There is no such thing as a one-size fits all approach to measuring your content marketing efforts. Trying to apply the same three to five metrics per each campaign will result in a disjointed attempt at reaching your audience with content. Instead keep the following elements in mind when applying the right metrics to each of your initiatives.
Prioritized Goals
From the start of any campaign, establish what your goals are to better focus what the organization is trying to achieve with each content initiative.
Whether your brand is attempting to generate more traffic, drive brand awareness or increase sales, the goal of each campaign will inform the metrics that serve as the best pairing.
A campaign with the goal of driving engagement may be paired with metrics like time on site, pages viewed per visit or retention rate.
(Source: Lifehacker)
Campaign Timeline
The length of time your particular content campaign is running will impact the metrics chosen as some illustrate short-term effects like the number of views or comments, while others are best used to measure impact in the long-term like conversions or customer lifetime value.
There are two types of content marketing campaigns when it comes to the timeline, some campaigns are ongoing and don’t have a particular end date like a blog or podcast, while others are short-term with a specific end date as they may only run weekly, monthly, quarterly or annually.
Content Format
Metrics for a brand’s content marketing initiatives vary depending on the type of content being produced. The metrics to determine the success for a video, infographic or case study should be unique as each is interacted with by consumers differently, has its own level of impact and requires a specific approach to measure effectively.
(Source: Market Domination Media)
Measuring a video by play rate, the percent of page visitors who clicked play and started watching, is effective, but not for determining the success of an infographic, which might be better suited to metrics like an increase in press mentions or inbound links.
Sometimes these metrics do overlap across different formats of content to determine success, like views or comments as they can measure success on an article or a video.
Distribution Channel
Similar to the nuances between content formats, each channel of distribution like Facebook, email, organic search and others have their own considerations that impact which metrics to apply to your content marketing strategy.
When choosing the best metrics for your campaign, keep in mind each distribution channel has its own audience, creative limitations, potential reach and access to data for proper measurement. Some metrics apply to different channels as their purpose can overlap occasionally.
Job Role Specific
The definition of what a meaningful content marketing metric is will differ from person to person at an organization as each role has different responsibilities and motivations. When choosing which metrics should match a content campaign keep in mind that the overarching goal of the initiative should be the same, but the metrics an individual is viewing may differ slightly or significantly.
For example, a content manager may monitor a content campaign on a daily basis, which could require measuring results everyday with metrics like percentage of social shares or pageviews, as compared to chief marketing officer that may review the same campaign monthly looking to sales and conversions driven for a higher level analysis.
Cater the metrics chosen for your content marketing to be job role specific to ensure each stakeholder has the information they need to participate with the initiative and make more informed decisions on behalf of the brand.
The most meaningful metrics for content marketing will vary greatly from brand to brand from campaign to campaign, but with the above guidelines, your organization has the blueprint to successful develop an accurate reporting system for your approach to content.
Attend my full session on Content Marketing ROI at the Social Media Strategies Summit Feb 11th, 2016 in Las Vegas at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino. Learn more here.