Introduction
Many businesses struggle to track their progress and see what's working and what's not.
And some might wonder “Why is it important to measure the success of our content marketing efforts?”
Simple, because if you don't know what's working, you can't improve your results.
But that should not be a problem for you because in this article, I'm going to walk you through the basics of content marketing measurement.
I'll show you which metrics to track and how to use them to improve your results.
So, grab a cup of coffee (or tea, if you're fancy) and let's dig in.
What is content marketing?
Content marketing is a type of marketing where you create and share online content in order to spread awareness about what you do and create interest in working with or purchasing from your company.
Content may consist of a number of formats, including email marketing, videos, ebooks, social media, and blog posts, just to name a few.
Let’s look at this scenario. You’re running a restaurant and you want to attract more customers. You could put up ads, but people are tired of being bombarded with ads.
A better way to attract customers is to create and share content that they'll find valuable.
For example, you could write blog posts about recipes, cooking tips, and the history of different cuisines.
You could also create videos about how to make your most popular dishes or give behind-the-scenes tours of your restaurant.
By sharing valuable content, you're building relationships with potential customers and showing them that you're an expert in your field.
When they're ready to eat out, they're more likely to choose your restaurant because they know you'll provide a great experience.
Content marketing is the same thing, but on a larger scale. Businesses of all sizes use content marketing to attract and retain customers.
Why is it important to measure the success of your content marketing efforts?
Content marketing is an incredibly effective way to reach and engage your target audience, build brand awareness, and drive conversions.
However, in order to achieve these goals, you need to evaluate the success of your content marketing efforts and know why it is important to measure it success.
- To understand what is working and what is not. By tracking key metrics, you can see which types of content are resonating with your audience, which channels are most effective, and what areas need improvement. This information can help you make informed decisions about your content strategy and allocate your resources more efficiently.
- To demonstrate the value of content marketing to your stakeholders. Content marketing is a long-term investment, so it is important to be able to show your stakeholders that it is paying off. By tracking metrics such as leads generated, sales, and brand awareness, you can prove that your content marketing efforts are making a positive impact on the bottom line.
- To stay ahead of the competition. The content marketing landscape is constantly evolving, so it is important to track your metrics to see what your competitors are doing and how you can differentiate yourself. By understanding your own performance and the performance of your competitors, you can develop a more effective content strategy.
Here are some of the key metrics that you should track to measure the success of your content marketing efforts:
- Website traffic and engagement: This includes metrics such as unique visitors, pageviews, bounce rate, and average session duration.
- Social media engagement: This includes metrics such as likes, shares, comments, and click-throughs.
- Email engagement: This includes metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and unsubscribe rates.
- Leads and conversions: This includes metrics such as form submissions, free trial signups, product demos, and sales.
- Brand awareness: This can be measured by tracking brand mentions, backlinks, and social media followers.
By tracking these metrics on a regular basis, you can get a good understanding of how your content marketing efforts are performing and make necessary adjustments to improve your results.
Different types of content marketing goals
Creating effective content marketing goals requires aligning them with your overall business objectives.
Sometimes a single goal isn't enough to meet our needs. It is likely that you will want to set multiple objectives to cover different outcomes you want to achieve.
Suppose your content marketing strategy aims to increase organic traffic to your website over the next 4 months by 20%.
You will probably also want to increase your content ROI and the actions they take on your website.
Some of the most common goals include:
Brand awareness
By creating and sharing content that is relevant to your target audience, content marketing can increase brand awareness.
This can include blog posts, articles, infographics, videos, and social media posts.
Lead generation
You can also use content marketing to generate leads by creating content that captures potential customers' contact information.
This can include landing pages, ebooks, white papers, and webinars.
Customer acquisition
You can acquire more customers by creating content that convinces potential customers to purchase your products or services.
This can include product demos, case studies, and customer testimonials.
