In today’s infographic, we’re taking a look at just how big of an investment companies are putting into content marketing this year. What kind of brands believe in content, and invest in it as a major form of marketing? What kind of investments are being made? With numbers in the billions, the findings may (or may not) surprise you. Read, enjoy, share, comment! Transcript – Revised to Reflect Accurate Budget Statistics 9/1/15
Content Budgets: Why Content Marketing Is A Main Marketing Focus in 2015 And Beyond
Just where are brands putting their money? Content marketing (content budgets exist!). Here are some crazy statistics about the importance of content in the marketing sphere for 2015.
The average per company content marketing budget is more than $1.8 million (annual).
60% of those who have a documented strategy rate themselves highly in terms of content
marketing effectiveness.
27 million pieces of content are shared every day
59% of marketers expect their organization’s content marketing budget to increase spending in the next 12 months for 2015
Marketers invest over 25% of their marketing budget on content marketing
9 out of 10 organizations currently market with content
What Types of Businesses Are Investing in Content Marketing?
Both B2B and B2C are spending a content budget. Here’s more about that.
55% of B2B organizations and 59% of B2C organizations will increase their content marketing budget this year
91% of B2B marketers use content marketing and 70% are increasing the amount of content they create since last year
How Are Big Brands Spending on Content Marketing?
If you don’t think content marketing is important, check out these major brands and the value they place on content.
Coca-Cola now spends more money creating content than on television advertising.
Red Bull employs roughly 135 people for its content marketing & media strategy.
20 community managers and designers create content everyday as part of Nestlé’s digital editorial team.
Why Are We Seeing Such an Increase in Content Marketing Investments?
Because people finally realize it’s vital to a great online marketing strategy. Content budgets (and big spends) are happening. Also, see below.
61% of consumers are more likely to buy from a brand that shares custom content.
35% of Fortune 500 CMOs claim that creating fresh content was their biggest challenge in 2014.
B2B companies find a 67% increase in leads per month when they create content
Content creation is considered the most effective SEO practice.
64% of people say the customer experience is more important than price in their choice of a brand.
4 Signs You May Need to Increase Your Content Marketing Budget
Your content marketing is not effective. B2B marketers who feel they are least effective only allocate 16% of their budget to content. Marketers who rate themselves to be most effective assign 37% of their budget to content.
You don’t focus on hiring talent. In the next year, 56% of leading business bloggers plan to hire additional resources.
You’re not frequently and consistently producing fresh content. 77% of marketers report that they plan to increase content production in the next year.
The quality of your content is damaging your ROI. 31% of marketers claim that they need to improve the quality of their content.
And…
7 Steps To Guide You To Invest in Effective Content Marketing
Hire writers first. Most marketers, when initially entering into content marketing, invest first in a writer.
Work with talented writers. The top 3 reason people choose to follow brands on social media is that they share content that is interesting to the reader.
Outsource qualified writers. 62% of companies outsource their content marketing to create consistent, quality content.
Invest in an effective strategy. 48% of B2B marketers use at least one content marketing strategy. B2C marketers use 12 content marketing tactics on average. A further 35% percent document their strategy and results.
Focus on blogs. Blogs help to give websites on average a whopping 434% more indexed pages, highly effective for SEO.
Become more effective. Only 32 % of all B2C marketers are effective at content marketing.
Invest in visual content. 82% of companies are prioritizing visual content in their content marketing budget (like infographics).
There are more theories about where the word OK comes from than letters in the word itself.
That constitutes a Star Trek Captain Jean-Luc Picard facepalm meme, don’t you think?
For a simple, relatively well-used phrase, shockingly few people actually know where it comes from. The real origins of the word okay (O.K.) are little known.
Okay, as defined by Oxford dictionary is, “a term used to express agreement or acceptance.” In its modern usage, okay is a word that is recognized around the world along with its even more widely recognized acronym “OK”. But where does it come from? What’s the etymology of a word like “okay”?
Do you know where OK really comes from? You’re about to find out.
