corporate publishing. discovery, quality customer lead acquisition, and buyer
engagement from real prospect intent as professionals
statista.design/en consume content directly across the network. Superior
quality, on demand access, and advanced campaign
reports enable all clients to achieve lead generation
success. Founded in 1994, NetLine is a part of Informa
Tech, a FTSE100 leading provider of market insight and
market access to the global technology industry.

Successful B2B Marketers Start with NetLine, visit

www.netline.com
OU R M I S S I O N

Every day, we are inundated by hundreds of pieces of information and messages.

In order to stand out from the crowd, it is all the more crucial to communicate
with succinct and relevant content. Our mission is to design and shape complex
information in an easily comprehensible manner using detailed research and solid
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OUR WORK

We turn data into brand experiences – in an understandable and

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CONTENTS CHAPTER 01
CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGY
PAGE 5–9

CHAPTER 02
BUDGET
PAGE 10–12

CHAPTER 03
FORMATS AND CHANNELS
PAGE 13–17

CHAPTER 04
PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT
PAGE 18–22

CHAPTER 05
COVID-19
PAGE 23–24

CHAPTER 06
TRENDS
PAGE 25–30

CHAPTER 07
REPORT/METHODOLOGY
PAGE 31–33
 CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGY 5

MORE THAN A QUARTER OF B2C COMPANIES PUBLISH

CONTENT DAILY. IN B2B, IT IS ROUGHLY ONE IN FIVE
How often do you publish content?*

39% 40%

B2B B2C

28%
23%

17%
13% 14%
11%

5% 4% 3% 3%

Daily Several times a week Once a week Several times a month Once a month Less than once a month

* Persons who work in companies that do digital content marketing themselves

N total = 700; N B2C companies = 327; N B2B companies = 373
 CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGY 6

ALMOST 3 OUT OF 4 B2B COMPANIES DESIRE TO PUBLISH

CONTENT MORE FREQUENTLY
Would you like to publish content What is lacking in your company such that your desire for a higher
more frequently?* frequency of content publication cannot be realized?**

No Yes 79% 49% 40% 28%

29% 71%
B2B

B2B

Time Expertise Financial Technical

resources Resources resources Resources
No Yes

39% 61%

B2C
B2C

67% 43% 48% 27%

* People who work in companies that do digital content marketing themselves; N total = 700; N B2C companies = 327; N B2B companies = 373
** People who work in companies that do digital content marketing themselves and like to publish content more often; Multiple choices possible; N total = 465; N B2C companies = 200; N B2B companies = 265
 CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGY 7

STRENGTHENING THE BRAND AND GENERATING LEADS ARE

THE MAIN CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGIES
What strategic content marketing objectives do you pursue in your company?*

To generate demand/leads 80%

71%
To enhance brand recognition/awareness 79%
77%
To build up trust & credibility 76%
72%
To inform/educate target groups 66%
69%
To boost brand loyalty & customer retention 60%
72%
To acquire prospective customers/e-mail subscribers 56%
53%
To become an opinion/thought leader 54%
37%
B2B
To support product launches 44%
47%
To generate event participants (digital/hybrid/physical) 37%
32%
To recruit & retain employees 27%
B2C 20%
* Persons who work in companies that do digital content marketing themselves; Multiple choices possible; N total = 700; N B2C companies = 327; N B2B companies = 373
 CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGY 8

IN B2C, INFLUENCER MARKETING PLAYS A SIGNIFICANTLY

MORE IMPORTANT ROLE THAN IN B2B
Which of the content marketing activities below have you implemented in your company to achieve your goals?*

E-mail marketing & own newsletter 74%

69%
Social media marketing / sponsored posts 69%
78%
Targeted SEO actions 54%
51%
Provision of explanatory content 53%
44%
Lead generation with relevant content in whitepapers & studies 53%
21%
Search engine marketing (SEM) 46%
52%
Traditional online advertising 39%
54%
B2B
Surveys of existing customers & users 33%
36%
Employer branding 31%
27%
Influencer marketing 18%
B2C 40%
* People who work in companies that do digital content marketing themselves and are pursuing a strategic goal with the CM within the company; Multiple choices possible; N total = 693; N B2C companies = 324;
N B2B companies = 369
 CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGY 9

