Only 35% of businesses claim to see appreciable return from their content marketing efforts, according to reports. And all this after the benefits and advantages of content marketing for a business have long been established.

Marketers and business owners around the world are quickly realizing that content marketing success is not a given, and that, while content is king, merely publishing it will not automatically get you the attention you deserve. And it’s not hard to see why:

Your Greatest Competition Are Puppy Videos and Baby Pictures

The fact is that every day over 6 million new blog posts are published, and many of these are in your niche. But these are not even the greatest obstacles you face in getting your content noticed.

The reality is that your content competes with a host of other stuff which your audience find more entertaining. I’m talking entertainment gossip, cute puppy videos, and baby pictures and videos from friends and family.

No matter how great your content is, you’re always going to have a hard time competing against content such as these.

Here are other stats for you to consider:

• In the US alone there are 31 million active bloggers who publish at least once a month
• 85% of B2C and91% of B2B marketers accept that their companies use different types of content in their marketing efforts.
• 55% of businesses say that blog content is a priority marketing tactic
• 96% of businesses expect their content marketing budgets to increase going forward as they envisage creating more content
• 57% of marketers plan to increase their use of blogging as a means of getting attention and selling

With so much competition out there, you are going to need to do more than just hit PUBLISH in order for your content to get the attention that it deserves.

Content Promotion Is the Final Piece to Your Content Marketing Puzzle

If you’re struggling to get visitors to your blog or struggling to get people to notice your well-researched content, it is more than likely that what you need is not more content. What you need is to invest in content promotion tactics that can push your content out as far across the internet as possible to the screens of your target audience.

If content is king, then consider content promotion as the kingmaker. And without it, you risk not seeing the return on the investment you put into creating content.

What content promotion tactics are you already using for your content marketing, if at all?