19 Content Marketing Statistics Every SMB Should Know in 2025

Content marketing has transformed from a supplementary tactic to a core business strategy for companies of all sizes. Small to mid-sized businesses (SMB) are navigating a digital landscape where the right content approach can level the playing field with larger competitors.

The data tells a clear story: content marketing continues to thrive at the heart of modern marketing strategies. Digital platforms have democratized these capabilities, creating genuine opportunities for smaller businesses to build audience connections, establish trust, and drive growth—often more efficiently than traditional marketing methods.

In this analysis, we’ve gathered the most relevant statistics showing where content marketing stands today and how you can leverage it effectively. These insights span budget considerations, return on investment (ROI) measurements, and the highest-performing content formats across industries.

Use these findings to benchmark your current efforts and inform strategic adjustments in an increasingly content-driven marketplace. Whether you’re launching your content journey or refining existing strategies, these statistics provide valuable context for making informed decisions.

The Content Imperative: Adoption Trends and Strategic Investments

Despite economic fluctuations, businesses aren’t just maintaining their content marketing efforts—they’re expanding them. While most companies have embraced content marketing in some capacity, a significant divide exists between casual practitioners and strategic implementers. The difference in results is telling.

The following statistics reveal not only how pervasive content marketing has become across industries, but also how leading businesses are structuring their approaches, allocating resources, and building frameworks that deliver measurable outcomes. For SMBs, understanding this landscape offers both validation for content marketing and a roadmap for its strategic development.

1. Global content marketing industry will grow by 33% by 2026.
   Content has become a cornerstone for reaching and engaging audiences across industries and is projected to grow as an industry from about $72 billion in 2023 to over $107 billion by 2026.
   Source: Statista, “Content marketing revenue worldwide from 2018 to 2026.”

    

2. Only 47% of B2B marketers have a documented content marketing strategy.
   Of those, 58% rate their strategy as “moderately effective,” 29% say it’s extremely or very effective, 12% say is not very effective, and 1% say it’s not effective at all.  Among those who rate it as moderately effective or worse, 42% cite a lack of clear goals as the reason, 39% say it’s not tied to the customer journey, and 35% say it’s not data-driven. The takeaway? Have a content marketing strategy tied to business goals and your customer journey, supported by data.
   Source: Content Marketing Institute, “B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends: Outlook for 2025.”

    

3. 41% of marketers say insufficient budget limits measuring content marketing results.
   Other factors include organizational data silos (37%), limited access to advanced data analytics tools (33%), and inability to extract insights from data/analytics (29%). That said, 46% believe their content marketing budget will increase in 2025.
   Source: Content Marketing Institute, “B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends: Outlook for 2025.”

4. 24% of B2B marketers say they don’t have dedicated content marketing teams or staff.
   When examining content team structures, 50% of organizations use multiple departmental teams, 7% employ external agencies, and a concerning 43% fall into an undefined “other” category which can include “two people with multiple responsibilities” to “whoever is available.” This reveals a troubling reality: content creation without strategic direction as many companies lack dedicated content leadership. Predictably, the content is reactive, uncoordinated, and rarely delivers meaningful or consistent results. Invest in strategic oversight to ensure content quality advances business objectives and generates sustainable returns.
   Source: Content Marketing Institute, “B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends: Outlook for 2025.”

    

5. 83% of marketers say content marketing is the most effective method for demand generation.
   Across all parts of the buying journey, content marketing is the most effective marketing strategy, followed by organic search engine optimization (SEO) (67%), paid advertising (53%), and paid search (45%). Marketing teams increasingly recognize content as a critical asset for driving brand awareness, demand, and customer engagement, especially as traditional advertising budgets tighten.
   
   Source: Content Marketing Institute, “The Struggle to Generate Demand from Buyers 2023.”

    

6. 74% of marketers say content marketing helps demand generation.
   62% say content marketing nurtures subscribers, audience members, and leads. 52% say it helps build loyalty with existing clients and customers. 37% say it helps grow a subscribed audience. And 9% say it reduces customer support costs. When done well, content marketing both attracts and retains customers.
   Source: Content Marketing Institute, “B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends: Outlook for 2025.”

    

Winning the Content Game: Facts and Formats That Drive Results

Are your content choices actually connecting with today’s audiences, or are you investing in formats that no longer deliver? The landscape is shifting rapidly, with data revealing clear winners and surprising upsets in what truly engages customers. From the unstoppable rise of video to AI’s transformation of content creation efficiency, these insights expose which formats are worth your limited time and resources—and which might be silently draining your marketing budget with minimal returns.

7. 83% of marketers believe it’s more effective to publish higher-quality content less frequently.
   Instead of pumping out a plethora of lower quality pieces, the focus has shifted to creating content that truly engages, even if it means posting less often.
   Source: Hubspot, “State of Inbound Marketing Trends 2022.”

    

8. 85% of marketers use AI tools for content creation.
   Businesses are rapidly adopting artificial intelligence tools. Nearly all marketers surveyed reported using AI tools – specifically AI writing tools or content creation tools. However, most still use AI for support rather than full automation; for instance, many use it for brainstorming or outlines, then rely on human editing for polish.
   Source: CoSchedule, “The State of AI In Marketing 2025.”