NEARLY 80% OF B2C AND B2B COMPANIES CONSIDER THEIR

CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGY TO BE SUCCESSFUL
How successful is your content What do you think would need to change in order to make your content
marketing strategy?* marketing (even) more successful?**
Not (very) Very/somewhat More time for implementation 69%
successful successful 59%
75 %
Better quality of content 48%
25 % 44%
More effective planning 45%
51%
Larger team 42%
B2B 37%
Use of marketing tech 38%
50%
Not (very) Very/somewhat Greater specialist knowledge in own team 37%
successful successfult 42%
23 % 77 % Better ideas and themes 37%
38%
Bigger budget 35%
48%
B2C More continuity 33%
41%
Better processes 28%
31%
* People who work in companies that do digital content marketing themselves and are pursuing a strategic goal with the CM within the company; N total = 693; N B2C companies = 324; N B2B companies = 369
** Individuals doing digital content marketing in companies or planning to start digital content marketing soon; Multiple choices possible; N total = 700; N B2C companies = 327; N B2B companies = 373
 BUDGET 10

MORE THAN HALF OF THE B2C COMPANIES ALLOCATE LESS

THAN 16% OF THE BUDGET TO CONTENT MARKETING
How much of the marketing budget does your company allocate to content marketing?*

11% 15% 18% 16%

$$$$
More than 30%
16%
$$$
16% to 30%
18%
$$
5% to 15% 28%
$
Less than 5% 11%
B2B B2C
32%
?
I don’t know

34%

* Persons who work in companies that use digital content marketing themselves; N total = 700; N B2C companies = 327; N B2B companies = 373
 BUDGET 11

OVER HALF OF CONTENT MARKETING BUDGETS ARE

EXPECTED TO INCREASE THIS YEAR
And how is your content marketing budget expected to change in 2022?*

B2B
16% 43% 30% 3% 8%

Significantly Tend to Remain Tend to I don’t

increase increase the same decrease know

18% 47% 26% 3% 6%

B2C

* Persons who work in companies that use digital content marketing themselves; N total = 700; N B2C companies = 327; N B2B companies = 373
 BUDGET 12

THE PANDEMIC CONTINUES TO DRIVE CONTENT

MARKETING ACTIVITIES FORWARD
Let’s take a look back at the Covid-19 year, 2021: due to the impact of the pandemic, to what extent did your content
marketing spending change in the last year compared to the original planned budget?*

Significantly/
52% tended to increase 50%

B2B B2C
Tended to/
significantly
12% decreased 12%

* Persons who work in companies that use digital content marketing themselves; N total = 700; N B2C companies = 327; N B2B companies = 373
 FORMATS AND CHANNELS 13

CONTENT IS MAINLY DISTRIBUTED VIA OWNED MEDIA

Which channels are the most important for you for distributing your content to your target groups?*

Owned-Media Earned-Media Owned-Media Earned-Media

77% 13% 70% 13%

Paid-Media
17%

Paid-Media
9%

B2B B2C

* Persons who work in companies that use digital content marketing themselves; N total = 700; N B2C companies = 327; N B2B companies = 373
 FORMATS AND CHANNELS 14

SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS ARE THE MOST POPULAR

CONTENT MARKETING CHANNELS
Which of the channels below do you use for your content marketing?*

Social media Own website Newsletter

93% 93% 62%

B2B 93% 86% 59%

54% 41% 14%

B2C
32% 34% 10%

Corporate blog Separate content pages Audio platforms

* Persons who use digital content marketing; Multiple choices possible; N total = 700; N B2C companies = 327; N B2B companies = 373
 FORMATS AND CHANNELS 15

FACEBOOK REMAINS THE MOST IMPORTANT B2C

CHANNEL – IN B2B IT IS LINKEDIN
Which social media channels do you use for your content marketing?*

92% 92%
83%
B2B B2C
72% 69%
62% 60%
53% 51%
43%

24% 24% 21%

12% 20%
12%
8% 5% 3% 5% 3% 4% 5%
1%

LinkedIn Facebook YouTube Instagram Twitter Xing WhatsApp Pinterest Quora Reddit TikTok Snapchat

* Persons who do digital content marketing and use social media channel for content marketing; Multiple choices possible; N total =652; N B2C companies = 304; N B2B companies = 348
 FORMATS AND CHANNELS 16

IN COMPARISON TO B2C, FORMATS SUCH AS WEBINARS

AND WHITEPAPERS ARE VERY POPULAR IN B2B COMPANIES
Which formats do you currently use online for your content marketing?*

