Why is Content Marketing Important for Businesses in 2025?

Is content marketing worth it?

The question lingers as you sit down to write yet another chirpy social media post for your business. 

Except you’re really not feeling chirpy today.

Maybe your toddler woke you up at 2 am requiring a fresh bowl of mac and cheese and a full viewing of Frozen before falling back asleep.

Or maybe your dog had to pee ten trillion times in the night.

Or perhaps a growing stack of unpaid medical bills is haunting you from the kitchen table. 

If you’re anything like me, it’s probably all three.

With these millions of things on your plate, it can feel overwhelming to schedule posts, make videos, and build a blogging strategy. Pointless, even.

But it’s not. I know this because I ran an original survey of 50 unbiased shoppers in the United States to get to the bottom of the question.

Turns out, content marketing is still one of the most powerful ways to build brand awareness and earn your audience’s trust. 

Today we’ll dive into the results and learn why content marketing is important for your business in 2025.

What is Content Marketing? 

Content marketing is a marketing strategy where you put out helpful content like blog posts, social media posts, videos, podcasts, newsletters, and infographics.

It’s good to know a little bit more about this before we dive into why content marketing is important for your business. 

(PS: This type of marketing doesn’t include sponsored ads.)

My favorite types of content to consume are: 

• Blog posts

• Social media posts

• Newsletters

• Infographics

Different types of content work well for different folks in your audience, which is why it’s key to create more than one type. I’m not a big video person, for example, but I know tons of people who are. 

Whether we’re talking business-to-business (B2B) content marketing or business-to-consumer (B2C) content marketing, the goals are the same:

• Help potential customers discover your brand

• Show them why/how your products or services could be helpful

The heart of any good content marketing effort is to provide value, not try to force sales. Sales will come organically when the right people connect with your content. 

Now that we have a handle on what it is, does this type of marketing actually help people discover brands in 2025? 

The survey I ran with 50 US shoppers will tell all.

The One Where I Run My First PickFu Poll 

Before we get into the survey results, a disclaimer: I have been writing for a SaaS market research brand called PickFu since 2019. 

But until now, I had never run a PickFu poll for my own personal purposes. 

This post is not sponsored or affiliated in any way with PickFu. I just know the tool well!

Because of that, it was my first choice when I needed to do some original research into why content marketing is still important for businesses. 

How 50 Shoppers Actually Discover New Brands in 2025

I paid PickFu to collect a pool of 50 respondents and ask them the following question: “When you discover a new brand or product, what’s the most common way you first hear about it?”

The respondents had four options to choose from: 

• Non-ad social media (Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, etc): Posts, videos, images/graphics

• Search engines/brand websites: Non-sponsored Google search results and blog articles

• Word of mouth: Recommendations from friends, family, or colleagues

• Online ads: Social media ads, Google/Amazon search ads, influencers, anything sponsored

The first two options—Non-ad social media and Search engines/brand websites—represent organic content marketing efforts. 

Word of mouth is its own amazing way to get seen, and while it’s definitely tied to content marketing, it’s not something brands can really control. 

And then online ads are, well, ads. 

Each respondent ranked the options in order of importance and gave written feedback to explain their choices. 

I chose the title—why is content marketing important for your business in 2025?—before I ran the poll.

And as someone who writes lots of blogs for a living, I’m not gonna lie: I was expecting, and hoping, to see most shoppers choose Search engines/brand websites as their first pick.

Instead, this choice had a stronger showing as a second or third option.

But another form of content marketing—Non-ad social media—placed second.

Here’s what the group of 50 respondents said was their first choice for discovering new brands: 

• 28% picked Non-ad social media

• 14% chose Search engines/brand websites

• 36% went with Word of mouth

• 22% selected Online ads

If we combine the percentages for Non-ad social media and Search engines/brand websites, we see that 42% of shoppers count content marketing as a primary way to discover new brands. 

The winner, though? Word of mouth. 

Online ads/sponsored content came in third behind Non-ad social media. 

