Measuring the results of your content marketing campaign is not a simple task, and the following statistics show exactly the degree of confusion among specialists:
- A Contently survey revealed that 9.4% marketers can measure results with accuracy;
- A CMI research showed that 20% marketers can measure the effectiveness of their content targeting.
Meanwhile, a reputed food company stated that their advertising efforts generate only a quarter of the ROI coming from their content marketing platform.
This is disparaging data, and one main conclusion is that it will still be a while before the content marketing definition is completed with information on the exact tools for measuring success. The lack of accurate results measurements does not mean that decision makers will start losing confidence in this type of marketing and limit their budgets.
However, soon enough, executives will demand more than just words. They will request numbers, percentages and pie charts detailing how much ROI and lead conversion is generated through content creation and publishing.
On a positive note, various specialists are already working on this matter, and we are already witnessing the emergence of various types of metrics that can determine how successful a content marketing action plan really is.
These metrics are probing the essential aspects pertaining to marketing:
- Engagement – how many people read and comment on your content;
- Lead generation – how many people visit your website after reading your content;
- Lead conversion – how many of these visitors actually make a purchase.
With this data you can obtain a clear view of the effects produced by your strategy and locate the high and low points of interest. The key is monitor this data and be ready to act when the time is right. Content marketing is not a magic tool to increase sales, it needs as much proactivity and involvement from you as any other marketing strategy.