Infographics
54% 40%
100%
B2B GIFs Interactive websites B2C
17% 19% 80% 28% 24%
Ranking: 60% Ranking:
1 Videos Image-based formats 40% Studies 1 Videos
2 Text-based formats 50% 66% 20%
36% 18% 2 Image-based formats
3 Whitepapers/publications 3 Text-based formats
Webinars/Webcasts Audio formats
T Text-based formats Infographics
4 4

5 Infographics 20% 17% 67% 54% 5 Webinars/Webcasts

6 Image-based formats 6 Presentations
7 Presentations 7 Whitepapers/publications
Whitepapers Presentations
Studies Interactive websites
58% 25% 47% 28%
8 8

9 Interactive websites 9 GIFs

10 Audio formats Webinars/Webcasts Videos 10 Studies
11 GIFs 55% 29% 70% 72% 11 Audio formats

* Persons who do digital content marketing; Multiple choices possible; N total = 700; N B2C companies = 327; N B2B companies = 373
 FORMATS AND CHANNELS 17

AROUND 40% OF ALL COMPANIES WISH TO USE

MORE INFOGRAPHICS
Which formats would you like to use more online for your content marketing in the future?

Infographics
42% 37%
100%
B2B GIFs Interactive websites B2C
14% 16% 80% 31% 29%
Ranking: 60% Ranking:
1 Videos Image-based formats 40% Studies 1 Videos
2 Infographics 27% 37% 20%
28% 18% 2 Infographics
3 Webinars/Webcasts 3 Image-based formats
Audio formats Audio formats
T Text-based formats Audio formats
4 4

5 Whitepapers/publications 36% 34% 25% 21% 5 Webinars/Webcasts

6 Interactive websites 6 Interactive websites
7 Studies 7 Whitepapers/publications
Whitepapers Presentations
Image-based formats Presentations
35% 23% 24% 23%
8 8

9 Text-based formats 9 Text-based formats

10 Presentations Webinars/Webcasts Videos 10 Studies
11 GIFs 39% 34% 68% 66% 11 GIFs

* Persons who do digital content marketing; Multiple choices possible; N total = 700; N B2C companies = 327; N B2B companies = 373
 PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT 18

AROUND A HALF OF ALL COMPANIES ARE WORKING ON A

SPECIFIC APPROACH TO MEASURING SUCCESS
Do you have a specific approach to measuring the success of your content marketing activities (e.g. clearly defined
communication goals, responsibilities, budgets)?*

32% B2B 51% 17%

Yes Working on it / planning it No

37% 48% 15%

B2C

* Persons who work in companies that use digital content marketing themselves; N total = 700; N B2C companies = 327; N B2B companies = 373
 PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT 19

B2C COMPANIES USE SOCIAL MEDIA MONITORING MORE

OFTEN THAN B2B COMPANIES TO MEASURE THEIR SUCCESS
Which of the tools below do you use at least occasionally to measure the success of and/or optimise your
content marketing?*
Social media Technical measurement via
Web analytics tool monitoring & metrics ad servers or engagement tracking

84% 61% 42%

83% 78% 38%

38% 24% 16%

B2B 48% 29% 30%

Surveys of own users Social media listening Commissioning of

B2C market research surveys

* Persons who measure the success of your content marketing activity; Multiple selection possible; N total = 239; N B2C companies = 120; N B2B companies = 119
 PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT 20

SOCIAL MEDIA ANALYTICS AND WEBSITE TRAFFIC ARE THE

MAIN KPIS USED TO MEASURE SUCCESS
Which of the KPIs below do you use to measure the success of your content marketing activities?*

Website traffic 72%

73%
Social media analytics 71%
77%
Website engagement KPIs 63%
63%
E-mail engagement KPIs 60%
47%
Qualified leads 56%
26%
Number of downloads of white papers 56%
13%
Conversion rates / sales transactions 55%
61%
B2B
Search rankings 45%
43%
E-mail subscriber growth 44%
46%
Response rates to paid media (CTR) 43%
B2C 43%
* Persons who measure the success of your content marketing activity; Multiple selection possible.; N total = 239; N B2C companies = 120; N B2B companies = 119
 PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT 21

TWO OUT OF FIVE OF ALL COMPANIES FAIL TO SHOW ROI IN

CONCRETE TERMS
Which of the following statements best describe how you measure your content marketing success?*

5% 5% 14% 13%
We have fully-integrated data for measuring the ROI
We have virtually no data on what
(return on investment).
content marketing activities work well
and what do not work well.