And when combining Non-ad social media and Search engines/brand websites into one category, online ads come in last place at just 22%.

What Respondents Had to Say

Now that we know where the votes stand, let’s look at the reasons why the respondents chose the options they did. 

Or, as my slightly panicked brain would’ve put it after looking at the poll results, why is the answer to “Why is content marketing important for your business in 2025?” not the answer I want it to be?!?

Option A: Non-Ad Social Media

Here’s a demographic breakdown of the 28% of respondents who ranked Option A: Non-ad social media as their first choice.

Almost twice as many men (33.3%) and non-binary/prefer not to say folks (100%) chose this avenue than women. 

The results were fairly evenly spread out among different age groups.

Here’s what users said about why they ranked non-ad social media first: 

• “Non-ad social media is the most common way for me to hear about new products….Afterwards, search engines lead to the discovery of new brands.”

• “Mostly on Reddit where I am searching for a product or solution.”

• “I usually learn of new brands by watching YouTube, seeing posts on social media of people casually using it, not advertising.”

My take:

The data suggests that non-ad social media is a powerful discovery tool, especially for men. 

Non-ad social media also crosses generational lines. In other words, no one, single age group dominates this trend. Instead, it’s widely adopted.

TikTok and YouTube are both highly visual and video-driven platforms, and they were mentioned more than once. This highlights the popularity of videos and image-driven content.

That said, the Reddit mention is super interesting. Unlike TikTok and YouTube, Reddit is text-heavy. It's one of the reasons why I'm a daily Reddit lurker. I love to read, and I love reading other people's stories and perspectives. 

Turns out other people do too.

Option B: Search Engines or Brand Websites

Now let’s take a look at demographic data for Option B: Search engines or brand websites. Only 14% of my 50 poll respondents chose this as their first option. 

This is the choice the majority would’ve picked if I had my way. But that’s the magic of surveys, isn’t it? You can’t control the answers, which means you’re getting real perspectives instead of biased ones.

Intriguingly, more women (26.3%) than men (6.7%) chose this option as their #1. And only folks in the 35-44 (26.1%) and 45-54 (9.1%) age ranges picked it. 

Here’s what respondents said about their choice:

• “I usually find new brands when I need a product, search for it and then compare the different options available.”

• “I love my search engines to find new and interesting things.”

• “Search engines are usually how I find out about new brands or products because it means I'm actively seeking out something related.”

My take: 

Despite not being popular, the demographic data for this option is fascinating. It skews heavily toward women and people aged 35-54.

This suggests that, for these groups, search engines and brand websites feel like a more reliable way to find new brands. 

These shoppers are less interested in passive brand discovery on social media and more invested in taking an active role.

They want to seek out details and evaluate all their options before making a decision. For these shoppers, the reason why content marketing is important for businesses is that it helps them make those decisions.

Option C: Word of Mouth

Turns out this age-old type of marketing strategy is still popular, because it got the majority vote—36%—in my survey. 

I mean, look at all that yellow.

Male respondents (40%) still favored it a little more than female respondents (31.6%), but that’s pretty close. Age-wise, each group had a representation of 20% or above. 

Here’s the reasoning behind the votes: 

• “The primary way I hear about new products/brands is through word of mouth. Then, I seek out more product information after that.”

• “I normally find brands through word of mouth or personal research.”

• “I’m a social guy and talk a lot with my friends and neighbors about products. I remember years ago first learning about the iPod from a good friend.”

My take:

The big showing for word of mouth proves what many content marketers already know deep down: people trust people more than they trust brands. 

What’s especially interesting to me here is the age group distribution. The 45-54 and 25-34 groups were the strongest advocates for word of mouth. This suggests that both middle-aged and younger adults still lean on personal recommendations. 

I really expected younger folks to skew toward social media or influencers, but they didn't. 

Also, the written responses make one thing abundantly clear: people don’t just stop at a recommendation. 

When someone tells them about a product, they follow it up with good old-fashioned research. Which points straight to why content marketing is important for businesses, even in 2025!

