96 Content Marketing Statistics You Need to Know for 2024

Content marketing is undergoing some big changes in 2024.

AI writing tools, new content formats, changes in search behavior, and new Google algorithms—all this creates a new direction for the industry.

Check out our 2024 edition of the most important content marketing statistics. 

Top Content Marketing Statistics

In this section, you’ll find the most impactful content marketing statistics for 2024.

1. 67% of small business owners and marketers use AI for content marketing or SEO. (Semrush)

2. Marketers who use AI see an average of 70% increase in ROI. (Kibo Commerce)

3. 68% of businesses see an increase in content marketing ROI thanks to using AI. (Semrush)

4. 43% of small business owners are planning to invest more resources into their website’s performance in 2024. (DemandSage)

5. 36% of marketers use AI chatbots for various day-to-day tasks. (HubSpot)

6. 58% of B2B marketers reported increased sales and revenue in 2023 thanks to content marketing. (Content Marketing Institute)

7. 41% of marketers say email is their most effective marketing tool. (Litmus)

8. Businesses are finding the most success with smaller, niche

content creators—47% of marketers report successful micro-influencer partnerships. (HubSpot)

9. 89% of customers want to see more videos from brands in 2024. (Wyzowl)

10. For 66% of businesses using AI, traffic is one of the key content marketing performance metrics. (Semrush)

Takeaways:

AI content is an important part of any 2024 content strategy. However, many traditional content marketing trends are here to stay, including email, video, and more.

AI Content Marketing Statistics

More than half of businesses already use AI content tools in some capacity. Let’s see what results they manage to achieve. 

11. 79% of businesses report an increase in content quality thanks to AI. (Semrush)

12. 71% of businesses report being very satisfied with their AI writing tools. (Semrush)

13. 39% of marketers report it takes about 2-3 months for AI-generated content to rank. (Semrush)

14. 58% of businesses use AI for researching content and topic ideas. (Semrush)

15. 39% of marketers create content outlines with their AI tools, and 58% use them to write blog posts. (Semrush)

16. 47% of marketers use AI for creating a content marketing strategy. (Semrush)

17. 25% of marketers say AI automation and chatbots make their marketing strategies more effective. (HubSpot)

18. 93% of marketers use various methods to review AI-generated content before posting. (Semrush)

Takeaways: 

AI-generated content has the potential to perform well, but you shouldn’t limit yourself to content creation. 

Look for more applications of AI—e.g., to brainstorm ideas, create a strategy, or optimize your content for keywords.

Content Creation Statistics

Effective content creation means getting better results with fewer resources. Let’s see how businesses approach this in 2024.

19. Nearly 80% of small business owners and marketers report writing content themselves. 17% hire in-house writers, and 14% work with freelancers. (Semrush)

20. 38% of marketers who don’t use AI for content creation say it takes 2-3 hours to write one long-form article. (Semrush)

21. 36% of marketers who use AI say they spend less than one hour writing a long-form blog post. (Semrush)

22. 62% of email marketing teams take two weeks or more to build an email.(Litmus)

23.  49% of marketers use AI to generate email copy. (HubSpot)

24. 76% of content marketers use AI to draft content copy. (Insider Intelligence)

25. 77% of marketers agree that AI helps them create better, more personalized content. (HubSpot)
26. In 2023, small businesses produced an average of 15 videos, medium-sized companies—84, and large corporations—118. (Wistia)

Takeaways: 

AI is a powerful tool for optimizing content production. It helps you save time and craft content faster.

But it’s best to use it as an assistant vs. your sole content creation mechanism. Remember, human, authentic content is the number one content trend this year. 

Finally, make sure to include multimedia content in your plan. In 2024, video is not a nice-to-have—it’s a must-have. By the way, you can also use AI to create video content. 

Content Marketing Budget Statistics

27. In 2024, 45% of B2B content marketers expect their content marketing budget to increase. (Zippia)

28. 48% of small business owners who don’t use AI tools dedicate $1,000 or less to their monthly content marketing budget. (Semrush)

29. 54% of businesses that spend over $2,000 on a single piece of content report a successful marketing strategy. (Siege Media)

30. 51% of small and microbusinesses say they do not spend additional money on long-form content because of their AI writing tools. 93% of them also review and edit AI content using different methods. (Semrush)

31. 85% of marketers focused on videos plan to maintain or increase their video production budgets in 2024. (Wyzol)

32. 69% of marketers pay for video ads in their marketing campaigns. (Wyzol)

33. Around 57% of businesses are planning to invest more in video content in 2024. (Wistia)

Takeaways: 

Using AI helps cut content marketing costs and optimize your budgets. And yet, it’s not all about spending the minimum amount possible. Focus on balancing quality and optimization of costs.

