Many enterprises and brands have transitioned to media entities and digital publishers. This has led to an increase in demand in two main areas:
- Spending responsibly
- Understanding the influence of content on business goals
This means that marketers need to assess the available content at many points of a customer’s journey instead of just the actual transaction point. It is also important to understand how to measure performance since this is an essential tactic, or strategy, of content marketing. The effectiveness of a content marketing program cannot be exclusively discussed when one examines the bigger picture. However, you should consider a few marketing metrics and KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), regardless of whether you intend to implement your digital marketing strategy now or in the near future. Be sure to take the time to thoroughly analyze each and let your organization address each point with the seriousness it deserves.
Match your business goals to metrics and content KPIs
This will help you get a better picture of your goals when it comes to content marketing. What goals do you have in tactics, logistics, and strategies?
Ask yourself:
- What should the relationship between KPI and my business goals be in regards to insight and analysis?
- How are KPIs related to each of my business goals?
- How many of my business goals relate directly to my efforts, and is it reasonable considering my scope and budget?
Be flexible as you establish metrics and content KPIs
Don’t rush to set the KPIs for your business. Make sure you have accurate data, facts, and a deep insight of your needs. Find stories that match the goals of your business and make sure your metrics and KPIs are assessed to determine if they are relevant. Open yourself to new opportunities for the expansion of your business.
Ask yourself:
- Has my business become accustomed to using the same metrics and KPIs for the past five years or more? If yes, why? If no, why not?
- Can I point to new areas that my business could see growth in according to recent studies?
- Do I think or feel like I need to have new metrics and KPIs?
Be flexible as you establish metrics and content KPIs
When you seek to measure how much effect publishing has had on your business, it is imperative that you understand the difference between off-site assets and on-site assets, e.g. blog or website and examine the areas that are overlapping, for example, traffic on social media.
Ask yourself:
- Do the on-site and off-site connections show a relationship between cause and effect?
- Are the off-site and on-site efforts dependent on each other?
- Are there any noticeable trends that might spur business growth?
Use creativity
Analytics requires creativity, and you should be creative in interpreting data to gain thoughtful insights to help your business. Don’t use the same data, but also allow your team to think differently about the application of data.
Ask yourself:
- Do you plan to use new data in each update?
Act accordingly
You can fully realize the impact of metrics, data, and KPIs if you develop actionable areas. The areas to work on may indicate a challenge or a new opportunity, and you can seize the opportunity or solve a problem only if you take action.
Ask yourself:
- Can I act on my metrics and goals?
- How long will the metrics take to implement?
- Will this impact my anticipation of an increased business success?
Apply common sense
Common sense can help you to arrive at a possible action using any data that will help you get short-term, medium-term, and long-term solutions you can apply to your business.
Ask yourself:
- Can I act on my KPIs?
- Do I have the appropriate tools to track my anticipated measurements?
Assess small data and macro trends
Accessing data can help you see the big picture of your business website and the overall performance of the content. A closer look at relevant keywords can help you understand whether it is generating traffic for your site or not. Use detailed data to understand emerging trends.
Ask yourself
- Will the small details lead to big ideas for my business?
- What is the relationship between small data points and the big picture?
Have events for content marketing
Take major interactions to mean events. These interactions may be keywords, a particular section of your website, or a linked page. Reinvest in the events and ideas that generate high ROI.
Ask yourself:
- Did I create new content?
- Was the content my creation, or gathered from another site?
Take people as they are, not data
People are often mistaken as points of data, such as a keyword referral or another statistic. Even if the data points are real people, understand that they are searching for a solution to a problem. Understand the thinking behind the increased traffic.
Ask yourself:
- Who creates the data I am using?
- What does the audience look for in the data from my site?
Use your brain to analyze data
You have no better tool to use in analysis and measurement other than the brain. Your brain is the instrument that interprets data and helps you develop key action areas for your business.
Ask yourself:
- Can I assess the number of brains used to evaluate my data properly?
- Can my brain ably develop new areas to act on to improve my business?
Use the 10/90 rule prepared by Avinash Kaushik
Avinash is a leading analytics authority on Google. He recommends applying 10% of your budget to working tools and 90% on the intelligence you need to achieve that from the budget. Even if you have the best analytics tools, you might not get anything out of it if you do not have enough brain power.
Ask yourself:
- Have I invested in the true intelligence to solve the problems using the data I have?
Share your insights with your company
After you have arrived at your findings, share them with your organization. If you cannot interpret the data on your own, send it to someone who can help you perform the analysis and then share them with your company.
Ask yourself:
- Is my data reaching the right people to create an action plan?
- Are they taking the right actions?
Run after the right KPIs and metrics
Many people forget the stress they put on their organization and the time lost chasing after the wrong metric. In your prioritization try to strike a balance between the results and the effort being applied.
Ask yourself:
- What is the effort needed for the metric or KPI?
Don’t over-concentrate on a singular point of data
Content marketing requires time before you can develop the perfect view of your organization. Since you are using multiple data points, you should ensure that you have the correct balance of insight and effort. Many marketers over-concentrate on one data point, leading to skewed data and avoidable problems.
Ask yourself:
- Am I using too many resources to pursue a metric whose impact on the organization is minimal?
- Am I overly obsessing on one metric while ignoring others?
Don’t equate direct-response goals and hold branding
Businesses err when they use direct metrics in branding and also get it wrong if they compare branding goals to ROI. Some goals are qualitative, and you should not assign a monetary value to them. Content marketers ignore branding and are obsessed with online channels. This practice needs to change since you can hold a business hostage by focusing on only one marketing channel.
Ask yourself:
- What value do I give a lead?
- What is the long-term value of my esteemed customers?
Use leads appropriately
As you seek to develop a strong brand, ensure you approach new clients according to your leads. Do not assume any leads will automatically be afforded to you since leads are what develop your business. All leads have the potential to be your future customers.
Ask yourself:
- Are we acting on all our leads appropriately?
- Have our past leads grown my business?
Want to add some more points in this article? Feel free to share them in the comments, and perhaps we’ll get a Part-II of this article with your points on it!