Option D: Online Ads

Ads get a bad reputation, but I’ll be the first to say that I appreciate a well-targeted ad. When I see sponsored content that’s relevant to my interests, there’s a good chance I’ll click on it. 

Whether I buy it or not depends on the research I do on Google, review aggregator sites, and Reddit after the click.

But there’s a lot of cool stuff out there that I would never have known about if not for an ad. So it’s no surprise that 22% of the people I polled also find this type of marketing relevant.

Women were a bit more likely (26.3%) to say ads are how they first learn about a product or brand than men (20%). 

The 45-54-year-olds were the least likely to choose ads (9.1%). 

Let’s look at the why behind the votes: 

• “Option D [is] the best way to hear about a new product for the first time and this makes me feel more interested to find out more information about it.”

• “Social media and search ads [are] the most common way people first hear about new brands due to their widespread reach.”

• “I chose option D but I am not always firm with this answer. [If] it is a product that I need, then I would choose B. If it was something that I want and probably don't need, I will see the ad and decide from there.”

My take: 

Online ads may not have won the poll, but they clearly play a big role in brand discovery.

The biggest challenge with online ads is trust. Because businesses pay to get ads in front of eyeballs, people are wary of ads. Several of the respondents mentioned ads as more of a launching point for learning more about a product or brand. 

Which is why this type of marketing is great for building brand awareness but not necessarily for converting lookers into buyers. 

What This Survey Taught Me About Content Marketing

So, why is content marketing important for your business in 2025, according to the PickFu poll respondents?

Because it’s one of the primary ways people discover and research brands.

The PickFu poll results show me that organic social media, search engines, and word of mouth all play a huge role in how shoppers find new products. 

And while ads are great for first introductions, they're not enough. People still look to authentic content, reviews, and recommendations to make decisions.

With that in mind, let’s get to the meaty part: four tips (plus a bonus!) I’ve gleaned from this whole experience. 

5 Digital Content Marketing Strategies That Actually Work

Now that we know why content marketing is important for your business, let’s put our knowledge into action. 

Take these digital content marketing tips with you as you build a strategy to make connections with your target audience. 

• Tip #1: Build strong relationships with your target audience and create customer experiences so great they’re compulsively shareable. When people love something or feel super happy about it, they share it with their friends IRL and on social media.

• Tip #2: Create content that’s genuinely valuable. Offer behind-the-scenes videos, informative blog posts, customer case studies, helpful tips, and resources like templates, infographics, calculators, and really anything your audience would find helpful. 

• Tip #3: Use blogs to answer the questions your potential customers are already searching for on Google. Tools like Ahrefs can help you find what customers are searching for. 

• Tip #4: Treat ads like an invitation instead of an opportunity to make a sale. Then back them up with trust-building content like reviews, case studies, and blog posts.

• Bonus Tip #5: I’m a firm believer in sharing the love. Cultivate a positive way of speaking about competitors. Give complementary brands a shoutout whenever it makes sense. 

Last but not least, keep this in mind: the content you create for your business doesn’t have to be chirpy. What people want is realness. They want a helpful, valuable, relatable voice to connect with. 

You’ve got this. 

And if you want a content marketer in your corner, that’s what I’m here for. 

FAQS: Why Content Marketing is Important for Your Business in 2025

Why is content marketing so important?

Content marketing helps people discover, trust, and connect with your brand. It provides value through blogs, social media, and videos, which many shoppers will search for after seeing an ad for your brand. The PickFu poll showed 42% of shoppers rely on organic content marketing to find new brands.

What is the main goal of content marketing?

The goal of content marketing is to help people find your brand and see how it benefits them. It's also a crucial stepping stone between seeing an ad and buying a product. Content marketing plays a major role in getting shoppers from the point of first contact to the point of sale.

Why is content creation important in business?

Content creation attracts, engages, and builds trust with customers. Today’s shoppers research before they buy, and they rely on social media, search engines, and word of mouth. Without strong content, your business misses key opportunities to connect and convert.