Most Swiss companies do not use content marketing

The vast majority of companies in Switzerland (around 80 percent) do not use content marketing. Three quarters of them do not intend to use it in the future either - and this despite the fact that seven out of ten companies believe that content marketing is indispensable. This is the result of a study by the ZHAW School of Management and Law based on a representative survey of almost 600 Swiss companies.

As reasons for the lack of use, the companies cite the difficulty of measuring and the uncertainty of success, as well as what they see as the problematic relationship between effort and return.

Strategy as a success factor

"At the same time, the results of our study show that companies that have anchored content marketing strategically are more successful than those that implement it only operationally or not at all," says Adrienne Suvada, Head of the Communication & Branding Unit in the Institute of Marketing Management at the ZHAW School of Management and Law. The companies in question observe positive effects on their image as well as on the trust and enthusiasm of existing customers. They also see improvements in their position in Google rankings. It is also clear that companies with a written content marketing strategy have less need for external services.

Companies primarily see content marketing as a measure to intensify customer relationships. But they also use it to generate new leads. "At the same time, there is relatively often a lack of a binding strategy. Accordingly, the roles of employees are often not clearly defined," explains Suvada.

Cost/income ratio

The biggest challenge in content marketing for companies is to achieve a balance between effort and return. Although increasing the visibility of the company's services is a central goal of content marketing, the companies surveyed are reluctant to use technical tools (especially search engine optimization) and budgetary means (paid content) to place their content more prominently. They primarily use digital platforms for their content: Facebook and their own website are standard, other favorites are LinkedIn and Instagram.

Internal knowledge and storytelling skills critical

In addition to analyzing the current use of content marketing in Switzerland, the study makes various recommendations: "A clear content strategy and the definition of KPIs are crucial for success," says Suvada. Especially in the initial phase, this facilitates the efficient use of resources. Furthermore, the necessary know-how for content marketing should be built up internally to avoid dependencies on third parties. It is also advisable for companies to have storytelling skills and be familiar with the technical requirements of digital marketing.