In this article we are taking a look at this years Content Matters Report from WordPress VIP and examining how the approach to content management is changing.
As a WordPress VIP Agency Partner, we are always excited to see the new edition of their annual Content Matters Report to see how the general approach to content changes from year to year. This year the WordPress VIP team collected some interesting results from over 1,500 respondents of varying roles and industries.
It’s no secret that content management is not an easy task, there are so many things to consider and keep track of. With the constant algorithm changes, the introduction of more AI tools and tech/software developments, it can often feel overwhelming for marketing teams.
Reports like Content Matters are a great way to get a snapshot of what’s happening within the content/marketing space. We read through the report and noted some of our main takeaways for your marketing team.
One of the main challenges identified by the report was that marketing teams are facing limited resources. This includes ‘people, time, talent, budgets’ and other aspects.
However, in spite of this challenge and the ongoing turbulent economic situation, the number of in-house content creators has grown by 47.7% over the last 12 months! In terms of team size, the report shows that 25% of respondents have a marketing team of 21 – 50 people, with 24% having a team of 51 – 100.
Budgets are also on the rise, with 58% of respondents saying they expect their content budget to increase in 2023. If you’re currently trying to increase your budget for this year, it’s important that you can link your content schedule with ROI (return on investment). Driving revenue and sales became the second most recorded purpose for content creation in this years report.
The data shows that 18% of professionals are producing less content, which is double the amount of those in 2022 (9%). With limited resources, it makes sense that marketing teams would prioritise content quality over quantity.
However, 61% still reported that in the last 12 months they produced more content. This may be driven by the general rule that posting daily pleases the ever-changing social media algorithms.
If you’re struggling with quality vs quantity, this article from Hopeful is another great resource, providing insight into various different content ‘rules’ and how to maintain a middle-ground approach.
Previously, blogs were the most popular type of content within the marketing space but now we are seeing that social media and community building has taken the lead.
In the report social media posts and community building is listed as the top content marketing activity at almost 18%, closely followed by blog posts/articles at nearly 15% and then video content coming in third at 13.2%.
Building a community via social media is a great way to encourage user generated content. With resources being limited, we can see more marketers taking this approach where possible in order to alleviate the pressure on their team.
We’ve spoken many times about how personalisation is on the rise across the digital space and this is still relevant to content creation.
The report shows that the amount of professionals who want to create more content is a lot lower than those who are focusing on personalisation. Further proving the shift from quantity to quality, largely due to the fact personalisation efforts are often more successful when it comes to driving revenue.
The Next In Personalization Report from McKinsey & Company shows that ‘personalization drives performance and better customer outcomes’ and that ‘companies that grow faster drive 40% more of their revenue from personalization’. Read more about personalisation with this extra resource from WordPress VIP or feel free to check out our own free personalisation plugin for WordPress.
Introducing our new eBook, part of the Filter team’s Enterprise Series. This edition explores the power of Personalisation, guiding businesses on delivering tailored content to website visitors based on their interactions and browsing history.
These are just a few takeaways from the 2023 Content Matters report but we highly recommend you download it for yourself and make a note of your own points.
There are a lot of interesting statistics available and they might even help you to prove the value of content creation or a personalisation strategy within your company.
If you would like to know more about web strategy for mid to enterprise organisations, feel free to get in touch, our dedicated team are always happy to help. Find out how we’ve helped various other businesses by visiting our client stories page.
You can also read through our previous news and resource articles for a deeper insight into the digital space.
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