Content Distribution Statistics 

Content distribution is about choosing the right formats and channels to promote your content. A well-thought-out distribution strategy is key to reaching your target audience.

35. 90% of content marketers rely on social media to distribute their content. (Content Marketing Institute)
36. 79% of content marketers have an active blog. (Content Marketing Institute)

36. 73% of marketers use email newsletters to distribute their content. (Content Marketing Institute)

37. 56% of marketers agree webinars and in-person events are excellent ways to get the word out about their business. (Content Marketing Institute)

38. Almost 50% of buyers read a company’s blog when making purchase decisions. (HubSpot)

39. 63% of businesses use paid channels to accelerate content distribution. (Semrush)

40. Sharing content on social media is one of the top tactics for content promotion, used by 56%. (Semrush)

Takeaways: 

There are various ways to get the word out about your business. 

However, being active on social media and blogging continue to be the top ways to distribute content.

Content Marketing Careers

Will AI change the content marketing job market? Time will tell. But there’s one thing we know for sure—it’s better to leverage AI than to run away from it.

41. US-based content marketers make an average of $112,000 a year. (Content Marketing Institute) 
42. Content Marketing Manager (50%) and Content Marketing Specialist (26%) are the most popular content marketing job titles in the US. (2024 proprietary research by Semrush)

43. Content marketers spend about 4 hours each day on administrative and operational tasks. (HubSpot)

44. 48% of content marketers say learning to work with new technologies is their top upskilling goal of 2024. (Content Marketing Institute)

45. Writing (29%), analytics (25%) and video (18%) are the top skills for senior content marketers in the US. (2024 proprietary research by Semrush)

46. 81% of marketers say generative AI assists them in various marketing tasks. (HubSpot)

47. 16% of marketers are concerned about AI replacing their roles. (HubSpot)

Takeaways: 

While marketers may be concerned about AI replacing their roles, the current content trends show the opposite. 

Brands (and consumers) want original, human content—and we expect the demand for content specialists to stay strong.

However, don’t shy away from using AI. Leverage it to improve your content and deepen your research. 

Organic Search and SEO Statistics

SEO is changing too. In fact, it’s changing big time. And yet, many trends are here to stay. Let’s look at some of them.

48. Google continues to be the leader in search engines. (StatsCounters)

49. 93% of Internet users begin an Internet session on a search engine. (DemandSage)

50. 76% of businesses have had their AI-generated content rank at least once. (Semrush)

51. 68% of businesses report a higher ROI on content marketing and SEO thanks to AI. (Semrush)

52. 64% of B2B businesses include link-building in their content marketing strategy. (Siege Media)

53. 83% of marketers believe AI will have a positive effect on their SEO efforts. (Conductor)

54. There’s a minor correlation between site-wide bounce rate and rankings, meaning that top-ranking pages tend to have lower bounce rates. The average bounce rate for the domains of top-10 ranking pages is 60%. (Semrush)

55. Users tend to spend more time on websites with high-ranking pages: around 8% more on the page ranking #1 vs. on the page ranking #10. (Semrush)

56. Moving from position 2 to position 1 results in a +50% organic traffic on average. (Semrush)

57. Even for lower positions, the benefits can be great. For example, simply climbing from position 7 to position 6 can give you a 20% traffic boost, on average. (Semrush)

58. The URL in #1 of SERPs has an average CTR of 27.6%. The page in #10? Only 2.6%! (Semrush)

Takeaways: 

SEO is getting more complicated with the rise of AI and the ongoing Google updates (think the latest March update).

But does it mean it’s not possible to rank? Not at all.

Focus on creating original, quality content and use AI to perform data-driven tasks faster.

B2B Content Marketing Statistics

Content marketing remains a cornerstone of any B2B content strategy. Let’s look at the top statistics for 2024.

59. 94% of B2B marketers create short articles and blog posts. (Content Marketing Institute)

60. 84% of B2B marketers use videos in their marketing strategies. (Content Marketing Institute)

61. 78% of B2B marketers incorporate case studies and customer stories into their marketing campaigns. (Content Marketing Institute)

62. 66% of B2B marketers consider their audiences’ needs over their sales goals when creating content. (Siege Media)

63. Attracting quality leads with content is the top challenge for B2B brands. (Semrush)

Takeaways: 

Traditional B2B content formats are here to stay: blog posts, videos, and case studies.

The main trick?

Incorporating customer insights to create content that drives your bottom line.
 

B2C Content Marketing Statistics

Content marketing is also essential for any B2C brand. However, the top formats and channels might differ. And what about the content marketing tactics?