Origins of the Word Okay: Initial Theories
In order for etymologists to determine where any word comes from, they trace its usage down the line until it disappears, giving an estimated time frame for when it appeared and got adopted into common usage. “Okay” has some obscure roots, since most people believe one (or more) stories about where it comes from above all others (depending on which one they heard first). Some rumors put it as coming from another language. In fact the foreign language interpretations of the origin of “okay” span a handful of locales such as:
– Haitian French, from the term “Aux Cayes”
– Scottish, derived from “och aye”
– Greek, derived from “olla kalla”
– Louisiana French, derived from “au quai”
– Chocktaw (American Indian) from “okeh”
There’s a lot of other attributions to language but the evidence behind these claims don’t stick. At best, these are simply inventions by local folk in an effort to claim the right over one of the most used words in the English language.
Professional Jargon?
There have been instances when professional jargon passed into common usage via popular culture. One notable example is the term “mark twain”, a phrase used by Mississippi riverboat oarsmen to determine the maximum depth to which a river boat would sail without become grounded. Samuel L. Clemens adopted it as his nom-de-plume and now the term is a household name, albeit for something totally different.
Some origins of the word okay beg to dig deeper. There have been claims that the term “OK” comes from a time when shipbuilders would mark particularly robust pieces of lumber for use in the outer keel of ships. These pieces were marked “OK” to delineate their use in the outer keel. Another popular tale is that of the damage report during the civil war. It was said that, in order to save time and avoid a useless headcount, regiments that had no deaths would hold up a sign with the letters “OK” on it, standing for “Zero Killed”. Sadly, as colorful as these stories are, they aren’t even close to the truth.
So Where DOES “Okay” come from?
After exploring the colorful past of the word “Okay”, the truth might seem a far cry from the glamorization that exist around the word itself.
Let’s look at the real origins of the word okay (OK):
According to Merriam Webster, back in 1839 it was en vogue to facetiously misspell words in order to come off as humorous. Think about it in today’s terms as acronyms such as “OMG”, “lol” and “tl;dr”. Enter the newspaper editor who thought that spelling the term ‘all correct’ would be a lot funnier if it was spelt “orl korrect”. The abbreviation of “OK” was born and from that comes our modern word.
So there you have it.
The stories surrounding the word “okay” are numerous and colorful, stretching out through the mists of time. The truth about the word isn’t nearly as entertaining, but just like some topics, the deeper you get into it, the less interesting it seems.
Regardless of its origins, “okay” is a word that makes up a large portion of our daily word usage and its versatility is a testament to the evolution of the English language.
Have you ever wondered what it means to be a real, modern copywriter?
Those people are amazing these days (if I do say so myself). Have you seen some of the awesome, thorough copy on the web?
What’s attracted you to shop online or offline lately? Think of all the creative ad copy you’ve read, loved and laughed at.
That’s because of a talented modern copywriter!
Now, how would you define one of those people? At a loss? We put together 11 out-of-the-box, fun ways to describe what a modern copywriter does and is. Enjoy!
Copywriters are a little like cats…creative, funny, whimsical, moody…
Defining a Modern Copywriter
Let’s get started with a basic overview of what a copywriter is. It is, in its simplest terms, someone who writes copy.
Now, let’s break it down a little bit more. Copy is any writing that is used solely for marketing or advertising purposes. This includes things like commercials, taglines, brochures, online ads, and more.
For such a creative position, though, that definition is far from creative and probably does not do a good job of selling itself to potential copywriters. (Which is pretty ironic if you think about it.) I’m here to do better. 😉 Keep reading!
11 Ways To Define the Modern Copywriter (Creatively)
Cop · y · writ · er (noun)* …
1. A marketing magician.
A person so good at making a business’s marketing successful, it’s like they are performing magic.
“Wow! That new girl has only been here a month, and she has already written ads that cut our cost of conversion rate in half. Is she a magician?”
“No. She’s a copywriter.”
“Same thing.”
2. A word wizard.
An individual that crafts marketing text so perfectly, it seems like some kind of sorcery or word wizardry.
“Wow! You put into words exactly what I wanted our customers to feel. You must be a copywriter!”
3. A business message whisperer.
Someone who can control or tame a business’s message so that it can go out successfully among people.
“For a while, your message was so wild, nobody knew what to think of it. But it’s a lot clearer and more defined now. What did you do? Get a business whisperer?”
“Pretty much. I hired a copywriter.”
4. That person pulling a no name company out of obscurity.
The reason some company you never heard of yesterday is all the rage today.
“Wow! You blew up overnight. That’s some copywriter you’ve got there.”
