Friday 30 August 2024

100+ Content Marketing Trends for 2024 — What’s Hot and What’s Not

Do you find yourself reading and watching content about your next potential purchase before actually buying it? This is just one of the many ways content marketing has shaped our daily lives.

From social media and podcasts to SEO and video marketing, content marketing is a quickly changing landscape. Even after years of being in the game, there’s always something new for us to learn, and at times, this can feel overwhelming.

But at the end of the day, our goal is to stay ahead of the curve so that our content is easy to find and useful for our audience.

If you’re wondering how to do the same, we’ve compiled the latest content marketing trends, stats, and facts to help you navigate this dynamic field. We will not only share the data but also show you how to take these insights and apply them to your own content strategy.

Content Marketing Trends - What's Hot and What's Not

Top Content Marketing Trends and Stats to Watch

We’ve broken down the most important trends and statistics into easy-to-navigate sections. Just use the links below to jump to the topics that matter most to your content marketing strategy:

Content marketing is changing fast. Let’s look at what’s new and important to stay updated about the industry.

1. About 47% of buyers look at 3 to 5 pieces of content before talking to a salesperson.

About 47% of buyers look at 3 to 5 pieces of content before talking to a salesperson.

In other words, your possible customers are looking for information before they buy. By sharing helpful content, you can get their attention and make them trust you. This is why companies are spending more money on content marketing.

Content can be many things like WordPress blog posts, videos, social media posts, emails, or even fun quizzes. If you find content creation intimidating and expensive, well, it doesn’t have to be.

When our founder, Syed Balkhi, started WPBeginner, he simply focused on what he knew best: sharing knowledge with fellow WordPress users and small business owners. A simple blog was all it took to get started. Over time, this grew into the largest free WordPress resource site.

Maybe you’re great at explaining things in writing – then a blog could be perfect for you. Or, if you enjoy talking to people, you might want to try making videos or starting a podcast.

The key is to start small and focus on sharing what you know best.

2. 47% of marketers say that knowing your audience is the most important part of successful content marketing.

You don’t want to be making content that no one wants in the first place. That’s why audience research is a step you cannot skip.

There are many ways to do this. Talk to your potential customers, ask them questions, and listen to their struggles. You can also look at comments on your social media posts or blog or even send out surveys.

If you already have a website, then a tool like MonsterInsights can help with this.

You can connect your WordPress site with Google Analytics and track your customer journey and user engagement to see which pages are most popular, how long people stay on your site, and what content they interact with most.

This information helps you make content that your customers will like and find useful at every step of their buying journey.

The MonsterInsights realtime reports

You can learn more about the platform in our MonsterInsights review.

3. The top 3 content challenges for marketers are attracting quality leads (45%), creating content faster (38%), and coming up with content ideas (35%).

The top 3 content challenges for marketers are attracting quality leads (45%), creating content faster (38%), and coming up with content ideas (35%).

Thankfully, there are a lot of tools you can invest in to overcome these issues.

To attract quality leads, OptinMonster is your best option. It’s a tool for running marketing campaigns that can help you turn visitors into leads.

OptinMonster has smart features that show your popups at the right time, in the right place, and to the right people. This can help you get more leads from your content.

Exit intent example

For faster content creation and generating ideas, many people are also turning to artificial intelligence (AI).

You can use platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, or ContentShake AI to help you write content and come up with new ideas quickly.

ContentShake AI's post creator

To speed up your content creation even more, consider using SEOBoost.

It’s a tool that helps you write SEO-friendly content all in one place. You can use it to optimize your existing content based on data-based suggestions and see what your competitors are doing on SERPs. This way, you’re not just guessing what content to create.

SEOBoost content optimization

4. The top three content performance tracking metrics are website traffic (83%), email engagement (81%), and website engagement (81%).

What’s interesting is that metrics focusing on quality and cost are lower on the list. For example, lead quality (44%) and the cost to acquire a lead, subscriber, and/or customer (37%) are near the bottom.

This might suggest that not many businesses are tracking their return on investment (ROI) closely. This gap offers a chance to outperform your competitors.

Focusing on lead quality and acquisition costs can help you identify which content truly drives value and attracts your ideal customers. 

If you want to learn more about how to set this up, check out our beginner’s guide to WordPress conversion tracking.

How to set up eCommerce tracking on a WooCommerce store

More General Content Marketing Statistics

  • 90% of organizations have a content marketing strategy.
  • The number one goal of content marketing is to raise brand awareness.
  • 54% of companies measure their content marketing ROI.
  • 51% of content consumption comes from organic search.
  • 60% of organizations are focusing on owned media for their content marketing like blogs, newsletters, and websites.
  • 57.2% of businesses report their content marketing strategy as mildly or very successful.
  • The content marketing industry is expected to be worth $600 billion by the end of 2024.

Here are some of the latest marketing statistics that are changing how businesses create and share content.

5. 58% of US marketers said generative AI has boosted their content creation performance.

If you’re not using AI already, you’re missing out. In fact, the tools you use may already be using AI, but you’re just not taking advantage of it.

For example, SeedProd, a popular drag-and-drop page builder, now includes AI-powered image generation and content creation tools. These features can help you quickly create landing pages without starting from scratch.

