The Content Marketing Institute (CMI) and the Direct Marketing Association UK (DMA) are pleased to present this premier study of content marketing in the UK. Whilst the primary focus of this report is on the UK, you’ll note some interesting comparisons with North America and Australia throughout.

1. Content Marketing in the UK:
2013 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends

2. OVERVIEW: THE STATE OF CONTENT MARKETING IN THE UK
Hello Marketers!
Welcome to Content Marketing in the UK: 2013 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends.
The Content Marketing Institute (CMI) and the Direct Marketing Association UK (DMA) are pleased to present this premier study of content
marketing in the UK. Whilst the primary focus of this report is on the UK, you’ll note some interesting comparisons with North America and
Australia throughout.
Here are some of the key findings the research has uncovered:
 94% of marketers in the UK have adopted content marketing.
 On average, UK marketers use 13 content marketing tactics, whilst their North American and Australian peers use 12. They also have
the highest adoption rate for the most popular tactics: “articles on your website,” “social media (other than blogs),” and “eNewsletters.”
 UK marketers are investing more in content marketing than their international peers: 64% plan to increase their content marketing
spend over the next 12 months. Even the UK marketers that rate their efforts as least effective plan to make significant investments in
content marketing.
As you delve into the research, you will see that UK B2B and B2C marketers deal with content differently. B2C marketers use a greater
number of tactics – particularly mobile – and outsource content creation more frequently. On the other hand, B2B marketers allocate more
budget to content marketing and tailor their content more frequently.
Overall, UK marketers rank themselves higher in terms of content marketing effectiveness than their North American and Australian peers
do – a sure sign of growing confidence.
On with the content marketing revolution!
Joe Pulizzi Chris Combemale
Founder Executive Director
Content Marketing Institute Direct Marketing Association UK
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3. OVERVIEW
94% of UK marketers use content marketing.
Percentage of UK Respondents
Using Content Marketing  97% of UK B2C marketers are using
content marketing, versus 95% of their
6%do not
B2B peers.
use content
marketing
 More UK B2C marketers (97%) use
content marketing compared with their
B2C peers in North America (86%) and
94%
use content
Australia (89%).
marketing  More UK B2B marketers (95%) use
content marketing compared with their
B2B peers in North America (91%);
however, fewer use it when compared
with their Australian B2B peers (98%).
Content Marketing in the UK: 2013 Trends –
Content Marketing Institute/Direct Marketing Association UK
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4. CONTENT MARKETING BY TACTIC
UK marketers use an average of
13 content marketing tactics.
Number of Tactics UK Marketers Use
 Overall, UK marketers use a greater
20+ Tactics 12% number of tactics than their North
16-19 Tactics 22% American and Australian peers – who
use an average of 12 tactics – do.
13-15 Tactics 16%
10-12 Tactics 16%
 UK B2C marketers use more tactics (14)
5-9 Tactics 26% than their B2B peers (12) do.
1-4 Tactics 6% Average: 13
0 10 20 30 40
Content Marketing in the UK: 2013 Trends –
Content Marketing Institute/Direct Marketing Association UK
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5. CONTENT MARKETING BY TACTIC
Content Marketing Usage in the UK
100
(by Tactic)
90% 90%  As with their peers in North America
85% 83% and Australia:
78%
80
74% 74%
m UK B2C content marketers use more
69% mobile apps, mobile content, and
print magazines/newsletters than
60
54% their B2B counterparts do;
52%
47% % %
45 45
m UK B2B marketers use more case
44%
41% 40%
studies, white papers, webinars/
40 webcasts, and research reports than
35%
33% 33%
31% 29%
25% their B2C counterparts do.
Social Media–Other than Blogs
Licensed/Syndicated Content
25%
Articles on Other Websites
22%21%
15%
Articles on Your Website
Branded Content Tools
20  UK and Australian B2C marketers use
Webinars/ Webcasts
Games/Gamification
Virtual Conferences
Research Reports
Digital Magazines
Print Newsletters
In-person Events
mobile apps and mobile content more
Print Magazines
Annual Reports
Mobile Content
White Papers
eNewsletters
Case Studies
Infographics
Mobile Apps
Microsites
Podcasts
often than their North American B2C
eBooks
Videos
Books
Blogs
0 peers do.