64. Just 37% of B2C content marketers have a documented marketing strategy. (Content Marketing Institute)

65. 38% of B2C content marketers plan to use AI content generation tools in their marketing campaigns. (Siege Media)

66. 36% of B2C marketers focus on link-building as part of their content marketing strategy. (Siege Media)

67. 63% of B2C marketers use paid media in their content marketing strategy. (Content Marketing Institute)

68. Social media and community building is the primary area of B2C content marketing investment. (Semrush)

Takeaways:

B2B brands should pay more attention to documenting their content strategy and measuring content performance. 

With AI text and video tools on the rise, they’ll have more time and resources for effective planning.

Video Content Statistics

Video remains the most popular content format out there—and it keeps growing. Whether you’re B2B or B2C, it’s a trend you can’t miss.

69. Almost 78% are planning to create more video content in 2024. (Wistia)
70. 91% of content marketers use video as a marketing tool. (Wyzol)
71. 68% of marketers who did not use video in 2023 plan to use it in 2024. (Wyzol)
72. 31% of marketers use AI to create short-form videos, and 18% use it to produce long-form videos. (Semrush)

73. 52% of businesses plan to try AI video generators in 2024. 53% also want to try AI image generators. (Semrush)
74. 56% of TikTok marketers plan to increase their video production budgets in 2024. (HubSpot)
75. 90% of video marketers claim video increases their brand awareness. (Wyzol)
76. 39% of marketers created video testimonials for their marketing campaigns in 2023. (Wyzol)
77. 34% of marketers use social media videos for content marketing. (Wyzol)

Takeaways: 

Video content marketing remains a powerful format to include in your strategy. In 2024, it will only continue to gain popularity. 

Blogging Statistics

Do you blog? Blogging is a challenge for many businesses. And yet, it’s one of the most popular (and effective) content formats—when done right.

78. 89% of content marketers say blog content is a top priority. (Siege Media)

79. And 76% of content marketers use blog posts to generate leads. (DemandSage)

80. Businesses that publish 16 or more blog posts a month are likely to generate 4.5 times as many leads compared to businesses that don’t publish as often. (DemandSage)

81. 58% of marketers use AI to create blog posts. (Semrush)

82. The average blog post length was 1,416 words in 2023 (OptinMonster). However, that’s 77% more words per post than 10 years ago. (Orbit Media)

83. Creating longer blog posts still correlates with content marketing success (Orbit Media). Remember, it’s not about adding words—it’s about adding value.

84. 80% of businesses generate marketing results with blogging. (Orbit Media)

85. 76% of bloggers publish educational content. Most bloggers publish lists. (Orbit Media)

Takeaways: 

Blogging continues to be a top marketing strategy

Should you use AI for blogging? Absolutely. But never to replace human writers—only to streamline their work.

Focus on creating comprehensive, practical content, and your blog will bring positive results.

Remember, blogging is a long-term shot. Don’t expect immediate ROI, but look for the secondary metrics. For example, does it increase brand awareness? Can it aid SEO?

Podcast Marketing Statistics 

Podcasts keep growing in popularity. And yet, not many businesses leverage them in 2024. Is there an opportunity for your brand?

86. It’s projected there will be nearly 505 million worldwide podcast listeners in 2024. (Backlinko)

87. But just 3% of content marketers leverage podcasts in their content marketing strategies. (Siege Media)

88. 61% of Gen Zers report visiting a company’s web page after listening to a podcast advertisement. (Edison Research)

89. AI has the potential to reduce podcast costs by 50%. (Backlinko)

90. 52% of podcasters save time by using AI to convert audio to text for show notes. (Wiredclip)

Takeaways: 

Podcasting is an underutilized marketing channel with the potential for growth. 

Using AI can help you cut production costs and boost the SEO value of your podcasts.

13. Content Challenges

91. Most SEO specialists agree that the most challenging part of their job is content and strategy production. (Search Engine Journal)

92. And 16% of marketers agree it is a challenge to brainstorm new content ideas. (HubSpot)

93. 31% of marketers are unsure how to use AI in their content marketing strategies. (Semrush)

94. 60% of marketers who incorporate generative AI into their content creation process worry it will harm their brand’s reputation. (HubSpot)

95. 42% of businesses worry that AI content is not original. 36% also find it difficult to incorporate their unique voice into AI-generated content. (Semrush)

96. 84% of B2B marketers agree it is challenging to collect data and measure content performance across various platforms. (Content Marketing Institute) 

Takeaways: 

AI is taking root in content marketing. 

Now is the time for content marketers to upskill and learn how to use it in their day-to-day workflow.

The best way to overcome AI-related challenges like originality?

Combine it with human oversight. 

Use These Content Marketing Statistics to Plan Your Year

Hopefully by now it’s clear AI is one of the top content trends for 2024.

If you plan to use AI to step up your content game, you’re bound to see great results based on these statistics.

But what we’ve shared is just the starting point. 

Our brand-new report has plenty more tips and insights to help you plan your 2024 content marketing strategy.