5. An individual who can outsell the best salesperson without ever even talking to a customer.
Someone whose writing stretches so far that they make sales without ever leaving the office – or perhaps even their bed.
“My sales team is incredible. But the PPC ads my copywriters created sold products to people all over the world in half the time.”
6. Someone who is equally good with people and robots.
An individual who knows how to get picked up by search engines as well as please people with their charming words.
“I’ve got the best copywriter. The new ads he created are always at the top of Google searches, and when people find them, they buying what we’re selling.”
7. A person who can find you wherever you are.
A person who crafts SEO-based ads so perfectly that they always find their target audience when they are searching online. Or a person who writes the commercial that comes on every time you turn on the TV.
Or a person who travels with you on your road trip looking down on you from tall billboards. Or just basically a person who knows how to reach its target market anywhere, anyhow.
“I think that company’s copywriter is stalking me. I saw their ad on TV. It was a suggested post on Facebook. And they just put up a billboard outside of my office. I’ll tell you what, though. I kind of want to go try them now.”
8. That voice stuck in your head.
The person who created the jingle that you either love or hate but either way can’t get out of your head.
“I’ve been singing the fast food jingle that copywriter wrote all day, and now all I can think about is getting one of their hamburgers.”
9. A person who should be ‘Employee of the Month’ every month.
The person who builds up a business’s brand, makes them sales, wins them an advertising award, brings them into the homes of all of their target audience, and generally saves the day.
“Susie just won Employee of the Month for the third month in a row.”
“Wow! She must be a copywriter.”
10. The writer of all things (also marketing and advertising related).
The person who writes commercials, ads, emails, brochures, sales pamphlets, jingles, taglines, landing pages, and more.
“My copywriter creates radio spots on top of everything else he does. I’m adding multi-talented to my copywriter definition.”
11. Someone who deserves a raise for being all of the things listed above.
OK, had to throw that one in there (insert evil laugh).
A person who does everything listed on this list should be paid well accordingly, right, right?
“Your copywriter is a magical wizard who whispered your name into the public’s ear and outsold all your salespeople by being good with people and Google, knowing how to find your target audience anywhere, and getting stuck in their head by being the writer of all marketing things written?
Not only should he be Employee of the Month, he should get a raise as well.”
11 Fun Ways to Define A Modern Copywriter: We Hope You Enjoyed It!
A copywriter can be a lot of different things, but what they are most of all is important.
If you want your business to succeed, then you are going to need good marketing. A copywriter can do that for you.
If your copywriter definition is, “a quality writer I can find online,” then check out our copywriting services.
From Chaucer to Rowling, creative writing has often been the boon to our stressful, busy world.
It started as a way to maintain folklore tradition and tell us tales of knights in shining armor who brought whole countries together (King Arthur).
“Excalibur! Forged when the world was young, and bird and beast and flower were one with man…” Excalibur (1981)
But creative writing has now become an absolutely powerful force for good. We see the wisdom of Gandalf and Baggins (Lord of the Rings)…
“You asked me to find the fourteenth member of this company and I have chosen Mr. Baggins.”
…The humor of Bridget Jones, and the horror that only Stephen King (The Shining) can produce.
Whether you read or write a high fantasy novel or an epic crime drama, there will be an amazing impact. Creative writers of all types have brought about amazing results for the world and all they did was grab the nearest pen, typewriter, or computer and got down to writing.
I want to take a look at just how powerful creative writing has been for our society and just how it has changed the world for the better.
7 Amazing Instances of Creative Writing Impacting the World
Creative writing has been a huge part of making the world a better place. Here are some awesome instances of just how powerful it is.
1. It Captured Oral Tradition Giving Us Amazing Stories to Look Back At. When you think of creative writing, one of the first things many think of is the stories of the Brothers Grimm. They are dark and full of terrors, but those stories are also incredible for many reasons.
One reason these stories are so immensely powerful isn’t just because they provided us with great fairy tales that influenced our popular films, but they also captured history.
The Brothers Grimm traveled around, learning some of the popular folklore that was told in one way and one way only – orally. We all know how much impact those stories had (just look at all the Disney films we have).
