1、2|W PV I P.COMSalary ReportContent Matters 2023As we learned from our Content Matters 2023 Report,the value of content is clear.Content budgets and teams continue to grow during economic uncertainty,and leadership is starting to understand the connection between content and revenue.But ultimately,an

2、 organizations ability to harness contents potential is only as good as the people executing that content.What is the first way to attract and retain top talent?Salary.During this unique economic environmentlayoffs coupled with a tight labor marketwe wanted to learn how salaries have been affected.W

3、e looked at salary data through multiple lenses to discern the state of pay in the content industry.Read on to see whos up,whos down,and how you stack up against your industry peers.2|W PV I P.COMIntroductionSection I:Report highlights3Section II:Changes in salaries by.Role4Industry5Geography6Market

4、ing team size7Company size8Section III:Connections between salaries and.Leadership buy-in9Content output10Budget outlook11Content analytics tools usage12Section IV:The state of content strategies136|W PV I P.COM3|W PV I P.COMOn average,content marketing salaries increased from 2022 to 2023,but the c

5、hanges vary across roles,industries,and organization size.Heres a snapshot:Executives took a pay hit There was a surge in employees crossing into six-figure salaries Media and publishing salaries are trending downward Salaries are beginning to recover from the effects of the pandemic Larger organiza

6、tions pay bigger salaries Organizations that use content analytics average higher salaries than those that dontAverage salary,by yearSalary highlightsHI GHL I GHTS$125,000$100,000$75,000$50,000$25,000$02022$109,778$118,0342023Whats the deal?In 2023,global events are driving salary discrepancies as m

7、uch as any industry trends.While a number of economic factors have sparked multiple rounds of layoffs(especially in the tech sector),other socio-economic factors have benefitted employees.In particular,the tight labor market and post-pandemic normalization likely boosted salaries.Note:All dollar fig

8、ures in this report are in USD.Salaries by role,2022-2023 Role YearSalary%change in salary,2022-2023Analyst2023$102,97337%2022$74,981CMO2023$117,287-19%2022$144,615Developer2023$104,74511%2022$94,010Director/VP of Content Marketing2023$128,61310%2022$141,004Director/VP of Marketing2023$136,327-6%202

9、2$144,583Editor2023$98,03527%2022$77,014Individual Contributor2023$92,94841%2022$65,739Manager of Content Marketing2023$119,12334%2022$88,728Manager of Marketing2023$111,82922%2022$91,748Other C-Level2023$119,220-30%2022$169,470Good news for most content rolesThere was a swell in respondents crossin

10、g the six-figure boundary.One explanation?The extremely tight labor market made companies desperate to keep qualified teams,encouraging raises and promotions.Over the past few years,the hiring market has been tough and companies likely responded by promoting managers and individual contributors.Afte

11、r all,its cheaper to give raises than it is to hire and train new employees.As a result,we see more people making over$100,000 this year than last.4|W PV I P.COMC HA NGES I N SALARYSalaries by roleOverall,content team compensation is on the rise,but unevenly across roles.Upper management fared poorl

12、y.The average C-level salary(CMO and other C-level)fell from$157,042 to$118,253.Mid-management fared well.Content marketing managers saw an increase of 34%,from$88,728 to$119,123.Individual contributors fared best.Non-management roles saw the largest increase:41%.Content analysts are earning more.Pr

13、oving the importance of data,analyst roles saw an increase of 37%.The future of content is lucrative.12%more respondents are earning over$100,000.5|W PV I P.COMC HA NGES I N SALARYSalaries by industryThe change in content-focused salaries varied widely by industry.Media/Publishing salaries decreased

14、 from 2022 to 2023.Energy/Telecom sector salaries rose significantly.Tech salaries saw a small increase,likely because of pervasive layoffs and stagnation in those sectors.Education/Arts and Hospitality both increased,likely because theyre rebounding from the pandemic hangover.A mixed economic bag S

15、uccess(or failure)of media companies reflects the overall advertising ecosystem.When advertisers spend fewer dollars,media companies and their employees feel it first.Other companies will likely face this reduction in ad spend by leaning into content strategy that harnesses organic channels to deliv

16、er business outcomeshinted in our Content Matters 2023 Report.IndustryYearSalary%change in salary,2022-2023Agency/research Consulting2023$105,4665%2022$100,453Consumer Electronics2023$117,20547%2022$80,000CPG2023$126,749-5%2022$133,615Educations/Arts2023$109,81318%2022$93,480Energy/Telecom2023$125,0

17、45155%2022$49,058Financial Services2023$126,66819%2022$106,865Healthcare2023$121,939-8%2022$133,152Hospitality/Food/Travel2023$108,82426%2022$86,280Media/Publishing2023$115,668-9%2022$127,127Retail/Ecommerce2023$125,66214%2022$110,191Technology2023$126,81413%2022$111,843Average salary by U.S.region,