Editing the product description in SeedProd with AI

According to HubSpot, marketers are using AI for various content types: 57% for newsletters and emails, 46% for text-based social media posts, 46% for video-based social media content, and 38% for long-form blog articles. 

If you want to learn more, check out our article on how to use AI to boost your marketing.

6. 63% of AI users say inaccuracies in AI content are a big challenge.

AI is a helper, not a replacement for human creativity and expertise. That’s why fact-checking your content and making it sound more like your personal voice is important, especially when so much online content is AI-generated.

Your own voice is also essential for establishing E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness), which Google uses to judge content quality.

For more information on how to use AI effectively without hurting your SEO, check out whether AI content is bad for SEO. It answers this question and shares tips on how to make AI-generated content more human-friendly.

7. Only 13% of marketers plan to decrease their investment in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) in 2024, while 84% plan to invest the same amount or more.

A great example of AR in action is the IKEA App.

It uses AR to let customers see how furniture would look in their homes before buying. This kind of interactive content creates a unique and engaging content experience for users.

The IKEA app

Our overall recommendation is to only invest in VR and AR if it truly benefits your business and customers. While it’s an exciting content marketing trend, it’s not necessary for every company. Consider your audience, products, and goals before jumping in.

8. The average Google voice search result has 1,199 Facebook shares and 44 Tweets.

The average Google voice search result has 1,199 Facebook shares and 44 Tweets.

As we mentioned in our Google search statistics article, voice search is becoming more popular. And this trend highlights a key strategy for getting your content to rank well in these voice results.

Successful content marketing isn’t just about SEO anymore. You also need to focus on making your content shareable on social media platforms. This social proof seems to play a significant role in how Google ranks content for voice search.

To make it easier for your readers to share your content, you might want to add social share buttons to your WordPress site. We have a detailed guide on how to add social share buttons in WordPress that can help you set this up.

How to add social sharing buttons to WordPress

But don’t just rely on your readers to share your content. You can also promote it yourself and repurpose it across different platforms.

Oftentimes, users will skip clicking a link if it doesn’t catch their eye. By repurposing content, you can present your ideas in different formats that appeal to various preferences.

More Facts About Tech in Content Marketing

  • 75.7% of marketers now use AI tools for work.
  • 85.1% of marketers use AI for writing articles.
  • 46% use AI for writing copy, and 41% use it for outlining.
  • The top 3 uses of AI are brainstorming new topics (51%), researching headlines and keywords (45%), and writing drafts (45%).
  • 40% of content marketers use AI to help create overall strategies, like making personas.
  • Only 30.1% of marketers think AI will hurt search traffic in 5 years.
  • 43.8% of businesses using AI report above-average success, compared to 48.6% of those not using AI.
  • Only 12% of marketers include voice search in their content marketing strategy.

Social Media: The Heart of Content Marketing

Whether you hate it or love it, social media is a big part of content marketing. Check out these social media trends and stats that can help your business.

9. 71% of Gen Z-ers and 51% of Millennials like to find new products on social media.

71% of Gen Z-ers and 51% of Millennials like to find new products on social media.

These two demographics have a lot of purchasing power, so it’s important to reach them where they’re most active online.

However, does that mean you need to be on every social media platform? Not exactly. Just focus on the ones where your customers spend the most time.

For example, if you sell clothes, then Instagram might be great for you.

On the other hand, TikTok has become an Amazon-style social media marketplace where you can sell almost anything that catches people’s attention. Its shop feature allows users to buy products directly through the app, making it a powerful platform for businesses targeting younger audiences.

TikTok Shop landing page

10. 52% of people say funny content from brands is the most relatable on social media, followed by actual relatable content (38%).

Instead of constantly promoting your products, focus on creating content that resonates with your followers.

Take ClickUp and Duolingo as great examples. On TikTok and Instagram Reels, they share entertaining videos that people love watching.

Duolingo's Instagram post

Don’t worry – sharing funny or relatable content won’t harm your brand image if done thoughtfully. In fact, it can make your brand more likable and memorable.

The key is to ensure your content aligns with your brand values and meets your audience’s expectations.

11. 50% of Millennials and 38% of Gen X-ers say they have opened TikTok in the last three months.

Unlike popular belief, TikTok isn’t just for young folks. It’s now getting popular with older groups, too.

Because of this, even companies you wouldn’t expect now have a TikTok presence and are doing pretty well.

For example, the Nordic branch of Bain & Company, a consulting firm, has 11.4k followers and 83.6k likes on TikTok. This shows that any business can find success on the platform if they try.

The TikTok page of the Nordic branch of Bain and Company

They use it to build their brand by showing the people behind the company and sometimes find potential hires. They also don’t try to do every TikTok trend. Instead, they only join in when it makes sense, like main ‘point of view’ videos or year-end summaries.

12. 1 in 5 consumers see themselves as content creators.

In other words, anyone with a smartphone and social media account can be an influencer and affect others’ opinions about your brand.

If you want to encourage customers to promote your products or services, then starting an affiliate or referral program is an excellent option. It’s a win-win situation: you get more exposure, and your customers get rewarded for their loyalty.

Girlfriend Collective's referral program

That being said, it’s important to remember that this trend works both ways. Just as easily as someone can promote your brand, they can also share negative experiences. So, make sure you focus on developing a good product and providing excellent customer service.