Customer retention
Content marketing can also be used to retain customers by creating content that keeps them engaged and coming back for more. This can include blog posts, newsletters, and educational content.
No matter what your specific goals are, content marketing can be a powerful tool for achieving them. All this put together will enable you to attract and retain customers, generate leads, and grow your business.
How to choose the right metrics to measure your success
To choose the right metrics to measure your content marketing success, you need to first identify your specific goals.
What do you want to achieve with your content marketing efforts? Do you want to increase brand awareness, generate leads, drive sales, or something else?
Once you know your goals, you can choose the metrics that will help you measure your progress towards achieving them.
Here is a list of common content marketing metrics and how they relate to different goals:
Website traffic and engagement
Unique visitors: The number of people who visit your website within a specific time period. This metric is a good indicator of overall reach and interest in your content.
Pageviews: The number of times a page on your website is viewed. This metric can help you understand which pages are most popular and engaging.
Bounce rate: The percentage of visitors who leave your website after only viewing one page. A high bounce rate can indicate that your content is not relevant or engaging to your target audience.
Average session duration: The amount of time that visitors spend on your website. A long average session duration indicates that your content is engaging and keeping visitors on your site.
New vs. returning visitors: The percentage of visitors who are new to your website versus those who have visited before. A high percentage of returning visitors indicates that your content is valuable and that visitors are finding it useful.
Social media engagement
Likes: The number of people who like your social media posts. This metric is a good indicator of brand awareness and interest in your content.
Shares: The number of times your social media posts are shared. This metric indicates how much your content is being spread and promoted.
Comments: The number of comments on your social media posts. This metric indicates how much people are interacting with your content and sharing their thoughts.
Click-throughs: The number of people who click on links in your social media posts. This metric indicates how much your content is driving traffic to your website.
Email engagement
Open rates: The percentage of email recipients who open your emails. This metric is a good indicator of whether your email subject lines are effective and whether your email list is engaged.
Click-through rates: The percentage of email recipients who click on links in your emails. This metric indicates how much your email content is driving traffic to your website and landing pages.
Unsubscribe rates: The percentage of email recipients who unsubscribe from your email list. A high unsubscribe rate can indicate that your email content is not relevant or valuable to your audience.
Leads and conversions
Form submissions: The number of people who submit forms on your website, such as contact forms, lead generation forms, and newsletter subscription forms. This metric indicates how many leads you are generating from your content marketing efforts.
Free trial signups: The number of people who sign up for free trials of your products or services. This metric indicates how much your content is driving interest in your products or services.
Product demos: The number of people who request and attend product demos. This metric indicates how much your content is driving interest in your products or services.
Sales: The number of sales that can be attributed to your content marketing efforts. This is the most important metric for most businesses, as it shows how your content marketing efforts are impacting your bottom line.
Brand awareness
Brand mentions: The number of times your brand is mentioned online, including social media, news articles, and blog posts. This metric is a good indicator of how well-known your brand is.
Backlinks: The number of websites that link to your website. This metric is a good indicator of your website's authority and credibility.
Social media followers: The number of people who follow your brand on social media. This metric is a good indicator of your brand's reach and popularity on social media.
key takeaways
Choose the right metrics for your goals. Not all content marketing metrics are created equal.
Choose metrics that are relevant to the specific goals you want to achieve with your content marketing efforts.
Track your progress over time. This will help you to identify trends and see how your results are changing.
Use your metrics to improve your content marketing strategy.
Once you have a good understanding of what's working and what's not, you can make adjustments to your strategy to improve your results.
Content marketing is a long-term investment, but it can be incredibly rewarding.
Tracking relevant metrics associated with your content goals will help you understand if you're on track to achieving them, or where you need to improve.
Final thought
Content marketing is a powerful strategy that can help businesses achieve their marketing objectives.
However, in order to measure the success of your content marketing efforts, you must set specific content marketing goals and track relevant metrics.
Have you considered what your most important content marketing goal is or are?