18、2022-2023US RegionYearAverage salary%difference from average nationwide salaryNationwide2023$118,033N/A2022$109,778N/AMidwest2023$116,279-1%2022$90,995-17%Northeast2023$117,321-1%2022$118,3948%South2023$116,493-1%2022$101,959-7%West2023$122,2564%2022$118,8098%6|W PV I P.COMC HA NGES I N SALARYSalari

19、es by geographyHigh salaries arent just for big cities and U.S.coasts anymore.*Salary differences among geographies became far less pronounced in 2023.The likelihood of having a non-coastal,$200,000+job improved noticeably.For those already making six figures in the U.S.Midwest and South,salaries gr

20、ew by 28%and 14%,respectively.Work from anywhere?Post-pandemic effects on remote work continued in the U.S.,furthering the migration trend from big,coastal cities to smaller communities in southern states.These professionals are now benefiting from the tight labor market and remote work options.How

21、big will the return-to-office trend be?With no end in sight for higher interest rates and continuing layoffs,companies may keep remote workers in place to weather the current storm.*There was insignificant data to evaluate non-U.S.based salary changes.7|W PV I P.COMC HA NGES I N SALARYSalaries by ma

22、rketing team sizeMoving to a larger marketing team may yield a salary bump.On average,salaries grew 29%for those on teams of more than 100 people.Teams between 11 and 20 saw no salary growth.Smaller teams under 10 saw salary decreases.Its all about resourcesTeams at larger,better-budgeted organizati

23、ons will typically have greater access to robust technology and resources like content analytics platforms,which can help content marketers understand content performance and demonstrate ROI.This investment can help those content creators draw a direct line to their value,leaving them better positio

24、ned to earn a salary that matches output and affected business outcomes.$200,000$150,000$100,000$50,0000%40%30%20%10%0%-10%Average salary by marketing team sizeSalary change based on marketing team size,from 2022-1-1011-2011-2021-5021-50Team sizeMarketing team size51--500

25、101-500Average salary by company size,2022-2023Company sizeYearSalary%change in salary,2022-$97,228-7%2022$103,$110,2610.6%2022$109,$122,81923.7%2022$99,$130,95916.4%2022$112,4881,001-10,0002023$149,86117.6%2022$127,43410,001+2023$146,2192.8%2022

26、$142,2448|W PV I P.COMC HA NGES I N SALARYSalaries by company sizeThe middle of the pack is a good place to be.For companies of 201-400,employees saw salary growth of almost 24%.For larger companies,the increase was smaller:16.4%for 401-1,000 employees,17.6%for 1,001-10,000 employees.Only employees

27、at the smallest firms took a hit,averaging a 6.5%decrease in salary.Sometimes average is goodThere is a likely correlation between company size and marketing team size.More resources allow for more robust,accountable organizations.At smaller companies,marketing budgets have been cut as organizations

28、 tighten belts and get back to product fundamentals.For employees affected by layoffs,their eagerness to rejoin the workforce has potentially forced them to accept the same or reducedsalary at smaller companies.9|W PV I P.COMC HA NGES I N SALARYThe connection between:Salaries and leadership buy-inAt

29、 organizations where leadership understands the value of content marketing,employees can expect to earn roughly$5,000 more than at those where leadership doesnt.What pays the least?Uncertainty.Employees at organizations where their leadership buy-in is unknown earn roughly$10,000 less than their pee

30、rs at companies where content marketing is understood.Prove your value,get rewardedLeaderships fluency in content marketing clearly benefits employees.Such leaders are looking at the analytics and ROI of the content engine.In fact,as we learned from our Content Matters 2023 Report,nine in 10 teams w

31、ith leadership buy-in have revenue goals tied to content.So,if there is demonstrable ROI,those teams will unlock more budget,a portion of which goes to salaries.Beyond operational efficiency,top talent will flock to organizations where their skills are appreciated and fully utilized.Salaries in 2023

32、 based on leadership understanding the value of content marketing$122,000$116,000$110,000$104,000Understands$120,867$115,637$110,123Doesnt understandBuy-in status unknownAverage salary by amount of content producedChange in content outputYearSalary%change in salary,2022-2023More2023$105,946-7%2022$1

33、13,542No change2023$101,2375%2022$96,379Less2023$119,96133%2022$89,9401 0|W PV I P.COMC HA NGES I N SALARYLess is more.Employees at organizations that planned to increase their content output in 2022 saw higher salaries,averaging$113,000.The opposite is true for 2023.Those who planned on creating le

