If the real challenge of content marketing is when you don’t have a strategy – like the 50% and more of companies in recent surveys in the US who don’t – imagine the possibilities when you do have a strategy.

Possibilities are very real to businesses in EMEA, where communication professionals are seeing a high return on investment from implementing a content marketing strategy, according to a report published by integrated communications agency Waggener Edstrom in the UK.

The report, “Content Marketing: Puncturing the Hype and Getting Practical,” includes the summary results of a survey of over 150 marketing and communication professionals with decision-making responsibilities across EMEA.

While the report shows an upbeat picture of content marketing strategies in action, it also shows that a significant number of those surveyed say they have no plans to implement one. And, even more question whether they’ll see any ROI.

A paradox, it seems to me, when the evidence that points to measurable benefits that can arise when executing a well-designed strategy looks pretty clear.

Check the highlights summary from the report’s survey findings:

• The majority (85 percent) of communication professionals who follow a content marketing strategy do so to promote awareness of their brand, closely followed by increasing engagement with customers (79 percent) and generating sales leads (77 percent).
• 70 percent of marketers understand that content marketing helps drive sales leads more effectively, but 18 percent still have no plans to implement a strategy and over one third (38 percent) still question whether it can deliver measurable ROI.
• A lack of staff resources was identified as the number one challenge in implementing an effective content marketing strategy (63 percent), closely followed by lack of budget (48 percent) and lack of content creation expertise (41 percent) – similar indicators to those in the US surveys I mentioned earlier.
• 79 percent believe a strong content marketing strategy will help them use social media more effectively, followed by video and animation (70 percent) and news articles (62 percent).
• 83 percent measure the effectiveness of content through web traffic, while 67 percent measure through media coverage and 56 percent through click analysis.

The report includes insights and shared experiences from Waggener Edstrom and their client firms such as AVG and Microsoft on topics covering content marketing and strategy, content marketing as a lead generator, and more; plus sidebars on broadcast and editorial strategies, blogging, and SEO; and one I contributed on the essential role of social media in content marketing.

It’s a good report, offering genuine insight and real-world examples, and makes a powerful case for actually having a strategy for your content marketing, and what happens when you execute it.

To get your free copy of “Content Marketing: Puncturing the Hype and Getting Practical,” register online.

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• The real challenge of content marketing is when you don’t have a strategy
• Content marketing requires a sound foundation