B2B SaaS Content Marketing Statistics for 2024
Last updated: July 17th, 2024
Need to secure more budget and resources to reach your SaaS content marketing goals in 2024? Our curated list of relevant content marketing statistics will give you critical insights that will help you achieve just that.
Now, let’s see some stats, so you have a clear view of the content marketing landscape you’re navigating this year.
General Content Marketing Statistics
It’s estimated that in 2024, the content marketing industry will grow to be worth $600 billion.
Just as B2B SaaS is seeing continual industry growth, the content marketing sector is also experiencing growth. With a CAGR of 13.7%, the industry is fueled by technology development, AI tools in particular, but also by the business growth potential for startups.
41% of the growth in content marketing in 2024 is expected in the APAC region.
Asia has become a focal point for content marketing growth. The region is increasingly internet-based and adopting a mobile-first culture, which means an opportunity to engage across a variety of platforms. In fact, B2B marketers in the APAC region are forecasting significant revenue growth in 2024 with 74% expecting budget increases.
Over half of all businesses will increase their content marketing budgets in 2024.
As a result of increasing B2B competition and a general feeling of global economic uncertainty, many SaaS businesses will increase their marketing budgets to remain competitive. In addition to budget increases, marketers will need to focus their efforts on developing quality human-centric content to compete against generative AI content.
90% of content marketers use blogs as part of their marketing strategy.
Blogs will continue to be an integral part of any successful content marketing strategy. They serve as a vital tool for engaging the target audience, offering informative content that retains visitors to your site.
SaaS businesses that use content marketing effectively report up to 400% lead generation growth.
Content marketing is up to three times better at generating leads than traditional forms of marketing, and the effects have a longer-lasting impact.
57% of companies outsource their content marketing efforts.
While many businesses have in-house marketing teams, it’s also common for content marketing to be entirely or partly outsourced. This allows businesses to adjust their marketing output quickly and efficiently. Our B2B SaaS copywriter directory provides access to a diverse pool of quality writers, helping businesses find the perfect fit to enhance their content marketing efforts.
80% of businesses indicate that they prefer to research a potential vendor through written content.
B2B buyers do a significant amount of their own research before contacting sales, and blogs are one of the primary sources of information. Without feeling the pressure of a sales representative, the customer is free to absorb the details they need to make a decision in their own time.
Social media is the top channel Gen Z and Millenials use to find new products online.
At least 74% of marketers aim to reach the eyes and ears of Millenials and Gen Z, so social media is the channel to invest in. Of the social media options, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok provide the best ROI for marketers.
LinkedIn is the favorite social platform for publishing B2B content.
Of all social platforms, LinkedIn is the most effective platform for B2B content. It’s loaded with business connections, so it gives you the highest chances of attracting high-quality leads.
The Impact of AI
A survey completed by Superpath found that over 91% of content marketers in 2023 already used AI tools in their content creation process.
While content marketers readily adopt AI tools, they are concerned about their impact on content marketing.
65% of content marketers plan to use generative AI tools to develop content.
Content marketers see AI tools as both a threat and an opportunity by content marketers. Many marketers plan to use AI in 2024 despite the skepticism over how effective AI-generated content is.
36% of marketers use AI chatbots, but 58% say they plan to increase their investment in and reliance on AI chatbot tools in 2024.
Chatbots can provide the personalized experience users want without overloading staff or draining marketing team resources. Automated tools like chatbots can respond to customer questions and help users find the information they’re looking for.
43% of bloggers say they are using AI tools to generate ideas.
While not all use AI to craft full articles, many find these tools beneficial for kickstarting their creative process and developing an outline. So far, there is no conclusive evidence to suggest that using AI tools is better or worse for the overall success of content.
85% of marketers believe that integrating AI into content development has increased content quality.
AI technology is being rapidly adopted by content marketers, and although there’s some aprehension, many feel the technology benefits them. 77% of marketers surveyed by HubSpot believe it helps them craft more personalized content, which means their copy has more appeal to their target audience.
According to Semrush, 63% of content writers spent up to 20 hours per week developing content before adopting AI writing tools.
Now, with the use of AI writing tools, the total time spent writing content is down to about 10 hours per week on average for most content writers.
68% of businesses have reported a boost in their content marketing ROI since using AI.
The use of AI in content marketing has enabled businesses to streamline processes, optimize content distribution, and improve overall marketing effectiveness, resulting in higher returns of investment.
Marketers are using AI to help them generate blog posts (58%), social media posts (55%), and short articles (49%).
The biggest positives of using AI to develop blog posts and other short-form content are the fast turnaround time and helping writers overcome writer’s block.
The Content
55% of content marketers say that posting content frequently had a positive impact on ranking.
Developing and committing to a content schedule is really important. In fact, 43% of marketers will publish content several times a week, while posting at least once a week is considered the bare minimum for maintaining audience engagement and relevance.
46% of content marketers have content scheduled between two weeks to a month in advance.
Because regular content publishing has such a positive impact on ranking and visibility, most marketers schedule their content well in advance. This allows for flexibility around staff vacation days or other spontaneous tasks that can detract from content production.
Long-form content is the most impactful, according to 60% of those surveyed by Growthbar.
In addition, of the same survey participants, 57% said that content creation plays the biggest role in SERP ranking, while 33% indicated that backlinking has a bigger impact on SEO.
