A new survey from Marketwired, an online news distribution service, reports that marketing and public relations professionals increasingly plan to use content marketing efforts in their upcoming campaigns. In fact, 79% of respondents to the Marketwired survey said they already have a content marketing program in place, and 64% reported that they plan to increase their use of content marketing programs in 2016.

"Results from this survey echo conversations I've had with customers about the importance of content to their PR and marketing programs, and to their overall business objectives," said Sanjay Kulkarni, Marketwired vice president of product and marketing. "It's clear that relevant, quality content is increasingly important to telling brand stories, boosting customer affinity and driving qualified leads for the sales team. And while building a content strategy isn't quick or simple, our respondents see it as a must-have for 2016. They recognize the opportunities in front of them by having a plan in place."

Drilling down into the types of content that marketing professionals are using in their current efforts, respondents cited a range of options: blog posts (55%), photos (29%) and news releases (24%) were identified as the content used most frequently by respondents. Newsletters, video, infographics and white papers were also named, along with case studies, webinars and tip sheets.

The survey also highlighted the importance that companies are placing on gauging the success of their content marketing efforts. In fact, more than three-quarters (77%) of respondents said "yes" to measuring their content efforts. And while engagement, reach and website analytics are the most commonly named metrics, click-through rates, lead-generation, brand awareness and influence were close runners-up.

The Marketwired survey was conducted online between October 15 and November 25.