More Social Media Content Marketing Facts

  • Social media is the top channel used for content marketing distribution.
  • 52% of businesses spend most of their content marketing budget on social media and community-building.
  • Facebook is the most used social media platform by marketers (57%), followed by Instagram (55%), YouTube (52%), TikTok (42%), and X (39%).
  • 82% of marketers reuse material across social media platforms.
  • 27% of social media users have been active in an online community in the past three months.
  • 24% of marketers say TikTok gives the highest ROI compared to other social media channels.
  • 52% of US TikTok users find the ads on the platform fun and engaging.
  • Millennials and Gen X-ers prefer to find new products on social media through ads, while Gen Z prefers short-form videos.
  • More than 20% of social media users bought a product based on an influencer’s recommendation in the past three months.
  • For Gen Z, influencer recommendations (9%) are more important than friends and family recommendations (7%) when making purchases.
  • LinkedIn is used by 96% of B2B content marketers.
  • 84% of marketers say LinkedIn performs best, followed by Facebook (29%) and YouTube (22%).

Video Marketing: The Hottest Content Marketing Format

Can you imagine a world without video content?

Since the birth of YouTube, videos have helped billions of users learn new skills, find entertainment, and connect with brands in ways they never could before.

Here are some trends and statistics that show why video marketing is so powerful.

13. 43% of marketers say short-form videos are the best-performing video format.

43% of marketers say short-form videos are the best-performing video format.

The popularity of short-form videos isn’t surprising, given the rise of platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts.

The best part? These formats are accessible to everyone with a smartphone, making it easy for businesses of all sizes to create video content.

However, creating effective short-form videos does require some skill. A great ‘hook’ – an attention-grabbing opening that makes viewers want to keep watching – is a must. You also need to be able to shorten your message to just 15 to 60 seconds, depending on the platform.

14. 87% of marketers say adding a video to their sites has decreased their bounce rate.

Videos are great at explaining complex ideas quickly in an entertaining way, which may be why they’re so effective.

But before you start making and adding videos to every single page on your website, here’s a tip: don’t upload videos directly to your website. This can slow down your WordPress site, which can then lead to an even higher bounce rate.

Instead, use platforms like YouTube and then embed the videos using a tool like Smash Balloon. This approach can help your site load faster and provide a better user experience.

15. Articles with at least one video get 70% more organic traffic, but only 8% of blog posts actually include videos.

Articles with at least one video get 70% more organic traffic, but only 8% of blog posts actually include videos.

The benefits of adding video go beyond just improving website traffic. Many people are visual learners, so including videos in your content can improve your overall user experience. Videos can demonstrate processes step-by-step and engage viewers in ways that text alone can’t.

At WPBeginner, we use this approach in our content strategy. We create video tutorials to complement our written content, but we’re selective about which articles get a video.

WPBeginner video membership call to action

We prioritize tutorials that will actually benefit our subscribers if the content is explained more visually. This way, we don’t exhaust our resources by creating videos for every article. Plus, we ensure that the videos we make are truly valuable to our audience.

16. Viewers care 1.6 times more about content that relates to their passions than about high production quality.

You could spend a lot of money making a really fancy video, but if it doesn’t connect with what your viewers care about, it might not do well. But a simpler video that really speaks to your viewers’ interests could become much more popular.

This doesn’t mean you should ignore quality completely. Your videos still need to look and sound clear. But it does mean that you don’t need a huge budget to make videos that work well.

More Stats About Video Content Marketing

  • Video is the top content type used for marketing worldwide.
  • 45% of marketers say video is the best-performing content marketing format.
  • Marketers say video helps customers understand their products better (97%) and that they see an increase in brand awareness through video marketing (95%).
  • 87% of marketers link sales growth to video content.
  • 65% of brands create 1-4 marketing videos a month, focusing more on quality than quantity.
  • Half of millennials and Gen Z say they ‘don’t know how they’d get through life’ without video content.
  • 56% of US consumers bought something based on a TikTok ad, and 36% said they were willing to.
  • 53% of marketers are using short-form videos like TikToks, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts.
  • 63% of consumers say it’s more important for marketing videos to be authentic than polished.
  • 36% of consumers want to learn about products through short-form videos.
  • After short-form videos, the best-performing video types are company/product videos (33%), customer success stories (32%), product overviews (29%), and how-to videos (27%).

Blogging and SEO: The Foundations of Content Marketing

While new trends come and go, blogging and SEO remain two of the go-to tactics for content marketing. Here are some stats you should know to refine your strategy:

17. ‘Everything You Need to Know’ posts perform the best for page views and time spent on the page, but they make up only around 0.4% to 0.8% of all content online.

These comprehensive posts (also often called ultimate guides) cover a single topic in great detail. They usually include multiple sections, plenty of examples, and actionable tips. The fact that they perform so well shows that users value in-depth, thorough content.

However, we don’t recommend starting your blog content strategy with this type of post right away. Instead, begin with shorter, more specific pieces of content. Over time, you can combine these into a larger, comprehensive post.

For example, our ultimate guide to boosting WordPress speed and performance is one of our top-performing articles. It combines information from several smaller posts into one comprehensive resource and has been shared 28,000 times and counting.

WPBeginner's article on how to boost WordPress speed and performance

To find good topics for your blog, try long-tail keyword research using tools like LowFruits.

