UK Content Marketers Need to Get Back to Basics

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CLEVELAND, Dec. 9, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- UK marketers are using more content marketing tactics, but they may be doing too much. That's just one of the findings in the new content marketing research released today, Content Marketing in the UK 2016: Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends  by Content Marketing Institute (CMI). The report is sponsored by Lionbridge.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151208/294200

Among the findings, UK content marketers are using more tactics in general (13 this year compared to 12 last year) - and they are using those tactics more each year. They are using top social media platforms, like Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube, more. Eighty-eight percent say they will produce more content in 2016 than they did in 2015.  However, their effectiveness has dipped substantially from last year: 34% said their organizations are effective at content marketing this year compared to 42% last year. Fewer than 40% have a documented content marketing strategy or editorial mission statement.

"Even though many UK content marketers are seeing great results, others could benefit by taking a 'back to basics' approach," says Joe Pulizzi, founder, Content Marketing Institute and author, Content Inc.  "One reason their effectiveness may have decreased could be the lack of a roadmap. By doing some foundational work and making a few course adjustments, like documenting their content marketing strategy and creating an editorial mission, many firms should find themselves taking their content to the next level in 2016. Of course, results take time, so patience is important."

UK marketers say the biggest priority for their content creators over the next 12 months will be creating more engaging content.   However, the most effective UK marketers may be on to something: They say their biggest priority is developing a better understanding of what content is effective - and what isn't.

"It's key to understand what content is effective and what isn't so you can create content that is more engaging. Figuring out what's working is exactly what you should do, especially when you're feeling less effective," says Pulizzi.  "Not only do you want to determine what is working so you can 'double down' on that, but you also want to assess your efforts to decide what not to do. Stopping less effective activities is truly essential if you want to have time to focus on what works."

You can download the full report.
For graphics/charts, pictures, quotes and more, you can grab them from Dropbox.
To view all CMI research visit contentmarketinginstitute.com/research.

About Content Marketing Institute

Content Marketing Institute is the leading global content marketing education and training organization, teaching enterprise brands how to attract and retain customers through compelling, multi-channel storytelling. CMI's Content Marketing World event, the largest content marketing-focused event, is held every September in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, and the Intelligent Content Conference event is held every spring. CMI publishes the bi-monthly magazine Chief Content Officer, and provides strategic consulting and content marketing research for some of the best-known brands in the world. CMI is a 2012-2015 Inc. 500/5000 company. Watch this video to learn more about CMI.

SOURCE Content Marketing Institute