For content marketing, it’s a long season. There are, and should be, many chances to fail — as long as we fail quickly, learn, and adapt to the new surroundings.
Measurement comes at the end of this framework, but for many, it’s the beginning, middle, end (and everything in between) of your content marketing process… and it’s not easy.
As our 2021 content marketing research indicates, 33 percent of B2B marketers attribute their difficulties in achieving success to measurement challenges. One reason for this may be that the standard marketing metrics and processes don’t necessarily translate when operating within a content ecosystem.
In addition, our 2022 B2B research found that of the marketers who report feeling least successful, 39 percent say they don’t measure content performance at all – an oversight that makes it difficult to accurately gauge the value their efforts are adding to the business.
But even for those who do track performance, there’s little consensus across the industry about which metrics to focus on. For example, in his video show on How to Demystify the Process of Measuring Content Marketing ROI, The Content Advisory’s founder and chief strategy officer Robert Rose says marketers often look at some arbitrary metric – like page views or downloads – and try to link it to return-on-investment.
Just because you can measure just about anything these days, doesn’t mean that you should. Metrics can be all-consuming and confusing. Your first step should be to make sure you understand what all those different data points mean and what insights they can – and can’t – reveal about your content. Our guide, 23 Measurement Definitions Every Content Marketer Should Know, can help with that.
Then, you can sharpen your focus on some of the other measurement fundamentals:
- Measuring Content Marketing Impact: How To Set Objectives That Matter
- How To Explain Content Marketing ROI to Win (or Keep) Buy-In
- How To Set Up a Content Scoring Process for Better Decisions
- Your Content Analytics Are Meaningless Unless You Have This [Rose-Colored Glasses]
- How to Create a Performance Dashboard for Your Content Team
- 101+ Key Performance Indicators – and Tips for Making the Best Choices
- Stop Making These Reporting Mistakes
Next, understand how other companies are measuring content marketing:
Lastly, follow some expert advice on measuring performance against specific goals, on certain platforms, or for dedicated purposes:
- 7 Social Media Metrics That Should Really Matter to Your Brand
- Shares Don’t Cut It: Pick Better Metrics for Demand and Lead Gen
- How to Use Google Analytics to Find Your Best Content
- How to Measure the Value of Your Subscribers
- How to Make a Better Content Marketing Case With ROI