Content Marketing in the UK: 2013 Trends –
Content Marketing Institute/Direct Marketing Association UK
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6. TACTIC EFFECTIVENESS
Effectiveness Ratings of Tactics
Percentage of Respondents that Consider the Following Tactics Effective
United Kingdom North America Australia
Case Studies 68%
63%
67%
66%
Research Reports 56%
 Whilst UK marketers overall say case
59%
62%
eNewsletters 59%
In-person Events
62%
61%
67%
studies are most effective, North
Webinars/Webcasts 61%
76%
American (67%) and Australian
60%
47%
60%
marketers (76%) cite in-person events.
Mobile Apps 42%
51%
60%
Videos 60%
54%
59%
 UK B2B marketers rank case studies as
Mobile Content 44%
58%
58%
most effective (72%), whilst their B2C
White Papers
peers cite eNewsletters (71%).
56%
55%
57%
Digital Magazines 42%
46%
Social Media Content 54%
53%
(Other than Blogs) 44%
52%
Microsites 49%
57%
50%
Articles on Other Websites 49%
48%
50%
Articles on Your Website 54%
47%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Content Marketing in the UK: 2013 Trends –
Content Marketing Institute/Direct Marketing Association UK
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7. SOCIAL MEDIA & CONTENT MARKETING GROWTH TRENDS
Percentage of UK Marketers that
Use Various Social Media Platforms
to Distribute Content
Twitter 82%
LinkedIn 78%
Facebook 76%
 B2B and B2C content marketers in the
YouTube 57%
UK and Australia — along with B2C
33%
Google+
marketers in North America — use an
Pinterest 24% average of four social media platforms
17% SlideShare to distribute content, whereas B2B
13% Flickr
marketers in North America use five.
12% Vimeo
 UK B2B marketers use LinkedIn (87%)
7% Tumblr
the most, whereas their B2C peers use
6% Instagram Facebook (91%) the most. The same
4% Foursquare is true with B2B and B2C marketers in
4% StumbleUpon
North America and Australia.
2% Quora
2% Other
0 20 40 60 80 100
Content Marketing in the UK: 2013 Trends –
Content Marketing Institute/Direct Marketing Association UK
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8. ORGANIZATIONAL GOALS FOR CONTENT MARKETING
UK marketers cite brand awareness
as their top content marketing goal.
Organizational Goals for
Content Marketing in the UK
Brand Awareness 78%
 Both UK B2B and B2C marketers cite
Customer Acquisition 75%
brand awareness as their top goal.
Engagement 71%
Customer Retention/Loyalty 69%  In general, UK marketers have similar
Lead Generation 63% goals to North American and Australian
Website Traffic 63% marketers.
Thought Leadership 54%
Sales 38%
Lead Management/Nurturing 34%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Content Marketing in the UK: 2013 Trends –
Content Marketing Institute/Direct Marketing Association UK
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9. MEASUREMENT CRITERIA FOR CONTENT MARKETING SUCCESS
UK marketers most often use website traffic
to measure content marketing success.
Measurement Criteria for
Content Marketing Success in the UK
Website Traffic 62%
Social Media Sharing 48%  B2B and B2C content marketers —
Sales Lead Quality 47% no matter whether they’re from the
SEO Ranking 45% UK, North America, or Australia —
Qualitative Feedback from Customers 42%
Direct Sales 42%
consistently rank website traffic as
Time Spent on Website 40% their top measurement criterion.
Sales Lead Quantity 40%
Increased Customer Loyalty 30%
 Increased customer loyalty is more
Inbound Links 29%
Readership/Subscribers 29% important to UK and North American
Cross-selling 20% B2C marketers than it is to their B2B
Benchmark Lift of Company Awareness 20%
peers; the opposite is true in Australia.
Benchmark Lift of Product/Service Awareness 17%
Affiliate Sales9%
Cost Savings 5%
Other 5%
None 3%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Content Marketing in the UK: 2013 Trends –
Content Marketing Institute/Direct Marketing Association UK
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10. BUDGET
Overall, 64% of UK marketers plan to increase their
content marketing budget over the next 12 months.
Content Marketing Spending
in the UK (Over Next 12 Months)
Decrease  64% of UK marketers plan to increase
3% Unsure their content marketing spend; more
7% B2B marketers (72%) say they will
increase spend versus their B2C peers
(45%).
Remain the Increase
Same 49%  Overall, UK marketers expect to
24% increase their spending more than their
North American (54%) and Australian
Significantly
Increase (61%) peers do.
15%
Content Marketing in the UK: 2013 Trends –
Content Marketing Institute/Direct Marketing Association UK
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11. BUDGET
On average, 27% of marketing budgets in the UK
are allocated to content marketing.
