Almost two-thirds of marketers believe administrative tasks are taking up too much of their time and are frustrated that they cannot fully focus their efforts on more important content marketing processes according to new research released by London Research.
More than 700 executives at large tech vendors and brands were polled for their opinions on content marketing and the findings were collated in a report titled ‘The State of Universal Content Management 2020’.
The study took place over two months, concluding four days before the severity of the Covid-19 pandemic became clear in early March, but there are insights that remain relevant for marketers as many pivot to cost effective content creation during a crisis.
The main takeaway is that many are getting bogged down in tasks that have no direct impact on the quality of output. Nine in ten respondents say they wish they had more freedom to explore new ideas.
Three quarters of those surveyed believe the admin work they have to complete, often on a daily basis, is preventing content marketing campaigns from reaching their full potential.
The vast majority say if content-related admin was reduced, they would be confident in personally adding “significantly more value” to the business.
The scale of admin is highlighted by the fact that 52% of a marketers’ time is spent ticking boxes and completing mundane tasks. Marketers say the planning and production phases of content marketing only take up 48% of time.
The need to create and publish excellent content marketing materials is also being undermined by a haphazard approach to content management. Two-thirds revealed that they do not have a centralised hub for content.
This lack of structure makes it more challenging for marketers to manage content effectively, which makes admin tasks take up more time and resources than otherwise would be necessary. It also slows the pace of content processes considerably.
When asked what they would do to improve the situation, it is no surprise that the number one recommendation would be to create a centralised hub.
Marketers also believe management content by each single channel is a mistake as this leads to a range of integration problems and makes collaboration more difficult. An omni-channel approach should be the target for brands in 2020.
“Content creation and distribution has quickly become a mature market, but the management of content still lingers in an awkward, immature phase,” Censhare cmo, Mathias Wurth said in a statement.
He added: “Not being synched up from message-to-message and region-to-region only creates doubt and lack of trust in a businesses’ products and services.”
The lack of structure, already a problem before the outbreak of the coronavirus, has been felt more keenly during the last two months as brands struggle to get everything together and keep marketing campaigns on track.
The study also noted that content marketers are grappling with messaging issues as some campaigns hit the right tone with customers while others fail.
For the time being at least, outsourcing content management to an agency may be the best course of action.
