“Companies have recognized the importance of social media, and now a great many small and medium-sized enterprises are also making extensive use of them,” says the author of the study, Adrienne Suvada, of the ZHAW Institute of Marketing Management. The companies surveyed mainly use Facebook (69 percent), LinkedIn (53 percent), Instagram (50 percent), YouTube (42 percent), and Twitter (35 percent).

When it comes to a company’s assessment of the effectiveness of social media platforms, virtually all were rated as positive, with the niche channel Spotify achieving the best overall result with a score of 4.03 (out of 5). However, it should be noted that only about four percent of the companies surveyed actually use Spotify for their marketing activities. Of the larger providers, LinkedIn and Instagram are well rated, while Facebook and Twitter are also seen as effective distribution channels.

In general, content marketing is used by 58 percent of large, 48 percent of medium-sized, and 52 percent of small enterprises. In addition, three out of five companies not currently using content marketing plan to do so in the future. “While large companies have been relying on this tool for a while now, the trend has also reached smaller and medium-sized companies,” according to another author of the study, Adis Merdzanovic of the ZHAW Institute of Marketing Management.

In practicing content marketing, companies have two main objectives: First, they want to retain customers through useful and engaging content, giving them an edge in the market. Second, many see it as an additional way to increase sales and revenues. On average, companies invest some 33 percent of their marketing budget in content marketing. This proportion is likely to increase in the future

“Digitalization and social media have opened up new communication channels for companies. But to use them effectively, the content they upload needs to provide genuine added value for the target audience,” says Suvada. The study shows that one of the greatest challenges is the need to create content of high quality at frequent intervals. Indeed, 41 percent of companies stated that they find it hard to produce original and appealing content, while 38 percent struggle to produce fresh content regularly.

In creating content, companies draw on many different formats. From online events, videos, and illustrations to podcasts and blogs, they use virtually all the content marketing tools available, albeit to varying degrees.