This can help you find keywords where the top-ranking sites have low domain authority, giving you a better chance to rank well.

LowFruits keyword finder tool

18. Brands that blog can grow their leads by up to 165% compared to only 73% for those that don’t blog.

Brands that blog can grow their leads by up to 165% compared to only 73% for those that don't blog.

This means your blog needs to do more than just provide information. It should also convert visitors into leads.

With OptinMonster, you can add inline, popup, or sidebar campaigns throughout your blog. These can help turn readers into subscribers or customers, no matter what stage they’re at when engaging with your content.

An example of a sidebar form, created using OptinMonster

Another great option is Beacon.

It lets you create lead magnets (like ebooks or checklists) that you can offer in your blog posts in exchange for contact information.

19. As AI impacts search results, B2B marketers are focusing on answering user intent (31%), publishing thought leadership content (27%), and creating conversational content (22%).

As AI impacts search results, B2B marketers are focusing on answering user intent (31%), publishing thought leadership content (27%), and creating conversational content (22%).

These days, it’s hard to tell if something was written by a human or an AI. That’s why Google now looks more for content that shows real knowledge and experience.

This means just using the right keywords isn’t enough anymore. You need to show that you really know what you’re talking about and add a personal touch to your writing.

For example, to help our readers, we have a guest post column where we invite experts to share their experiences in WordPress, digital marketing, eCommerce, and more. This way, we can give our readers trustworthy information from people who really know their stuff.

WPBeginner's expert column

20. People typically start losing interest in an article after reading for 7 minutes.

Whether you’re creating long or short content, one thing is clear: people’s attention spans have gotten shorter. This just means you need to write content that is easy to read and scan for users.

Our recommendation is to use a WordPress SEO plugin like All in One SEO (AIOSEO). This plugin can evaluate your article’s readability based on various criteria, like:

  • How easy the language is to understand
  • If you use headings to break up long chunks of text
  • If there are images or videos to give your readers’ eyes a break
  • If you use too much passive voice

Here’s what it looks like:

Page analysis tool

What’s more, AIOSEO has other useful features to optimize your site, like a monitor for Google algorithm updates so that you can see how those changes affect your rankings.

You can learn more about the plugin in our AIOSEO review.

  • 92% of marketers say they will keep or spend more on blogging, showing how popular this strategy still is.
  • 59% of B2C marketers say high-quality content is the most effective SEO strategy.
  • 83% of marketers say it’s better to make fewer posts so long as they’re high quality.
  • 70% of people prefer learning from blogs to regular ads.
  • 85.19% of all blog visitors come from search engines.
  • On average, blogs have a bounce rate of 82.4%.
  • ‘Mistakes To Avoid’ articles get shared the most.
  • ‘How To’ and comparison articles receive the most backlinks.
  • High-performing blogs publish at least one article a day.
  • Articles with 7 or more images get 555% more backlinks and 259% more unique page views than those with no images.
  • Long-form content of between 3000–10,000 words gets shared more than short-form content.
  • There’s no relationship between Flesch Reading Ease scores and ranking positions on search engines.

Digital public relations (PR) is often seen as the underdog of content marketing. When done right, it can bring a lot of visibility to your brand and increase your brand’s industry authority. But it can be a lot of work, too.

Let’s look at some stats about this content marketing trend:

Organic link generation means creating content that naturally attracts backlinks without directly asking for them. This could be in-depth guides, original research, or unique insights that other websites want to reference.

This approach can be more effective because the links are earned based on the content’s value, not through negotiation. It also boosts your perceived expertise, as others in your industry start to see you as a go-to source of information.

Semrush is a great example of this. The company often does research and surveys into the marketing industry and shares them for free in exchange for the user’s information.

Semrush's landing page for its AI research report

Interactive content is typically free online tools that users can use for themselves. These include things like calculators, quizzes, or fun games.

These interactive elements are considered ‘link magnets’ because they provide immediate value to users. Other websites often link to them as helpful resources for their own audiences.

To take part in this trend, think about what kind of online tool your audience would find useful. Could you create a calculator related to your industry? Or perhaps a quiz that helps users understand their needs better?

For example, we created our own free keyword research tool because a lot of similar tools are either expensive or hard to use. Since a lot of our readers are small business owners, we wanted to give them a tool that can help them generate keyword ideas without any cost.

Example of using WPBeginner Keyword Generator
  • 87% of marketers will spend the same amount or more on case studies this year.
  • 88% of marketers will spend the same amount or more on infographics this year.
  • 26% of marketers use case studies as part of their content marketing strategy.
  • The top 3 performing B2B content types are case studies/customer stories, videos, and thought leadership eBooks/white papers.
  • Articles with data tend to perform better, with 5% of high-performing articles containing data studies compared to 2% of low-performing ones.
  • 63% of marketers say backlinking and link building are their most effective SEO strategies.

Podcasts: A Passing Trend or Here to Stay?

Podcasts might be new, but they’re already big in the content world. Let’s see why this audio format has become so popular.

23. 42% of Americans ages 12 and older have listened to a podcast in the last month.

If you want to start a podcast for your business, ask yourself: Do you have things to talk about regularly? Can you make new episodes often? Does your audience like listening to content? Do you have time to make good-quality audio?