19% 21%
We have already proven the ROI for at
least one of our CM campaigns and have
20% 20% good insights for the other campaigns.
We have assumptions
rather than hard data.

B2B
42% 42%
We have good insights, but are unable to
show the ROI in concrete terms.

B2C

* People who work in companies that do digital content marketing themselves and at least partially have a concept for measuring the success of their CM activity; Deviations from 100% total are due to rounding;
N total = 587, N B2C companies = 278; N B2B companies = 309
 PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT 22

NEARLY HALF OF B2B COMPANIES DO NOT LINK THEIR

COMMERCE CONVERSION TO THEIR CONTENT MARKETING
How well is your content marketing linked to commerce conversions?*

(Very)
24% strong 29%

Not strong /
47% Not at all 36%
B2B B2C

* People who work in companies that do digital content marketing themselves.; N total = 699, N B2C companies = 327; N B2B companies = 372
 COVID-19 23

B2B COMPANIES IN PARTICULAR HAVE ACCELERATED THEIR

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION PROCESSES
Let’s briefly return to the impact of the pandemic on your content marketing activities: which of the following changes
have you made in your company due to the impact of coronavirus?*

Accelerated digital transformation processes 55%

42%
B2B Customized our messages & approach 34%
36%
Adapted our website 27%
26%
Adapted our products & services 26%
B2C
29%
Adjusted the editorial & topic calendar 22%
36 %
Shifted resources to social media & community management 22%
22%
Reevaluated the customer journey 21%
9%
Spent more time talking to customers 19%
21%
We haven’t implemented any of the above changes/activities 13%
10%
Introduced new content marketing key figures and dashboards 11%
18%
* Persons who work in companies that use digital content marketing themselves; Multiple selection possible; N total = 700; N B2C companies = 327; N B2B companies = 373
 COVID-19 24

CLEAR YES FOR PARTICIPATION IN ON-SITE EVENTS

Do you plan to hold on-site events again in Why do you wish to show your presence at physical events again?**
2022 or to participate in on-site events?*

No Yes Networking is easier with 90%

human encounters 75%
22% 78%
Stronger customer retention 73%
B2B
thanks to direct exchange 71%

Building local relationships 43%

through links to specific places 54%
No Yes

29% 71% Enjoyment of the complete 46%

B2B
character of the event 44%

B2C 7%
Giveaways
15% B2C

* People who work in companies that do digital content marketing themselves.; N total = 700; N B2C companies = 327; N B2B companies = 373
** People planning to return to on-site events; Multiple choices possible.; N total = 523; N B2C companies = 231; N B2B companies = 292
 TRENDS 25

DISTRIBUTING PERSONALISED CONTENT THROUGHOUT THE

CUSTOMER JOURNEY IS IMPORTANT
What importance do you attach to distributing personalised content along the customer journey?*

1% 2%
23% 26%
12% 9%
Very high importance

High importance

Medium importance
33%
32%
No importance
B2B B2C
26%
Deleted/reduced them
37%

* Persons who work in companies that do digital content marketing themselves; Deviations from 100% total are due to rounding; N total = 700; N B2C companies = 327; N B2B companies = 373
 TRENDS 26

MORE THAN TWO-THIRDS OF THE COMPANIES HAVE

VIRTUALLY NO FORM OF NURTURING
How far advanced is automation in the addressing (‘nurturing’) of leads and customers?*

36% B2B 64%

Not very / Not at all advanced (Very) advanced

32% 68%

B2C

* Persons who work in companies that do digital content marketing themselves; Deviations from 100% total are due to rounding; N total = 700; N B2C companies = 327; N B2B companies = 373
 TRENDS 27

INFLUENCER MARKETING HAS THE GREATEST IMPORTANCE FOR

B2B COMPANIES – PART 1/2
How important are the following topics for your company?