34、ss content reported higher salaries,averaging roughly$120,000.Quality quantityAs we learned in our Content Matters 2023 Report,18%of companies are creating less content in 2023(compared to just 9%in 2022),possibly focusing on higher-quality content.Now,higher-salaried employees believe they can crea

35、te more results with less content,given the right tactics and tools to create,measure,and optimize content more efficiently.By analyzing content performance,marketers can streamline their output and make better content decisions for efficiently hitting their KPIs.The connection between:Salaries and

36、content outputBudget outlook by salaryChange in budgetYearSalary%change in salary,2022-2023Increase2023$105,676-9%2022$115,697No change2023$107,991-3%2022$111,224Less2023$116,6665%2022$111,6941 1|W PV I P.COMC HA NGES I N SALARYWhile 58%of all respondents believe budgets will increase in 2023,the se

37、ntiment varies depending on salary.In 2022,there was a fairly even split across pay bands between those who thought their budgets would increase vs.those who didnt.That changed in 2023.The salary of the average employee pessimistic about their budget was$10,000 higher than the average salary of opti

38、mists.The connection between:Salaries and budget outlookThe budget biasIts possible that higher earners have more insight into their companys financial outlook and operations.When budgets trend lower,its likely there will be a premium placed on measurement to prove efficacy.In short,cash-strapped or

39、ganizations will no longer throw money into paid advertising to meet their awareness and acquisition goals.1 2|W PV I P.COMSalaries by analytics platform usagePercent higher compared to average 2023 salaryParse.ly 5.5%Google Analytics1.1%Companies that use analytics platforms pay substantially highe

40、r salaries than those that dont.And the analytics tool used does matter.For example,compared against the average salary of analytics users,Parse.ly users earn 5.5%more,while Google Analytics users earn only 1.1%more than those who dont measure content performance at all.C HA NGES I N SALARYWhy analy

41、tics usership mattersWhile organizations using Google Analytics rely on just a few people to pull data,those using Parse.ly are able to to make data a team effort.*When every team member is making data-driven business decisions,youre more likely to see strong content performance.Parse.ly also offers

42、 an easier way to prove content ROI,which we know is directly correlated to leadership buy-in,and therefore,higher budgets and salaries.By demonstrating the value of their content strategy and making strong decisions at every turn,Parse.ly users are able to validate their worth and demand higher sal

43、aries.Get a Parse.ly demo*Based on data from our Content Matters 2023 ReportSalaries with and without analytics platforms$125,000$100,000$75,000$50,000$25,000$0Average salary$118,033$124,292Average salary,with analyticsThe connection between:Salaries and content analytics tools1 3|W PV I P.COMThe st

44、ate of content salariesMethodologyThe current salary landscape has been equally shaped by a mix of economic and industry trends.A volatile economic climate with rising interest rates has resulted in layoffs and salary decline or stagnation.At the same time,industry trends,post-pandemic rebounds,and

45、a competitive labor market have sparked salary growth in some corners.Of the 1,500+people surveyed for our Content Matters 2023 Report,1,230 reported salary data.These marketing and media professionals ranged in titles,industries,company size,team size,and more.We pulled in salary data collected for

46、 our Content Matters 2022 Report to compare salary changes from 2022 to 2023,exploring factors that led to the increases or decreases.We cleaned and weighted the data to properly compare employees across different company sizes,budgets,and geography.The questionnaire was sent out via email and socia

47、l media.To recap our key findings for content salaries in 2023:Over the past year,average salaries have grown,with the exception of executive-level positions.Non-media companies were unaffected by salary reductions connected to the anemic advertising environment.Salaries in the United States are lev

48、eling out across geographic regions.Larger companies and marketing organizations pay higher salaries.Firms where leadership understands the value of content marketing see higher salaries.Analytics tool usage correlates to higher pay.What to expectTop of mind is the impact generative artificial intel

49、ligence(AI)will have on the nature of content creation and related professional opportunities.Should content marketers be scared for their livelihoods or excited about the possibilities?At WordPress VIP,were excited and optimistic.But one thing is constant:content matters,and being able measure that

50、 content,and prove its value correlates directly to higher salaries.M ETHO DO LO GY&D EM OGR APHICSAbout WordPress VIPCreating better customer experiences is what WordPress VIP is all about.Built on the flexibility and ubiquity of WordPress,our CMS platform empowers more content creators to build mo

51、re content for more audiences faster.And deliver it across their digital channels of choice.With built-in content analytics powered by Parse.ly,we make working with data easy for creators and marketers,giving them the insights they need to focus their content strategy and prove ROI.And with our enterprise-grade security and reliability they can be confident that theyre building on a solid,scalable foundation.1 4|W PV I P.COMGet a