Preserved in time by the talents of a pen…
What would have happened if the Brothers Grimm hadn’t stored these stories? What would the world look like now? What a fascinating, and slightly terrifying thought to think. By writing down these creative folk stories, the Brothers Grimm opened a whole new world of creative possibility.
2. Creative Writing Has Shown Immense Power in Physical Health. When the Brothers Grimm popularized creative literature, they probably didn’t realize what this would mean for the world.
A huge impact that all creative writing has had, no matter its age, genre, or format, is that of improving physical and mental health. There are so many amazing health benefits when you read creative literature, and that is a pretty awesome impact if you ask me.
When you write creatively, you can see some health benefits such as the ability to improve your memory and have a great format to release pent up emotions.
Reading creative literature also gives you immense health benefits including better cognition, relieving stress, and helping you sleep. That’s right, if you have a hard time sleeping, reading a good book might just be what you need.
The great thing about this is that creative writing and literature doesn’t have to be one type of thing – it can be anything. It can be a comic book, a science fiction novel, the latest study, or a great nonfiction book.
3. A Simple Novella Can be a Letter to a Loved One. Another way that creative writing has made the world a better place is actually something rather small. But, as well all know, those small things add up to something major in the end.
Neil Gaiman is an amazing author with an impressive range of works including The Ocean at the End of the Lane. While this seems like a jaunt into urban fantasy, there is something much deeper. This story started out as a simple, small letter to his soon-to-be-wife, Amanda Palmer.
He wanted to make sure she knew things about him, and he wanted to share his life with her, and creative writing was what helped him achieve this. It ended up turning into an absolutely gorgeous novella, but his small action was something Amanda greatly appreciated.
It might not have made a worldwide impact, but a small gesture through creative writing can change someone’s world for the better. And Amanda experienced something that many of us would absolutely enjoy.
4. Creative Writing Might Send You to San Francisco with Flowers in Your Hair. When you look at the world of creative writing, there are so many facets. There are books, ad campaigns, music, and more.
The 1960s and 1970s were a powerful decade when it came to moving and emotional creative writing. The United States was at war with Viet Nam, with protestors calling for peace. America and the entire world were also on the cusp of major social change.
And music and creative writing had an important role to play.
We had songs about peace, encouraging people to avoid war and work together to meet a resolution without the shedding of blood. People marched singing these songs, hung around in large groups with these songs, and many were backdrops to some of the most intense and saddest moments in American history.
Not only did we have songs about peace, but we also had songs about racial problems around the world but specifically in America. We had books such as To Kill a Mockingbird that highlighted these problems and a speech no one will ever forget:
“I have a dream…”
5. Fiction and Creative Writing Help Create Literate Children and Adults. I’ll admit, when it comes to creative writing and literature, my go-to author is Neil Gaiman. He has great wisdom about creative writing and its importance and he often illustrates that importance himself.
In an article for The Guardian, Neil talks about the importance of creative writing, specifically that of fiction. He points out how fiction can improve someone’s life, no matter if they are reading to escape, learn, or have fun.
He believes, and rightly so, that with literature, we open the door to a healthy society as well as a more literate culture. Did you know that New York City gauged the prison growth rate off of the amount of 10 and 11-year-olds that couldn’t read?
Now, what does that say about the need for literacy? Quite a bit.
While Neil does point out that a literate society does not equal a crime-free one, there is an immense impact of literature, bettering the world.
Creative writing and reading gives people the chance to formulate their opinions and to learn about other views. There are many things a person can learn just by reading and fiction has long had an amazing impact on many readers.
6. Creative Writing Provides Powerful Ads that Cannot Be Ignored. Powerful creativity isn’t just something you see in books and music but is also amazingly powerful in the ad world.
On September 11th, 2001, America saw one of the worst terrorist attacks on their soil and the world felt the immense grief radiating out from New York City, the Pentagon, and Pennsylvania. People everywhere were making tributes to the fallen on that day, and there was one particular ad that brought everyone to tears.
The lovely America, captured in the Budweiser 9/11 tribute ad.
Advertising has done more than just paying tribute; they’ve raised awareness for issues, focused on social change, and worked to bring people together.
One such ad is a Spanish advertisement that only children could fully see. It sent out a message that if a child was being abused, he or she could reach out.
This was met with a fanfare of those who thought it was great and criticism from those who didn’t know if it would work. Regardless, it was still a great, powerful ad.