If you need some inspiration, you can check out General Electric’s ‘LifeAfter/The Message’ podcast. This science fiction podcast tells a story that incorporates real technology developed by the company.

General Electric's podcast series

This way, the company can showcase its innovations in an entertaining format, attracting listeners who might not typically engage with branded content.

24. 46% of people who listen to podcasts monthly say the ads aren’t annoying, which is 23% higher than for YouTube ads.

46% of people who listen to podcasts monthly say the ads aren't annoying, which is 23% higher than for YouTube ads.

People might not mind podcast ads because they often sound more personal. Hosts usually read the ads in their own style, making them feel more like friendly suggestions.

For businesses, this means podcast ads can be a great way to reach people. And for podcast creators, it means you can make money without bothering your listeners too much.

That being said, if you are a business owner, we suggest looking for podcasts that talk to the same people you want to reach. On the flip side, content creators should only promote things they really like to keep their listeners’ trust.

More Podcast Content Statistics

  • 80% of podcast listeners hear all or nearly all of each episode.
  • Spotify is the top app for podcasts (35.8%), with Apple Podcasts coming in second (33.8%).
  • The most liked podcast types are comedy, news, and society and culture.
  • 49% enjoy podcasts while doing housework.
  • 42% listen to podcasts on their way to work.
  • 29% of listeners tune in to podcasts while exercising.
  • People find new podcasts mostly through app directories (40%), asking friends with similar tastes (18.3%), or on social media (15.2%).
  • For tech-focused audiences, a large majority (73%) of engineers listen to work-related podcasts every week.

The Business Side of Content Marketing

As with anything in business, there are costs and operational aspects to consider when it comes to content marketing. Here are some key trends that can help you make smart decisions about your content strategy.

25. For every dollar spent on content marketing, businesses earn an average of $2.77, which is a 177% profit.

For every dollar spent on content marketing, businesses earn an average of $2.77, which is a 177% profit.

While this return on investment (ROI) sounds impressive, it’s important to remember that results can vary.

Some campaigns might cost more or take longer to show results. You will need to factor in all costs, including time spent creating content, any tools or platforms you use, and promotional expenses.

26. 80% of very successful content marketers have a documented content marketing strategy.

Having a written plan helps align your team and set clear goals. It doesn’t need to be long or complicated, but it should include some key elements:

  • Your target audience
  • Content goals (like increasing traffic or generating leads)
  • Types of content you’ll create
  • How often you’ll publish
  • How you’ll measure success

The document doesn’t need to be long. Even a simple one-page document can make a big difference in keeping your content efforts focused and effective.

If you want to come up with a content strategy for your website, then see how to create an effective content plan in WordPress.

27. 48% of content marketing is outsourced to agencies or third-party companies, with graphic design (47%), video design or animation (43%), and copywriting (37%) being the top outsourced tasks.

48% of content marketing is outsourced to agencies or third-party companies, with graphic design (47%), video design or animation (43%), and copywriting (37%) being the top outsourced tasks.

This shows that you don’t have to do everything yourself if you’re not good at it. You can get help from experts. These skills need some know-how because, without good quality, it’s hard to make content that works well.

While these are the most common tasks businesses get help with, there are many other parts of content marketing that can be outsourced.

For example, at WPBeginner, we offer WordPress SEO services that can help with creating content. With our professional services, you can improve your site’s visibility, build your authority, and, most importantly, save yourself a lot of time.

If you want to learn more about how we can help with your content marketing, you can book a free consultation with us today. 

28. 49% of Gen Z consumers stop supporting brands that don’t match their values.

Some companies have done well by focusing on their values. But others have lost a lot by taking sides on issues.

We suggest you find out what’s important to your customers. And if you want to talk about your values, show them through actions, not just words.

For example, Patagonia, an outdoor clothing brand, demonstrates its stance on sustainability in several ways. First, they offer to repair or replace any product that doesn’t work well. They also have a store where people can buy and sell used Patagonia gear.

These actions show that the brand is committed to reducing waste and extending the life of its products.

Patagonia's actions on sustainability
  • 87% of B2B marketers focus on giving useful information to their audience rather than just promoting their products.
  • Content marketing costs 62% less to start and keep going compared to other marketing types.
  • Businesses that spend under $1,000 on content marketing tend to have the least success.
  • The top concerns for B2C marketers are search engine algorithm changes (64%), social media algorithm changes (53%), and handling data (48%).
  • To check if content marketing is working, most teams use Google Analytics (64%), social media tools (44%), and SEO tools (34%).
  • 54% of younger Millennials think brands should talk about social and political issues related to diversity.
  • 70% of Gen Z trust brands more if they show diversity in their ads.

Maybe you’re considering a career in content marketing but don’t know where to start. If so, understanding the latest trends in content marketing careers can help you make better decisions about your professional future.

29. Content marketers in the United States earn an average of $112,000 per year.

For most states in the country, that’s a healthy sum.

This high average salary reflects the growing importance of content marketing in digital strategies. Companies are willing to pay well for professionals who can create engaging content that drives business results.

30. The top 3 tech skills for non-senior content marketing positions are writing (61%), video (40%), and analytics (23%).

The top 3 tech skills for non-senior content marketing positions are writing (61%), video (40%), and analytics (23%).

These are the foundational skills for success in content marketing.

Just think about it. For social media alone, you need to be good at writing scripts for your short-form videos, creating engaging videos, and understanding metrics to measure your performance.

