44% of marketing managers struggle to measure content ROI This inability to measure the ROI of content marketing motovated me to write the leading content marketing ROI guide for Smart Insights http://bit.ly/content--roi-guide, which gives in-depth guidance on how to calculate the cost of content marketing and measure the return on investment. In these slides I outline the simple yet effective costing model, and show you how, by breaking out the component costs of content into labour, production and distribution, you can work out your content marketing cost, which provides the basis for evaluating your content marketing ROI. I also demonstrate the lag between content marketing creation and the pay back and how you need to keep focused on great content creation and distribution, until your content marketing ROI is positive. This presentation comes from the Content Marketing Essentials webinar series I produced for Idio, the content intelligence platform, built to help marketers think and act more strategically with their content marketing.

1. How To Measure &
Evaluate Content
Marketing ROI &
Prove It To Your Boss
Measure & Evaluate Content Marketing ROI, And Prove It To Your Boss Join the conversation: #ProveContentROI @idioplatform @concentricdots

2. Today’s Speaker
Stephen Bateman
DipM CIM
Concentric Dots
Andrew Davies
Co-Founder
idio Ltd
Today’s Host

3. $
# content items
Cost
As you do content marketing more, you get better!
Measure & Evaluate Content Marketing ROI, And Prove It To Your Boss Join the conversation: #ProveContentROI @idioplatform @concentricdots
Content Costs

4. $
# content items
Cost
Measure & Evaluate Content Marketing ROI, And Prove It To Your Boss Join the conversation: #ProveContentROI @idioplatform @concentricdots
But Benefits Lag…
Gain

5. Cost
Gain
Time
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Improve, Don’t Just Prove Your ROI
$

6. Solution To Date:
Produce More Content
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7. Problem Compounded
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8. Agenda
The RACE Tracking Framework
Costs & Building A Budget
Measurement In Action
Presenting To Management
Solving the Problems
Q&A
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9. 5%
(1) Very
Successful
16%
33%
21%
10%
15%
(5) Not At All
Successful
We Do Not
Track
The Wider Market
How B2B Marketers Rate Their Organization’s Success At Tracking ROI
(2015 B2B Content Marketing Trends – North America: Content Marketing Institute / Marketing Profs)
(2) (3) (4)
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10. 70% now carry a
revenue quota
Leaders Showing The Way
In a 2015 survey of B2B marketers by Demand Gen Report…
70%
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11. 0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
.
% of unique visitors consuming content item
Top 50 content items across idio customers
On average, 5
pieces of
content account
for 50% of
unique visitors
Content Production Efficiency
Measure & Evaluate Content Marketing ROI, And Prove It To Your Boss Join the conversation: #ProveContentROI @idioplatform @concentricdots

12. 0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
.
% of unique visitors consuming content item
Top 50 content items across idio customers
On average, 5
pieces of
content account
for 50% of
unique visitors The bottom 25 pieces of content (half) account
for a mere 16% of unique visitors, but each piece
still costs the same to produce.
Measure & Evaluate Content Marketing ROI, And Prove It To Your Boss Join the conversation: #ProveContentROI @idioplatform @concentricdots
Content Production Efficiency

13. Remedy?
Start Measuring!!
21 3
Speak the
language of
management
Think about
measurement
up-front (during
content creation)
Alight on the
metrics that
matter
Measure & Evaluate Content Marketing ROI, And Prove It To Your Boss Join the conversation: #ProveContentROI @idioplatform @concentricdots

14. “Marketing must shift from
art, to art & science”
EIU Survey
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15. Mindset
How will it make our audience feel?
Will it stand out?
Does it tell a story?
Is it truly innovative?
What is our strategy?
Will it generate leads & revenue?
Has this worked in the past?
Are we aligned with sales?
Get The Mindset
(Source: Curata)
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16. “Measurement unlocks ROI;
ROI unlocks budget”
Joe Chernov - Hubspot
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17. Build
Awareness Through
REACH
Influence
Consideration Through
ACTION
Drive
Leads & Sales Through
CONVERSION
Grow
Loyalty Through
ENGAGE
Key Objectives
Your Marketing Supports Four Outcomes
R A C E
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18. The RACE Measurement Framework
REACH
Build awareness on other sites and in offline
media and drive to your web presences
KPIs:
ü Unique viewers
ü Audience shares
ü Brand buzz
ü Share of search
ACT
Encourage audiences to interact with brand
on your website or other online presence
KPIs:
ü Click-through rates CTR
ü Bounce rate
ü Session stickiness
ü Social profile growth
ü Key engagement actions
ü Share of traffic
CONVERT
Achieve conversion to marketing goals such
as leads on web presences and offline
KPIs:
ü Revenue
ü KPI
ü Sign ups and registrations
ü Feeds and social media subscriptions
ü Trials
ü “Ripples”
ENGAGE
Build customer and fan relationships to
achieve retention goals
KPIs:
ü Upsell/Cross-sell
ü Advocacy/Referral
ü Return visitors
ü Frequency / recency reports
ü Sentiment
Define The Smart RACE KPIs that Review The Effectiveness
And Efficiency of Your Digital Marketing (Source: Smart Insights)
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19. Relevant, actionable insight
holds the key to improving
these KPIs.
Which topics, content items, channels, campaigns,
segments, & formats are most likely to drive people
to Reach, Act, Convert &Engage?
Measure & Evaluate Content Marketing ROI, And Prove It To Your Boss Join the conversation: #ProveContentROI @idioplatform @concentricdots