    

9. 1,400 words is the length of an average blog post today.
   The average blog post takes three hours and forty eight minutes to write. And the bloggers who spend 6+ hours on each article are much more likely to be in that high-performing group. More time is being invested per article to produce in-depth content that resonates with audiences.
   Source: Orbit Media, “2024 Blogging Statistics: 11 years of Trends and Insights from 1000+ Bloggers.”

    

10. 89% of businesses use video as a marketing tool.
    Visual content is surging, as short-form videos have become the top media format in many content strategies, aligning with consumer demand for quick, engaging content.
    Source: Wyzowl, “Video Marketing Statistics 2025.”

     

11. 61% of marketers think the investment in videos will increase in 2025.
    Other areas for investment include thought leadership content (52%), AI for content optimization/performance (40%), paid advertising (40%), and AI for content creation (39%). After that, increasing content marketing investments include in-person events (35%), webinars (32%), building an online community (27%), digital events (21%), and audio content (20%).
    Source: Content Marketing Institute, “B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends: Outlook for 2025.”

     

12. 25% of marketers are exploring creating content that reflects their brand’s values.
    It can be challenging for marketers to get leadership buy-in for brand-led campaigns, but in 2025, it’s a key priority. When asked about the biggest changes to the marketing industry in the past year, the top two responses were related to mapping content to brand experiences and brand-led content, even more than using data or leveraging AI. 13% of marketers plan to invest in brand awareness for the first time in 2025.
    Source: Hubspot, “The State of Marketing 2025.”

     

13. 83% of marketers reported increased productivity since adopting AI.
    For businesses navigating today’s competitive landscape, embracing AI can transform your time management capabilities in remarkable ways. While implementation journeys vary across organizations, the efficiency gains are consistently impressive, often exceeding expectations. Investing in AI technologies not only delivers immediate time savings for your team but also positions your company for sustained operational excellence, creating a strategic advantage that becomes increasingly valuable as market pressures intensify and competitors struggle to keep pace.
    Source: CoSchedule, “The State of AI In Marketing 2025.”

14. 70% of total marketing budget will be spent on offline channels to better engage customers by 2028.
    Mass digital detoxing means customers will actively reduce their screen time, favoring experiences that balance digital with physical. These new content consumption patterns will require marketers to develop more adaptable marketing strategies and rethink investments to reach customers through omnichannel marketing versus digital- experiences.
    Source: Gartner, “Gartner Marketing Predictions 2025.”

     

Content Marketing: Turning Words into Revenue

Beyond engaging storytelling, clever headlines, and catchy social posts lies the real power of content marketing—a proven engine for driving actual business growth. While competitors struggle to connect their content efforts to bottom-line results, the data reveals that strategically crafted content delivers measurable returns that CEOs and CFOs can’t ignore.

The businesses seeing the highest ROI aren’t just creating more content—they’re meticulously tracking specific metrics that reveal exactly which pieces drive conversions, shorten sales cycles, and generate qualified leads that become paying customers. Discover how to implement their precision-focused approach and transform your content from a cost center into a profit-generating asset that justifies every dollar invested.

15. 56% of content marketers cite attributing ROI to content efforts as a top challenge.
    Improved analytics and alignment between marketing and sales are needed to better demonstrate content marketing ROI at touchpoints along the customer journey​.
    Source: Content Marketing Institute, “57+ Content Marketing Statistics To Help You Succeed in 2025.”

     

16. 82% of top marketers attribute success to understanding their audience well.
    With that knowledge, other factors for success include producing high-quality content (77%), demonstrating industry expertise (70%), and working with high-performing colleagues.
    Source: Content Marketing Institute, “B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends: Outlook for 2025.”

     

17. 68% of businesses report an increased ROI in content marketing and SEO as a result of AI.
    From faster content production to improved targeting and personalization, AI can make content marketing more efficient and effective, boosting the overall payoff.
    Source: SemRush, “Think Big with AI 2024.”

     

18. 50% of bloggers who publish 2-6 times weekly report strong results.
    Monthly blogging is more popular, likely because of the time and talent investment, but the data suggests bi-weekly is the minimum for content performance.
    Source: Orbit Media, “2024 Blogging Statistics: 11 years of Trends and Insights from 1000+ Bloggers.”

19. 97% of businesses say they have generated positive results from content marketing.
    The top three tactics for achieving content marketing success are publishing more often, researching the audience, and SEO.
    Source: SEMRush, “Semrush Reveals Content Marketing’s Six Biggest Trends for 2023.”

     

Beyond Content: Your Roadmap to Measurable Business Growth

The data is clear—content marketing isn’t just surviving; it’s separating winners from the also-rans in today’s digital battlefield. While most businesses create content, only a strategic few are transforming it into a genuine competitive advantage that drives revenue and builds lasting customer relationships.

What truly distinguishes high-performing organizations? They’ve moved beyond simply publishing content to implementing precise strategies that connect directly to business outcomes. They don’t just track vanity metrics—they obsessively monitor how specific content pieces influence buying decisions, conversion rates, and customer loyalty.

Your opportunity lies in the gaps exposed by these findings. While competitors struggle with inconsistent execution and fuzzy attribution, you can establish clear connections between content investments and bottom-line results. Start by documenting your strategy with measurable key performance indicators (KPIs), then rigorously test new formats like short-form video while leveraging AI tools to scale production while maintaining quality.