Total Marketing Budget Spent
on Content Marketing in the UK
 Just as in North America and Australia,
Micro (Fewer than 10 Employees) 39% UK B2B marketers allocate a higher
percentage of budget to content
Small (10-99 Employees) 33% marketing (29%) than their B2C
Midsize (100-999 Employees) 18% counterparts (24%) do.
Large (1000+ Employees) 20%  Overall, UK (27%) and North American
(31%) companies allocate a higher
Overall 27% percentage of budget to content
marketing than Australian (25%)
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 companies do.
Content Marketing in the UK: 2013 Trends –
Content Marketing Institute/Direct Marketing Association UK
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12. INSOURCING VS. OUTSOURCING OF CONTENT CREATION
On average, 55% of UK companies outsource
content creation.
Insourcing vs. Outsourcing
of Content Creation in the UK
 UK B2C marketers (82%) outsource
In-House Only 45% content creation more often than their
Outsourced Only 4%
B2B peers (43%) do.
Both 51%  Overall, UK marketers (55%) outsource
content more often than their North
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 American (45%) peers do, but not
Content Marketing in the UK: 2013 Trends –
Content Marketing Institute/Direct Marketing Association UK
as often as their Australian (57%)
peers do.
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13. INSOURCING VS. OUTSOURCING OF CONTENT CREATION
Midsize companies in the UK are most likely
to outsource content creation.
Percentage of Companies that
Outsource Content Creation in the UK
(by Size)
 Just as in North America and Australia,
Micro (Fewer than 10 Employees) 26%
larger companies (100+ employees)
Small (10-99 Employees) 35% in the UK are more likely to outsource
content creation than smaller
Midsize (100-999 Employees) 79%
companies are.
Large (1000+ Employees) 75%
Average 55%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Content Marketing in the UK: 2013 Trends –
Content Marketing Institute/Direct Marketing Association UK
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14. SEGMENTATION
Most UK marketers tailor their content.
How UK Organizations
Tailor Content
Profile of Individual Decision Makers 56%  96% of UK B2B marketers tailor their
content in at least one way – this is
Industry Trends 55% more often than their North American
(91%) and Australian (88%) B2B
Company Characteristics 54%
peers do.
Stage in the Buying Cycle 41%
 88% of UK B2C marketers tailor their
Personalized Content Preferences 31% content in at least one way – this is
Competitor’s Content 17% more often than their North American
(85%) B2C peers do, but not as often as
None 6% their Australian (97%) B2C peers do.
Other 5%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Content Marketing in the UK: 2013 Trends –
Content Marketing Institute/Direct Marketing Association UK
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15. CONTENT MARKETING CHALLENGES
Producing enough content is the top challenge
cited by UK content marketers.
Challenges that UK  UK B2B marketers cite producing
enough content as a challenge (65%)
Content Marketers Face more often than their B2C peers
Producing Enough Content 57% (55%) do.
Producing the Kind of Content that Engages 49%
 Whilst B2C marketers are less
Producing a Variety of Content 39%
challenged than their B2B peers are
Inability to Measure Content Effectiveness 38%
with producing enough content, they
Lack of Integration Across Marketing 35% are more challenged in every other
Lack of Budget 33% area shown here.
Lack of Knowledge, Training, and Resources 30%
 Producing the kind of content that
Lack of Buy-in/Vision 21%
engages and producing enough
Finding Trained Content Marketing Professionals 12% content are universal challenges for
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 UK, North American, and Australian
Content Marketing in the UK: 2013 Trends –
marketers alike.
Content Marketing Institute/Direct Marketing Association UK
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16. CONTENT MARKETING CHALLENGES
Biggest Content Marketing
Challenge for UK Companies
Producing Enough Content 21%  UK B2B marketers cite producing
enough content as their biggest
Producing the Kind of Content that Engages 19% challenge, whereas their B2C peers cite
Lack of Budget 16% producing the kind of content
that engages.
Lack of Buy-in/Vision 7%
Lack of Integration Across Marketing 7%  Australian marketers are more
challenged by lack of buy-in/vision
Inability to Measure Content Effectiveness 6% (13%) than their UK (7%) and North
Producing a Variety of Content 5% American (8%) peers are; otherwise,
the challenges among the three are
Lack of Knowledge, Training, and Resources 4% fairly similar.
Finding Trained Content Marketing Professionals 3%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Content Marketing in the UK: 2013 Trends –
Content Marketing Institute/Direct Marketing Association UK
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17. OVERALL EFFECTIVENESS
39% of UK marketers believe they are effective
at content marketing.