Influencer marketing 60%

41%
Live videos & webcasts 59%
59%
User-generated content 56%
67%
Podcasts 55%
54%
Webinars 54%
50%
Marketing automation 53%
B2B 50%
Social selling 51%
52%
Situational content marketing 41%
B2C 50%
* Values for “very high importance” and “high importance” combined; N total = 700; N B2C companies = 327; N B2B companies = 373
 TRENDS 28

INFLUENCER MARKETING HAS THE GREATEST IMPORTANCE FOR

B2B COMPANIES – PART 2/2
How important are the following topics for your company (high/very high)?*

Data storytelling 39%

53%
Use of artificial intelligence 28%
33%
Predictive analytics 28%
22%
Community building 27%
49%
Personalized content 22%
26%
Augmented/Virtual/Mixed Reality 17%
B2B 22%
Voice assistants 11%
15%

B2C

* Values for “very high importance” and “high importance” combined; N total = 700; N B2C companies = 327; N B2B companies = 373
 TRENDS 29

CONTENT CREATION & PRODUCTION WILL BE THE

PREFERRED AREAS OF INVESTMENTS – PART 1/2
In which of the following content marketing activities/areas do you plan to invest (even) more in 2022?*

Content creation & production 57%

57%
Website enhancements 54%
57%
Social media community building 41%
53%
More effective planning of content marketing actions 41%
41%
Continuity of content marketing actions 40%
42%
Development / expansion of own team 38%
B2B 31%
Marketing Tech (tools and software) 32%
34%
Organic content distribution 32%
B2C 30%
* Persons who work in companies that use digital content marketing themselves; Multiple selection possible; N total = 700; N B2C companies = 327; N B2B companies = 373
 TRENDS 30

B2B INVESTS SIGNIFICANTLY MORE IN EVENTS THAN B2C –

PART 2/2
In which of the following content marketing activities/areas do you plan to invest (even) more in 2022?*

Digital / face-to-face / hybrid events 32%

19%
Better user understanding 29%
38%
Customer experience 27%
42%
Earned Media 23%
30%
Paid media content distribution 22%
29%
Cooperation with specialized service providers 19%
B2B 18%

B2C

* Persons who work in companies that use digital content marketing themselves; Multiple selection possible; N total = 700; N B2C companies = 327; N B2B companies = 373
 REPORT AND METHODOLOGY 31

ABOUT THE STUDY – WHO WAS SURVEYED?

A total of 1,430 participants were questioned via an online survey distributed via newsletter between 11 January 2022 and 23 February 2022. The survey was
conducted via Statista, mailing lists and people were also made aware of the survey via XING and LinkedIn.

Participants’ location
Percentage of Number of
Continent participants participants
Digital
Africa 4% 61 Type of
content
business*
Asia 16% 232 marketing
N total = 1,018
N total = 1,430
Australia 2% 23
Europe 51% 731
North America
4% 62
(except USA) Percentage of Number of Percentage of Number of
South America 4% 52 participants participants participants participants
USA 19% 269 Engage in digital Companies that
71% 1,018
content marketing engage in content
69% 700
Do not engage in marketing themselves
Percentage of Number of
digitial content 15% 220 (publishers)
Economic regions participants participants
marketing Agencies that engage
AMER 27% 383 in content marketing 31% 318
Are planning to
APAC 15% 209 engage in digital 13% 192 (service providers)
EMEA 59% 838 content marketing * Agencies that engage in content marketing (service providers)
 REPORT AND METHODOLOGY 32

Position
Size of the
Target group* within the
company
N total = 1,018 company
N total = 1,430
N total = 1,430

Percentage of Number of Percentage of Number of Percentage of Number of

participants participants participants participants participants participants
B2B 52% 534 Executive manager/ Less than
31% 443 50% 715
B2C 48% 484 Chairperson/CEO 50 employees
Head of division/ 50 to 249 employees 18% 257
* People that engage in digital content marketing, N total = 1018 21% 300
Director 250 to 499 employees 6% 86
Team manager/ 500 and more
18% 257 25% 358
project manager employees
Employee with
10% 143
supervisory role
Employee with no
14% 200
supervisory role
Non of the above
6% 86
positions
 REPORT AND METHODOLOGY 33

INDUSTRY IN WHICH THE COMPANY OPERATES*

Percentage of Number of
Industry participants participants
Automo Associations, societies, public bodies bil 5% 35
Automotive 3% 21
Banking, insurance, FinTech 6% 42
Construction and architecture 2% 14
Industrial products & machine building 5% 35
Internet and digital business, media 17% 119
Law, controlling, personnel and administration 2% 14
Manufacturing industry, consumer goods 9% 63
Marketing, advertising, PR and consulting 10% 70
Pharmaceuticals, heath care and medical systems 7% 49
Raw materials extraction, agriculture/forestry, nature, animals,
0% 0
and the environment
Recreation, gastronomy & tourism 4% 28
Retail 6% 42
Transport, warehousing and logistics 2% 14
Utilities 1% 7
Other 21% 147
* Companies that do not work in an agency; N total = 700
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