For writing, we suggest getting used to using AI for writing because it’s becoming a standard tool in the industry. Our guide on how to use AI to generate content can help you get started and make your writing process more efficient.

Generate AI content in playground mode

As for videos, tools like Camtasia can help you learn video editing basics without breaking the bank. And don’t worry about expensive equipment. Recording with your phone is often enough to create high-quality content for most platforms.

Knowing how to use analytics is important, too, because companies want to know if their content is working well. Using tools like Google Analytics to track website performance, Google Search Console for SEO insights, and Buffer for social media metrics can help you stand out when looking for a job.

Google search console
  • Marketing bosses say they want to hire content creators, content marketing managers, and content strategists the most.
  • For senior content marketing jobs, you need great writing and speaking skills (59%), about 6 years of experience (46%), and a relevant college degree (44%).
  • For starter content marketing jobs, you should know how to use Excel (67.38%), Microsoft Office (12.74%), and Adobe Photoshop (10.52%).
  • 75% of content marketers think they need to change jobs to move up or don’t see how to advance.
  • The number of content marketing manager jobs is expected to grow by 10%.
  • 1 in 4 full-time content marketers also do freelance work.

Sources:

Accenture, Ahrefs, Animalz, Authority Hacker, Content Marketing Institute, Demand Metric, Edison Research, Hootsuite, HubSpot, Influencer Marketing, Microsoft Advertising, OkDork, Podcast Insights, Semrush, Siege Media, Statista, Superpath, The Podcast Host, Think with Google, Trew Marketing, Wynter

We hope this list of content marketing trends and statistics can help you with your own digital marketing tactics.

If you’re looking for more research guides to help you with your business, check out the articles below:

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post 100+ Content Marketing Trends for 2024 — What’s Hot and What’s Not first appeared on WPBeginner.



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Thursday 29 August 2024

How to Sell Event Tickets Using WordPress (4 Easy Methods)

Selling event tickets online is vital to promoting and managing events. Luckily, WordPress is a powerful platform that offers you the flexibility and customization features to sell tickets easily.

Using different plugins, you can offer users a smooth ticket booking and purchasing process. That said, many business owners don’t know which plugin is best for different situations.

Luckily, we’ve tested and used thousands of tools to help you find the right solution. For example, you could make an event calendar and allow users to purchase tickets for multiple events, or you can create a marketplace and sell tickets as digital products.

In this article, we will show you how to sell event tickets using WordPress.

How to Sell event tickets using WordPress

Why Sell Event Tickets Online Using WordPress?

Selling online event tickets provides convenience for customers, as they can purchase tickets anywhere and anytime. It also helps you reach a wider audience beyond your local community and tap into a global market.

And the best platform to start selling online tickets is WordPress. It powers more than 43% of websites on the internet and offers a lot of flexibility.

You can customize your ticketing website to match your brand and event theme. Plus, there are many free or affordable WordPress themes and plugins that can help create a user-friendly ticketing experience for your customers.

With WordPress, you also have complete control over your website and can easily scale your business to meet growing demand. For more details, you may want to see our guide on how to start a WordPress website.

That said, let’s look at different ways to sell event tickets online using WordPress. We will cover multiple methods, so you can click the links below to jump ahead to any section:

Method 1. Sell Event Tickets Online Using Sugar Calendar (Simple Event Tickets)

The easiest way to sell event tickets online is to use Sugar Calendar. It is the best WordPress calendar plugin that helps you create an event calendar easily. It offers different customization options and supports Stripe payment gateways.

This method is perfect if you want a simple event management solution. You can embed multiple event calendars on your website and let users purchase tickets for their preferred events.

For this tutorial, we will use the Sugar Calendar Pro version, which offers more features and addons. There is also a Sugar Calendar Lite version available for free, which you can use to sell online tickets.

First, you’ll need to install and activate the Sugar Calendar plugin. If you need help, then please see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, you can head to Calendar » Settings from the WordPress dashboard and enter the license key.

Adding a license to Sugar Calendar

You can find the license key in your account area or in the purchase receipt you received via email.

After entering the key, simply click the ‘Verify Key’ button. Once that’s done, scroll down and click the ‘Save Settings’ button to store your settings.

Save Settings after verifying your Sugar Calendar license

Next, you can switch to the ‘Payments’ tab at the top.

Sugar Calendar lets you select the default currency and currency symbol and choose other settings.

Payments tab sugar calendar

From here, you can scroll down to connect your Stripe account with Sugar Calendar.

Simply click the ‘Connect with Stripe’ button and follow the onscreen instructions to add your account.

Connect Stripe with sugar calendar

Next, you can create an event calendar by going to Sugar Calendar » Calendars from the WordPress admin dashboard. Do note that the plugin adds a calendar by default for your site but you can create a new one.

After that, click the ‘Add Calendar’ button at the top.

Creating a new calendar in WordPress

On the next screen, you can enter details for your calendar.

For instance, start by entering a name for the calendar at the top and selecting a slug. You can also enter a description and select a color.

Once that’s done, simply click the ‘Add New Calendar’ button at the bottom.

Enter new calendar details

Next, you’ll need to head to Sugar Calendar » Add New from the WordPress dashboard to create a new event and add it to the calendar.