How UK Marketers Rate the
Effectiveness of Their Organization’s
Use of Content Marketing
 More UK B2B marketers (41%) than
5 Very Effective 7% B2C marketers (33%) believe they are
“effective” or “very effective” at content
4 32%
marketing (defined as an answer of 4 or
3 45% 5 on a scale of 1 to 5).
2 11%  UK marketers rank themselves highest
1 in terms of effectiveness (39%) when
Not At All Effective 3%
compared with their North American
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 (37%) and Australian (29%) peers.
Content Marketing in the UK: 2013 Trends –
Content Marketing Institute/Direct Marketing Association UK
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18. OVERALL EFFECTIVENESS
Profile of a best-in-class UK content marketer.
Comparison of Most Effective UK Content Marketers
with Least Effective UK Content Marketers
Most Effective Overall/Average Least Effective
Percentage of marketing budget
allocated to content marketing 41% 27% 18%
Average number of tactics used 14 13 9
Average number of social platforms used 5 4 3
Plan to increase content marketing
spend in the next year 72% 64% 71%
Tailor content to profile of
decision maker 63% 56% 57%
Challenged with producing
engaging content 35% 49% 72%
Challenged with producing
enough content 49% 57% 66%
Content Marketing in the UK: 2013 Trends –
Content Marketing Institute/Direct Marketing Association UK
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19. OVERALL EFFECTIVENESS
Profile of a best-in-class UK content marketer.
Just as in North America and Australia, best-in-class UK content marketers,
when compared with their peers:
 Allocate a greater share of their marketing budgets to content marketing
 Use more content marketing tactics
 Use more social media platforms to distribute content
 Tailor content more often to specific personas/decision makers
 Are slightly more challenged with producing enough content, but far less
challenged with producing engaging content
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20. DEMOGRAPHICS
Content Marketing in the UK: 2013 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends was produced by Content
Marketing Institute (CMI) and the Direct Marketing Association UK (DMA). The survey was mailed
electronically to a sample of marketers from among members, subscribers, and partner lists
of CMI and DMA. Special thanks to MarketingProfs for their participation in the North American
comparisons used in this report and to the Press Association for additional survey distribution in
the UK.
A total of 190 participants responded from UK companies (including 128 B2B companies and 34 B2C
companies) during the time period of August 2012 through January 2013, representing a range of
industries, functional areas, and company sizes.
Industry Classification, UK Size of Company, UK Job Title/Function, UK
(by Employees) Other
Consultant
5%
General
4%
Micro Management
Advertising/
(Fewer than
10 Employees)
5%
Other
27%
Marketing
31%
Large
(1000+ Employees)
16% Content
Creation/Management
29% Marketing
6%
Administration/Support
Small 6% Marketing/Advertising/
4% (10-99 Employees) Sales/Business
Communications/PR
Consulting
4%
Publishing/
Media Midsize
(100-999 34% Management
7%
45%
Business
Services 4% 9% Employees) Corporate
5% 6% 21% Management/Owner
Nonprofit/
Fundraising 5% 5% 22%
Retail Trade Internet/Online
Distribution Software Services
Banking/Accounting/
Financial
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21. About the Content Marketing Institute:
The Content Marketing Institute (CMI) is the leading global content marketing education and training organization.
CMI teaches enterprise brands how to attract and retain customers through compelling, multi-channel storytelling.
CMI’s Content Marketing World event is the largest content marketing-focused event. CMI also produces the
quarterly magazine Chief Content Officer, and provides strategic consulting and content marketing research for some
of the best-known brands in the world. Get more content marketing resources at ContentMarketingInstitute.com.
CMI is a division of Z Squared Media, a 2012 Inc. 500 company. View all content marketing research from CMI.
About the Direct Marketing Association UK:
The Direct Marketing Association UK (DMA) is Europe’s largest professional body representing the direct marketing
industry. We have a large in-house team of specialists offering everything from free legal advice and government
lobbying on direct marketing issues to research papers and best practice.
As well as being at the forefront of developments in digital and direct marketing, we continue to lead the way
in traditional direct channels. That’s why the DMA is such a great platform for sharing expertise and why DMA
membership is synonymous with better business.
Survey Distribution Partner
About the Press Association:
The Press Association is the UK’s leading provider of multi-platform content, serving newspapers, broadcasters,
online publishers, businesses, and public-sector organisations. Our Content For Marketing service uses the
knowledge and experience of 145 years of content creation to deliver trusted, bespoke solutions to some of
the biggest B2C and B2B brands worldwide. Our specialist journalists, digital producers, photographers, and
video teams create unique, quality news feeds, social campaigns, long-form articles, widgets, apps, blogs, video
packages, and award-winning infographics.
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