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Digital Marketing - Study Notes:
Measuring content marketing campaigns
The two most important metrics associated with measuring content marketing campaigns are engagement metrics and conversion metrics.
Engagement metrics
Engagement metrics for a successful content marketing campaign include:
- Higher average time on site
- Reduced bounce rates
- Increase in the number of returning visitors
- More pages viewed per session
- Deeper scroll depth
- Growth in discovery through organic search or social visitors
- Increased number of people searching for your brand
- Higher channel engagement metrics (For example, social shares, email opens, brand mentions, and links to your content, which is good for long-term SEO.)
Conversion metrics
Conversion metrics for a successful content marketing campaign include:
- Higher number of goals achieved
- Higher conversion rate
- Shorter path to purchase
- Reduced cost per sale or lead
Make sure you choose the right set of metrics to measure your campaign based on its objective. If the objective was awareness, for example, using conversion metrics to evaluate success can misrepresent the value of the campaign activity. The objective should be stated in the content strategy document and agreed with all stakeholders before launch. Remember, it is important to manage the expectations for a campaign and to use the correct metrics to show how the activity impacted on the agreed objective.
A challenge can arise when there are different expectations. For example, the agreed objective might be to drive awareness, but the expectation from stakeholders might be that the campaign will drive direct conversions or sales. Then stakeholders may ask for direct conversion metrics, instead of the awareness metrics, for the campaign. To avoid such cases, explicitly outline the metrics for success in the strategy document before sign-off. And only report on conversion metrics as a secondary effect of the content campaign.
Likewise, in the case of a conversion objective, it might not be possible to report on increased awareness activity following a campaign. Either way, the principle is the same - always ensure you are using the right metrics to report on your campaign in relation to the agreed objective.
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Will Francis
Will Francis is a digital marketing consultant, trainer, and speaker. Will ran a successful ad agency in London for eight years, and was Editor of social network MySpace in the 00s. He educates and consults for senior marketers at the world’s leading brands. His previous clients include Samsung, Spotify, Marriott Hotels, Warner Music, Penguin Books, and Net a Porter. Will regularly appears on radio and TV to share his expertise, and presents the DMI’s ‘Ahead of the Game’ podcast.