63% of content marketers say they focus their efforts on building a connection with existing clients.
A majority of marketers are putting effort into retaining existing clients, and there’s a good reason for that. Attracting and locking in a new client generally costs more than retaining existing clients. So, for example, blogs can be tailored to the wants and information needs of existing customers to build brand loyalty.
According to the Semrush State of Marketing Report of 2023, the top three factors for successful content are thorough audience research, publishing frequency, and the quality of the content.
Semrush surveyed over 1,000 marketers and business owners and analyzed over 500,000 articles to conclude that these three factors are key to content marketing. Many of the surveyed were also running content audits at least twice per year to update their strategy and content.
Just under 40% of marketers surveyed say new content ideas stem from keyword analysis.
This shows the significance of a data-driven approach to content creation. Moreover, targeted content based on relevant search trends and user intent resonates more with the target audience and has many SEO benefits.
67% of content produced is aimed at TOFU.
Top-of-funnel content is broader and ideal for building awareness about your product. Typically, companies prioritize developing TOFU content, but we actually recommend prioritizing bottom-of-funnel content instead.
Almost 90% of marketers believe repurposing old content is a better use of time than producing fresh content.
Not only can repurposing and republishing old content be just as effective at attracting organic traffic as creating new content, it can also be cheaper and more efficient.
Bloggers today spend 60% more time developing posts than they did 10 years ago.
To produce better-quality content, writers spend considerably longer crafting and perfecting their content than before. Although AI-generated content can be developed faster and cheaper, high-quality human content appears to be preferred—and this takes time to craft.
Bloggers who include images are more likely to report successful content.
Including images in blog posts has always been the gold standard for blog structure, and this won’t change in 2024. Readers still appreciate images to break up a text-heavy page, just don’t go overboard to avoid clutter.
43% of readers admit to skimming blog posts.
Long-form content performs better in several aspects in comparison to short posts. However, long-form content needs to be structured with readability in mind, because many readers will still skim through to find the specific information they’re looking for.
Website engagement is the most used metric (69%) for B2B content performance, followed by conversions (67%), website traffic (65%), and email engagement (64%).
Most marketers use content to create brand awareness, build credibility, and educate their audience. In that sense, engagement and traffic metrics are useful to track.
Some Things to Work On
Only 40% of content marketers have a documented strategy.
Even though developing a strategy is core to the success of your content marketing efforts, many still overlook this vital step. To avoid falling into this common trap, prioritize developing a high-quality content marketing strategy, like our Hub & Spoke Content Strategy, and commit to a publishing schedule.
Of the most successful marketers, 87% prioritize the user’s needs and pain points when crafting content rather than focusing on the company’s sales message.
According to survey results published by the Content Marketing Institute, developing content around customer pain points and the funnel stage they’re in is the best way to get returns. We can’t agree more—the types of content best placed to address customer pain points are “how-to” blogs, competitor comparison pages, and “alternatives to” pages.
47% of marketers are not tracking ROI from content marketing.
Analyzing the performance of your marketing efforts is important not only for your professional development but also for justifying budget increases. Around 26% of marketers agree that good data increases their overall ROI. If you’re not tracking ROI, this is your reminder to start so you can better understand the financial value of your marketing expenses.
41% of marketers say they do not plan to begin cookie-free targeting.
Cookies provided much of the user information up until now, with Google phasing out third-party cookies in 2024. However, only 25% of marketers are planning to turn to first-party data collection, so they will need to acquire data on their target audience another way.
A company with a content marketing budget of less than $15,000 per month is 74% more likely to report poor performance than those that spend more.
In some ways, you really do get out what you put in. Plenty of evidence suggests that those who invest seriously in content marketing see positive results from it. This could be just the justification needed to request a budget increase.
SaaS Content Marketing: Getting it Right in 2024
As you’re probably aware, producing content today is more than a case of “build it and they will come”. Getting the best results from your B2B SaaS content demands strategic planning alongside a structured calendar that aligns with your sales funnel.
Moreover, as the competition continues to increase while attention spans decrease, following some fundamental principles for SaaS SEO content will ensure your content stands out.
Keyword research will continue to be important, but do your keyword research with search intent in mind, rather than search volume. After all, you’re writing for humans, not search engines specifically, so content should focus on quality and user experience instead of word count and keyword stuffing.
Regular updates and tailoring your content to suit different platforms are crucial for staying relevant. It can be tempting to simply cross-post but you may not see the same results on a different platform by posting exactly the same content.
Lastly, put yourself in your customer’s shoes and really try to understand their pain points. Focus on how your product benefits the customer instead of just listing features. By implementing our advice, you’ll create content that resonates deeply with your audience and drives engagement.
In Summary
These content marketing stats paint a positive picture of the future of SaaS content marketing. The industry is continuing to grow, and while there’s pressure from generative AI in marketing, this can be harnessed to add value.
However, it’s clear there are still many marketers who are losing opportunities due to not tracking the right metrics or simply not developing a clear strategy. If you’re feeling the pressure to meet big marketing goals for 2024 and are not sure you’re heading in the right direction, we can help you.
Powered by Search can help you develop or re-accelerate your marketing strategy for 2024, so that you reach your goals. We offer a tailored content marketing service that will help you increase engagement and boost conversions, showing positive results within the first 90 days of the partnership.
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