According to a new study of the industry released by the news site TheManifest.com, most large brands are now publishing at least one piece of content marketing material every day and are investing a significant amount of resources and time to drive a better return on investment.

Content marketing has been a focal point for some brands for more than a decade, but the study suggests there has been a laser focus on the practice during the last two years. In 2016, just over one-third of digital marketers said it was important to allocate resources to the strategy, but this number has since soared to 53%. When next year rolls around, the figure is likely to be even higher.

Brands are now recognising how the right content marketing formats can make a difference to engagement levels. Therefore, marketers are increasing their publication rates significantly, with 51% saying they now push out videos, blogs, editorial articles, infographics and other resources every day. It appears that it is no longer an either-or situation for brands in terms of quantity and quality.

“Even ten years ago, content marketing was seen as a new buzzword,” said Lauren Fairbanks, CEO of S&G Content Marketing. “But over the last few years, it’s really moved into the marketing mainstream. Marketers know that content marketing is essential in reaching consumers in a very organic way.”

Thus, content is king, and more brand managers are eager to ascend the throne with targeted and relevant pieces that can strongly drive positive actions. The desire to think big is more evident at larger organisations, as 62% of enterprises with more than 5,000 employees said a new form of content is published every 24 hours.

The report said that this frequent schedule is now considered as the “gold standard” in the industry but admitted that keeping up with the pace may be challenging for an SME. A marketing agency is an excellent resource for anyone struggling, as the knowledge, expertise and general infrastructure offered by a third party can support higher quality creativity and busy schedules.

Video has emerged as the de facto content option for many during the last two years due to the rise of social media, but the written word shows no signs of losing out in relevance. A sizeable 69% of organisations said blog posts were their most popular content type, which suggests these are still desirable outlets for thought-leadership pieces and high-quality editorial content, while 72% said they prefer to use video.

As always, a unique mix of content formats is usually the best option, as brands need to target different subsets of consumers across a wide variety of different channels. Moving forward, marketers revealed that they are aiming to improve how their content ranks in search engines and their ability to optimise content for a range of connected devices. About 10% of marketers also want to create more actionable content to boost their engagement levels.