I believe this year's report is even more enlightening, interesting and valuable to our readers than 2021's seemed to be (thanks again to everyone who gave us such lovely feedback), but you can let me know otherwise if you don't think that's the case. Over 300 content marketers took part in this year's survey - 3x the number that took part in 2021's survey.
Within the report, you'll notice that some numbers are green, and others are red. This helps us show you the difference between the 2022 and 2021 reports (where things have and haven’t changed - for better or worse).
Green indicates an increase in percentage, and red a decrease compared to the 2021 report. If the number is white, then that number has either remained the same or is a new question and there's no comparison to the 2021 report to be had.
We've also shared the +/- compared to last year, so you can see how big of a difference there is - a little something I hope you find useful.
Read on to see some of the results we found most interesting, as well as some comments from some of the world’s best content marketers.
Brand visibility/association and SEO has overtaken lead generation as the most popular goal of our respondent's content amplification. User engagement continues to lag behind with just over a third of respondents considering it a goal.
Cathy McPhillips
AI Marketing Institute
"It is heartening to see such a large increase in the number of companies who understand and prioritize content amplification—and the big increase in those that rank it a high priority. I also like to see that amplification doesn’t have to mean lead gen...and marketers are focusing on content amplification for brand visibility. This consistent approach leads to trust and authority.
Content marketers: Read this report and share with your leadership team for buy-in on time and marketing funds invested in content amplification. Benchmark your KPIs, adjust your marketing plans to include strategic amplification, and report back!"
More content marketers feel like they're spending enough time on content amplification in 2022 than in 2021. However, there is still a vast majority that believe they're not. And the thing that stops them from spending more time amplifying their content is still a lack of time due to other tasks.
Robert Rose
The Content Advisory
"This data shows that Marketers are completely out of touch with amplification. When asked why don’t track – it’s because they have “no time”. So, I’ll assume for the moment that this severe lack of time in amplifying content, paying for amplification, or tracking results is because they’re spending all their time “creating content”.
So, the bottom line is that these marketers say they have no time and no budget to actually market and measure the thing they are spending so much time and budget doing. That’s not marketing. That’s insanity. That’s like saying let’s make a new product, but let’s not worry about marketing it, or measuring sales because we just don’t have time for that.
Snap out of it!!"
Social media advertising remains the number one paid-for channel for content amplification among those surveyed - over twice as popular as any other channel used of paid amplification.
The percentage of those using email advertising has tripled.
Andy Crestodina
Orbit Media Studios
"Paid is an opportunity. When there is an algorithm between you and your potential reader, paying for exposure can make a huge difference. But why is paid social so much more popular than paid search? I'm surprised to see paid search dropping, considering how much more valuable the reader can be.
Visitors from search tend to have stronger intent than visitors from social. They are looking for answers. If the content meets their needs, they are typically much more likely to convert into a subscriber. And once you have their email address, you can reach them directly. There isn't an algorithm in the middle anymore."
Blogs are still the most popular type of content to amplify among our survey participants. Original research remains the least popular. The percentage of respondents amplifying podcasts has increased the most.
Ross Simmonds
Foundation
"This report shows that content amplification in 2022 continues to be one of the most under-invested marketing opportunities by brands. It also shows that everyday, organizations ask their content marketing teams to create new content without thinking about how to amplify and distribute that content in front of their ideal audience. This is a major mistake. Brands should constantly be thinking about how they can spread their story to new audiences across multiple platforms so they can capitalize on the attention that is currently being allocated to these platforms by their ideal customers.
At the end of the day, smart brands realize that they should be creating content once and distributing it forever. If they can do that consistently, they will unlock amazing results."
Now you’ve read the TL:DR version, make sure you check the rest of the free and ungated report out (at your convenience, of course) and, if you'd like to discuss anything in the report or share some feedback, then please let me know at james@converge.today
NOTE: We have now published 2023's Content Promotion Report (yup, we changed the name). You can find that by clicking here.