First, enter a name for your event at the top. Then, you can select the duration by setting the start, end, and date.

Add new calendar events

Next, you will need to switch to the ‘Tickets’ tab.

Here, you can enable the ‘Ticket Sales’ option and enter the price and capacity.

Enter event ticket details

Besides that, Sugar Calendar also lets you set a recurring event, add a location, and enter links to redirect users to another page.

Once you’ve entered details for your event, make sure to select the calendar you created earlier.

Enter event ticket details

Now, go ahead and click the ‘Publish’ button.

Simply repeat this process and add more events to the calendar to sell tickets online. If you want to learn about more customization options, then please see our guide on how to create a simple event calendar with Sugar Calendar.

Next, you can add a calendar to any post or page using the Sugar Calendar WordPress blocks.

Simply open the page where you want to place the calendar, click the ‘+’ icon to create a new block, and type in ‘Sugar Calendar.’ There are two Sugar Calendar blocks: Events Calendar and Events List.

Go ahead and select the ‘Events Calendar’ option.

How to add a Sugar Calendar block to a page or post

You will now see a preview of the calendar in the content editor.

To select which calendars to display, click on the dropdown menu under the ‘Calendars’ option in the block settings menu on your right.

Choose your calendar

Next, you can publish your page or post to make the calendar live for your visitors.

Finally, just visit your website to see the calendar in action and see the events you added earlier.

View calendar in action

If a visitor clicks on the event listed on the calendar, then they’ll be taken to another page.

On this page, users can simply purchase the event tickets online.

Purchase tickets for events online

Method 2: Sell Event Tickets Using Easy Digital Downloads (Best for Variable Pricing)

If you’re looking to sell event tickets as digital products, then Easy Digital Downloads (EDD) is the best solution. It is one of the best eCommerce platforms for selling digital goods like ebooks, software, photos, videos, printables, and more.

There are other eCommerce platforms like WooCommerce. But if you’re just looking to sell one or two types of digital products, then WordPress + Easy Digital Downloads is an easier solution.

We also use Easy Digital Downloads to manage and sell some of our most popular WordPress plugins, such as WPForms and MonsterInsights.

If you’re just starting out, then you may want to see our guide on how to sell digital downloads on WordPress.

First, you’ll need to install and activate the Easy Digital Downloads plugin. For more details, please see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, you can head to Downloads Settings from the WordPress admin area. Under the ‘General’ tab, you can enter your license key.

Add a license key for your easy digital downloads plugin

Next, you can switch to the ‘Payments’ tab at the top.

In the Gateway section, you can select all of the payment gateways that you want to use on your WordPress website, such as Stripe and PayPal.

Set up payment gateways

To configure each payment service, you can click the subtabs under Payments.

For example, if you want to set up Stripe, then just click the ‘Stripe’ subtab. From here, simply click the ‘Connect with Stripe’ button and follow the onscreen instructions to connect your account.

Connecting WordPress to your Stripe account

After connecting payment services, you are ready to create a digital product and sell event tickets.

Simply head to Downloads from the WordPress dashboard and click the ‘Add New’ button at the top.

Adding a New Downloadable Product in EDD

Next, you can enter a title for your event ticket digital product.

There is also an option to enter a description for your product.

Enter details of digital product

After that, you can scroll down to select the product type. The options include a single product, bundle, or service. You can keep the Product Type Options as ‘Single Product.’

Next, you’ll need to set a price for your event ticket. EED lets you set up variable and fixed prices. Variable pricing is great if you have tickets for different categories, like different concert seats or VIP access.

To add different prices, simply check the ‘Enable variable pricing’ option and enter the name of your pricing plan and cost.

Enter prices for event tickets

After adding all the options, you will need to set the default option. This will be selected automatically when the shopper arrives at the product page. Simply click the ‘Default’ option in front of the pricing plan.

You’ll also find more options offered by EDD. For instance, you can upload files for download, add custom fields, set a refund window, and more. For this tutorial, we will leave these settings as their defaults.

Next, you can set featured image for your events ticket by clicking the ‘Set Download Image’ option from the panel on the right. Simply upload an image to the media library or choose an existing image.

Set download image

Once that’s done, go ahead and publish your digital product.

You can now visit your Easy Digital Downloads store to see the event ticket in action.

EDD events ticket preview

Method 3: Sell Event Tickets Using WP Simple Pay (Buy Now Button)

Another way to sell event tickets online in WordPress is by using WP Simple Pay. This option is great for anyone who doesn’t want to set up an elaborate eCommerce checkout process on their website.

For example, let’s say you have a blog website that covers content about the latest entertainment events. Then you can use WP Simple Pay to show a buy now button and sell event tickets on your site.

With WP Simple Pay, you can accept one-time and recurring payments. Plus, it supports 13+ payment methods like debit and credit payments, ACH debit, Google Pay, Apple Pay, Venmo, and more.

For this tutorial, we will use the WP Simple Pay Pro version, which offers more payment options. However, you can also get started with the WP Simple Pay Lite version for free.

First, you will need to install and activate the WP Simple Pay plugin. If you need help, then please see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, you’ll see the setup wizard. Simply click the ‘Let’s Get Started’ button and follow the onscreen instructions to complete the setup.

WP Simple Pay setup wizard

After configuring WP Simple Pay, you can create a new payment form.

