Just a few years ago, the term content writer was practically unknown. Today, a content writer can mean anything from someone putting together posts for social media marketing, a blog ghostwriter, an individual or firm writing press releases with SEO content to help raise search engine rankings and everything in between. As more people are getting onto the internet and searching for specific information, services or items, quality content has become the best possible way to achieve higher rankings in search engines. The extent to which content marketing has become a pivotal techniques in marketing means it will help determine whether your business booms or busts. But why exactly does that make 2014 the year of the content writer?
Numbers. Here are a few of them that will get your attention from industry leaders:
Content Marketing Institute
According to a study by the Content Marketing Institute, 58% of businesses are planning to raise their content marketing budget this year, with brand building primarily achieved through content marketing in 93% of B2B organizations. The number of B2B marketers who consider themselves to be effective in content marketing has risen 6% in the past year alone, from 36% last year to 42% this year. This shows that people “in the know” in marketing are recognizing the amazing amount of potential this digital marketing technique has to offer.
Webdamsolutions.com
Research by Webdamsolutions.com has also seen a strong upswing in content marketing over the past year. Custom content is seen as the future of marketing, according to 78% of CMOs. Maybe that’s because B2B companies with blogs generate 67% more leads than those that don’t, which is why 73% of B2B content marketers have begun producing more content than at this time last year. Content marketing has become so important, that the company has also found that among the best content marketers, 86% have someone managing their content strategy and 68% have documented what their strategy is.
Other Independent Companies
- Brandpoint has announced that 93% of online research starting with a search engine and 68% of buyers looking at social media sites before buying for a company.
- Marketing Query found that 63% of readers were influenced by blog posts on the company’s website rather than magazine advertisements or articles.
- Out of all the content marketing options available, Social Media Today found that 77% of them included blogs as an essential part of their content strategy.
This information covers only a few companies, but there are countless more examples showing that content writing is seeing the beginnings of a strong growth trend. By educating yourself now and getting into the market just as it’s opening up, you’ll have years of steady income before you and the opportunity to become an expert in the field by way of your involvement. By staying on top of the newest trends in content marketing, SEO and keyword usage, you will be able to command an excellent wage well into the future.
Cathleen V is a freelance writer available on WriterAccess, a marketplace where clients and expert writers connect for assignments.
