Marketers are still trying to figure out how to track data and metrics related to content marketing. Ultimately, they need to show the effectiveness of content by tying revenue to digital marketing deliverables like blog posts, infographics, and webinars.
The metrics that matter, however, are not always obvious.
At least that’s what top marketers said at Content.NYC, an event which took place yesterday in New York City. The half-day event drew roughly 200 attendees, ready to learn about core aspects of content marketing including analytics, global content marketing, storytelling, and influencer outreach. This was the last stop in a three-city tour.
During the event, we caught up with marketers to find out two things: (1) how companies feel about content marketing analytics and (2) how well they grasp them.
From publicly traded companies to boutique video production houses, the answers were similar. It’s unclear how to best track content marketing analytics, but it’s a high priority—and marketers are investing in tools to find an answer.
As one marketer, who wanted to stay anonymous, said: “Do we have an ROI piece? No.”
Specifically, here’s what marketers are saying about content marketing analytics:
Peter Knapp, Marketing Director at Wiley, a global publishing company that specializes in academic publishing and marketing its publications.
Knapp says there are parts of Wiley that are advanced in terms of digital analytics. Specifically, they have teams dedicated to tracking data around topics of commerce, revenue, and conversions.
And content marketing analytics is “a new initiative” they’re tackling, he says.
David Gray, Senior Director of Marketing at Epsilon, an industry-leading marketing services firm
Gray says his marketing department has made investments in marketing tools and software, and there’s a pressing need for better analytics around content marketing.
“It’s one of the top three priorities in the marketing department,” he said.
John Matson, Marketing Manager at Guggenheim Production, a New York-based video and film production house
Matson says for a company his size, the data associated with content marketing is based not only in sheer quantity of metrics (like page views, clicks or opens), but also in the quality of the people behind the engagement. He said one of his key objectives in developing content marketing metrics is identifying ways to understand what kinds of people are connecting with their brand and sharing their content.
“We are gathering the data, but not fully leveraging it,” he said.
John Giunta, Demand Generation Manager at MicroEdge, a leading provider of software and services to the “giving community worldwide”
Giunta is getting some necessary software tools in place, like investing in marketing automation software and CRM software. But similar to the other marketers in the room, they feel the content marketing data conundrum is not quite solved. He said content analytics will be key in determining what’s working and what’s not.
“For me, it’s a top priority,” he said.
Where Are the Answers?
6 in 10 professionals from around the world agree that there is pressure from senior management for their organization to become more data-driven and analytical. Good thing there are at least 947 marketing companies that provide marketers with tools to do their jobs better. From social sharing sites and influencer tracking, to automated email marketing and content marketing platforms—the economy is ripe with software and solutions. But it may take some time for businesses to make full transitions into effective analytics tracking.
That said, the sentiment is clear: content marketing is one of the biggest priorities among marketers, and we’re getting closer to determining how to track the most important metrics.
Take for instance content scoring. Content scoring is a process that reveals exactly how many leads and opportunities a piece of content generates. Unlike pageviews, uniques and shares, content score applies an actual numerical value (a “content score”) to the content an organization produces based on how leads, opportunities or closed deals interacted with that content.
The result is valuable insight into the true ROI of content, enabling marketers to make informed decisions about which content assets to produce.
There’s also