The last step of the setup process will automatically take you to the form template page. Or you can go to WP Simple Pay » Add New from the WordPress dashboard.

Select payment form template

Next, you can select from a prebuilt template for a payment form. For this tutorial, we will simply choose the ‘Payment Button’ template.

After that, you’ll see the General settings for your payment form. For instance, you can change the title, add a description, and enable CAPTCHA.

Enter payment form details

Next, you can switch to the ‘Payment’ tab.

From here, simply enter a price for your event ticket and select whether it is a one-time payment or a subscription.

payment tab wp simple pay

If you scroll down, then you’ll also see different payment methods. These include card, ACH direct debit, Alipay, Klarna, and more.

Go ahead and select the gateways you’d like to offer to your visitors.

WP simple pay payment methods

Next, you can head to the ‘Form Fields’ tab to customize your form.

By default, WP Simple Pay will add fields based on the template you selected. You can click the ‘Form Fields’ dropdown menu to add more fields and also edit the title of existing fields.

Add new form fields to payment form

WP Simple Pay also offers other options, such as creating a dedicated payment page, displaying a message on the confirmation page, and editing email notification settings.

When you’re done editing the payment form, simply click the ‘Publish’ button.

Publish payment form

Next, you can add the payment form anywhere on your website to sell event tickets online.

For instance, edit or add a new page to your site. When you’re in the content editor, simply click the ‘+’ button to add a WP Simple Pay block and then select your form from the dropdown menu.

add WP Simple Pay block

After adding the payment form, go ahead and publish your page.

You can now visit your website to see the payment button that users can click to purchase event tickets.

Buy now button for event tickets

Method 4: Sell Event Tickets Online Using WPForms (Ticket Booking Form)

If you want to provide a smooth ticket booking and purchasing process, then WPForms is a great option. This method is best for users who want to show a ticket booking form on their website.

WPForms is the best WordPress contact form plugin that offers a dedicated template for booking event tickets. It also easily integrates with different payment services, such as Stripe, PayPal, Authorize.net, and more.

Do note that you’ll need the WPForms Pro version to access the payment services and coupon addons. There is also a WPForms Lite version, but it doesn’t include payment integrations.

First, you’ll need to install and activate the WPForms plugin. If you need help, then please see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, you can go to WPForms » Settings in your WordPress dashboard and enter the license key. You can easily find the key in your account area.

Activating license key to WPForms

After that, you can go to WPForms » Addons and install your preferred payment gateway.

For example, if you want to use Stripe as a payment service, then simply click the ‘Install Addon’ button.

Install Stripe addon

You’ll also need to install the ‘Coupons’ addon to unlock additional form templates.

Simply navigate to Coupons and click the ‘Install Addon’ button.

Install coupons addon

Once the addon is active, you will need to connect your account with WPForms.

To do that, head to the WPForms » Settings page and switch to the ‘Payments’ tab. From here, simply click the ‘Connect with Stripe’ button and follow the onscreen instructions to add your account.

WPForms connect with stripe

Next, you can create a new form to sell event tickets on your website.

First, head to WPForms » All Forms from the WordPress dashboard and click the ‘+ Add New’ button.

Clicking Add New in WPForms

After that, WPForms will show lots of prebuilt form templates.

You can use the search bar and look for the ‘Ticket Booking Form’ template. Simply hover over the template and click the ‘Use Template’ button.

Ticket booking form template

Next, you will see the WPForms drag-and-drop form builder with the template preloaded.

You can also add new form fields from the menu on the left by simply dragging them onto the template. For example, there are standard fields like checkboxes and fancy fields like phone numbers.

Edit ticket booking form

If you click on an existing field on the template, then you’ll find the option to edit each field.

For instance, let’s say you want to change the name and prices of the tickets. Simply click on the Type of Ticket form field, and more options will appear in the panel on the left.

Edit each field in ticket booking form

Next, you can head to the ‘Settings’ tab from the menu on the left.

After that, you’ll find different options. In the General tab, you can edit the name of the form, add a description, enter tags, change the submit button text, and more.

General form settings

Next, you can switch to the ‘Confirmations’ tab.

Here, you’ll see different options for showing a message or a page or redirecting users to a URL when they submit a form.

Edit booking form confirmation settings

After that, you can go to the ‘Payments’ tab from the panel on the left.

Under the Stripe tab, ensure that the ‘Enable one-time payments’ toggle is switched on.

Enable one time payment

There are more settings you can also change. To learn more, please see our guide on how to add a contact form in WordPress.

Now that your form is ready, make sure to click the ‘Save’ button at the top to store your changes.

After that, go ahead and click the ‘Embed’ button to add your form to the website.

The Embed wizard on the WPForms form builder

Now, a popup window will open asking you how you’d like to embed your form.

You can select existing pages or create a new page. Let’s select the ‘Create New Page’ option for this tutorial.

Embed contact form WPForms

Next, you will need to enter a name for your page.

Once that’s done, simply click the ‘Let’s Go’ button.

Enter name for your new page

You’ll now see a preview of the form in the content editor.

Go ahead and publish your page to take your form live. Now, just visit your website to see the form in action.

Event booking form preview

We hope this article helped you learn how to sell event tickets using WordPress. You may also want to see our guide on how to easily create a coupon site in WordPress and the best online community platforms.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

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