7. A Simple Children’s Story Can be Immensely Complex. What do I mean with those contradicting words? Easy – Harry Potter, when looked at on the surface, is a simple children’s story, it has all the elements.
The talents of J.K. Rowling.
However, it is also immensely complex. Rowling dealt with many issues that children’s literature often didn’t, which could be a major reason why so many adults read it.
This series impacted the world amazingly by giving people something positive in a dark time. And it also brought about something great – literacy.
It inspired so many children to read, especially those who weren’t big readers. It brought about a love for reading, which really did impact the world for the better.
In addition, a 2003 article from the University of North Texas pointed out that it also helped create discussion between children and adults.
Never Be Afraid to Read and Write What You Want
Creative writing really has had an immense impact on the world, changing it for the better, hasn’t it? No matter what it is you are reading or writing, know that it is exactly what you need.
It might get you through a hard time in your life, encourage you to try new things, and if you’re a business owner, help you bring in new clients.
Creative writing is just another thing Express Writers offers, and our team can help you get something epic and creative that people will definitely enjoy.
Photo credits: The Telegraph (King Arthur), John Howe (Lord of the Rings), Goodreads (book cover, Grimm), Marshall.edu (Harry Potter book cover)
We know that content quantity and quality go hand in hand these days – without either you really can’t achieve footing in the content marketing sphere. So how does one ensure they are publishing high quality content, in the quantity of it all? Let’s take a look.
If you liked this infographic, we’d love to hear from you in the comments – and feel free to share the love!
Transcript
73% of people would rather be informed by a series of informing and interesting articles than traditional advertising.
Interesting content is the top 3 motive for consumers to follow brands on social media.
78% of people believe organizations and brands that create quality content want to build positive relationships with them.
Content leaders who produce quality content receive 7.8 x more unique site traffic than content followers.
Creating quality content is the most effective SEO strategy.
Google released a new “Phantom algorithm” in April 2015 which places the quality of content as the top priority.
6 Dangerous Pitfalls that Always Lead to Poor Quality Content
First, let’s talk about what NOT to do. These six major no-nos will damage the relationship with your readers and tarnish your SEO efforts.
Duplicate content will compromize your SEO strategy.
Forgetting and not focusing on the user experience reduces the amount readers will share your content.
Keyword stuffing & creating content that is not interesting to readers.
Content that has spelling and grammar errors damages your credibility as an expert.
Link-baiting titles that don’t lead to quality content undermine the trustworthiness of your brand.
Failing to meet the needs of your readers will lead to a failure to build relationships with your customers.
5 Steps to Guarantee Quality Content Every Time
Marketers spend almost 1/3 of their budget on content marketing efforts. But are they asking themselves if what they produce is high quality? Here’s how you can make sure you’re always publishing high quality content to get the return on your investment.
Step 1: Who are you trusting to create your content?
If you’re relying on a nobody to create your content, you’re risking damaging your brand with poor quality that doesn’t resonate with your reader. Expert writers not only bring professionalism and experience to content creation in order to create accurate and stylistic writing. Expert writers also have a deep understanding of your niche and can create unique content that genuinely informs and interests your readers, i.e. if you are a legal company, be sure to hire an expert legal writer.
Step 2: Know what types of content performs well in your industry
Software helps you to identify and analyze what types of content work well in your industry. Buzzsumo helps writers to strategize their content marketing and create content that is statistically proven to work well.
Step 3: Plan content that has competitive edge
Software (we suggest SEMRush and BuzzSumo) can help monitor content created by competitors. Planning content strategically against the context of competitors’ content gives brands the competitive edge and creates quality content that readers love.
Step 4: Utilize the power of content auditing
Marketers use content auditing to uncover data that informs effective and efficient content marketing. Content auditing helps brands to ensure that the content they create is always high quality.
Step 5: Ensure that your content passes at least two pairs of critical eyes
Quality content should always read well, be void of spelling and grammar errors with clarity and concision. Even the most experienced expert writers may miss small errors in writing. Ensure that your content is proofread by professional editors.
What Types of Quality Content Can Your Brand Produce?
One of the biggest challenges for brands is to consistently create high quality content that remains high quality. Quality content comes in all shapes and sizes. There are many opportunities for your brand to create quality content.
Here are just a few types of content your brand can create:
