Content marketing has always been an integral part of the marketing mix, although it’s only been embraced for its tangible results in recent years, with brands challenging themselves to think creatively about their brand and how they position themselves in the market. What might be lesser known within the marketing community is how you can track your content marketing campaigns so you know what is working and what needs to be optimized further to hit the mark. Now, let’s dive into these 7 tips for tracking your content campaigns, and what you should look out for so you don’t chase the wrong metrics.
Engage a content marketing agency
Content marketing is a laborious exercise, and not something you can rush or fake as the very essence of content marketing is being authentic and engaging. Because of this fact, it’s a fantastic idea to engage a content marketing agency that can not only execute your content marketing strategies but use a range of tools and programs to analyze the traction of the campaign which can be presented to you in an easy-to-read summary and actionable plan. If post-analysis is not your strong suit, an agency might be a great idea.
Social media insights
Facebook, Instagram and all other social media platforms will have an inbuilt platform that will give you insights into the traction of your content marketing campaign. No, we’re not talking about likes and comments, but rather the reach of your campaigns and the engagement seen, with the added context of knowing their age, gender, and location so that you can know who your campaign has been seen by. By using these tools you can better track your campaigns by conceptualizing your customer persona, and see how your campaign is meeting their unique needs.
Google Tag Manager
If you have ever wondered how much of your blog is being discovered by your audience, what articles they read and how far down they read – you should set up Google Tag Manager. This nifty pixel can allow you to set up ‘goals’ on each page, which you can analyse and tweak your blog accordingly based on that information, which is great for campaign landing pages. Your ‘goals’ can also trigger communications and pop-ups, so set some tests and see what you find.
Web traffic
Your web traffic can tell a detailed story about the progress of your campaign, spiking when you launch a campaign, as well as seeing what the split is of return and unique visitors. These insights can be crucial in determining the success and direction of your content marketing campaign. You can find this information from the content management system you are using, or you can also use Google Analytics for a deeper look, with the origin of these visits also captured.
Social media ROI
Before you consider any paid activity, you want to decide on your CPC (Cost Per Conversion) price point which can be your North Star in which to measure the success of a campaign. The more you test and tweak your campaigns, the more you learn from your audience and what they want to see, which ultimately drives down your CPC over time.
The quality of leads
We tend to get swept up in the number of leads our content marketing campaign generates, although the quality of the leads should be the true measure of success, as any old spam campaign is going to pick up some potential interest. Rather than waiting for the lead to do the qualifying, do your best to tailor your campaign so that it hits the mark early. If your leads are quality, then this is a sign you are on the right track.
Sales and conversions
This is a no brainer… but your sales and conversions are going to be the ideal sign that your content marketing campaign is working effectively. Although that being said, if your lowest price point products are the only items selling and you had targeted to push your higher-end products, you might need to revisit your campaign design so that your goals are being met.
Put these 7 tips to use and start learning more about your content marketing successes and challenges, and don’t be afraid to try something new to see how it tracks as you inch closer to that content sweet spot.