Nearly all UK marketers use content marketing (87%) and most of those that don’t already, plan to this year. These figures come from the latest Content Marketing in the UK report from The Content Marketing Institute (CMI). Agency Marketing Signals used the report’s findings to create an infographic that shows the tools content marketing professionals use; the techniques they employ to learn about their target audience; their top content marketing tactics for 2017; the preferred channels for content distribution; and the paid methods they use to promote content. 

Key findings

• The top two content marketing tools are analytics tools (84%) and dedicated email platforms (72%)
• The top three content marketing tactics are blogs (93%). social media content (80%) and email newsletters (78%)
• The top three channels preferred for distributing content are email (88%), LinkedIn (84%) and Twitter (82%). Facebook comes in fourth at 68%

Analytics are top

Discussing key trends, Simon Rattray, digital marketing manager at agency Marketing Signals, says that when it comes to tool usage, analytics unsurprisingly remain on top for UK marketers, adding: “Analytics are fundamental in providing both marketers, and clients, with visibility concerning the success of a content marketing campaign.”

Rattrays says that the top three techniques UK marketers are relying on to gain audience insights include keyword research to see how and what content users are searching for online, website analysis to see how users are interacting with that content, and social listening to discover what conversations users engaging with on social media platforms.

Personalisation is key

Discussing why the most popular channels to distribute content assets are email and social media platforms. Rattrays says: “These channels enable marketers to personalise the way in which they engage and share content with users, in order to cater to their specific needs and interests."

There is a huge amount of content out there and consumers have to filter most of it out, or they would go mad. The secret of creating great content is the same as with any great communication: find out as much as you can about the people you are speaking to, and then tailor the content your create, and the channels you use, to reach them in the most personable ways.

Methodology

The infographic created by agency Marketing Signals is based on the Content Marketing in the UK: 2017 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends report from the Content Marketing Institute.