20. Cost Metrics
It’s time to raise the performance measurement bar!
Measure & Evaluate Content Marketing ROI, And Prove It To Your Boss Join the conversation: #ProveContentROI @idioplatform @concentricdots

21. How much (and what type of) content do you need?
(And an example) (Source: Smart Insights)
Personas (2)
x
Buying stages (4)
x
Questions per stage (5)
= 40 pieces of content
Heavyweight content
Largely secondary fuel
ü Infographic
ü White Paper
ü Research Study
ü eBook
ü Professional Video
ü Mobile App
ü Event
Lightweight content
Largely primary fuel
ü Blog post
ü Simple article
ü Checklist
ü Article / Interview
ü Press Release
ü Podcast
ü Handheld video
ü Case Study
ü Basic Slideshare
ü Webcast
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22. Time Tracking
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23. Write down what the
business wants
to achieve in the
next 6-12 months
What is your budget?
Generate £1 million
in new sales by
30-Dec-15
£5,000 average
customer value
200 new customers 10% conversion
rate (1 in 10)
Write down what
marketing needs to
do in next 3-6
months to help the
business achieve its
goals
Generate 2000 new
leads
Budget: £500 per
new customer
Cost per lead: £50
per lead
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24. POLL:
How do you set CM budget?
- Based on sales targets that need to be achieved
- Based on an uplift from last year
- We don’t have a defined budget
- % of marketing cost
Measure & Evaluate Content Marketing ROI, And Prove It To Your Boss Join the conversation: #ProveContentROI @idioplatform @concentricdots

25. ROI
(Source: http://bit.ly/content--roi-guide)
ROI = (Gain from investment – Cost of investment)
Cost of investment
Measure & Evaluate Content Marketing ROI, And Prove It To Your Boss Join the conversation: #ProveContentROI @idioplatform @concentricdots

26. ROI:
In the Wild
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27. Cost of Campaign!
Share of Salaries! £2500!
Designer! £700!
Share of Tech! £650!
Paid Promotion! £1100!
TOTAL! £4950!
A Recent eBook Campaign
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28. Cost of Campaign!
Share of Salaries! £2500!
Designer! £700!
Share of Tech! £650!
Paid Promotion! £1100!
TOTAL! £4950!
A Recent eBook Campaign
Revenue/Gain!
Number of Leads! 650!
CPL! £31!
MQLs! 136!
MQL Value! £75!
TOTAL! £10200!
Measure & Evaluate Content Marketing ROI, And Prove It To Your Boss Join the conversation: #ProveContentROI @idioplatform @concentricdots

29. Cost of Campaign!
Share of Salaries! £2500!
Designer! £700!
Share of Tech! £650!
Paid Promotion! £1100!
TOTAL! £4950!
A Recent eBook Campaign
Revenue/Gain!
Number of Leads! 650!
CPL! £31!
MQLs! 136!
MQL Value! £75!
TOTAL! £10200!
ROI Calculation!
ROI = (Gain-Cost)/Cost!
ROI = (10200-4950)/4950!
ROI! 106%!
Measure & Evaluate Content Marketing ROI, And Prove It To Your Boss Join the conversation: #ProveContentROI @idioplatform @concentricdots

30. Cost of Campaign!
Share of Salaries! £2500!
Designer! £700!
Share of Tech! £650!
Paid Promotion! £1100!
TOTAL! £4950!
A Recent eBook Campaign
Revenue/Gain!
Number of Leads! 650!
CPL! £31!
MQLs! 136!
MQL Value! £75!
TOTAL! £10200!
ROI Calculation!
ROI = (Gain-Cost)/Cost!
ROI = (10200-4950)/4950!
ROI! 106%!
For every £1 invested, we got £2.06 of value back.
Measure & Evaluate Content Marketing ROI, And Prove It To Your Boss Join the conversation: #ProveContentROI @idioplatform @concentricdots

31. Three Levels of Reporting
(Source: Ryan Skinner, Analyst @ Forrester)
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32. Report Frequency
Content Data
Example
Three Levels of Marketing Reporting
Bi-weekly, bi-
monthly, quarterly
Punctually, weekly, bi-
weekly, monthly
Quarterly, annually
Visits, views, clicks,
shares, RTs, fans,
followers, immediate
conversion events
Increased lead
generation from white
paper downloaded by
20% over previous week
Added 1500 names to
newsletter list
Awareness, overall traffic
volume, conversions, sales
cycle velocity, SEO impact of
keywords on SERPs
(organic) WOM, social media
penetration, inbound links
and syndications achieved
by content, high profile
placements, conversion
events, new customer
acquisitions, up/cross-sells
Revenue, reputation, PR
impact & reach, thought
leadership, growth in branded
keyword volumes from
organic search, invitations to
speak at conference,
invitations to comment / guest
blog, new connections with
key influencers, new
partnerships
15% growth in sales of
basic software package
Talking head on The
Bottom Line (BBC radio)
Tactical Level
(Fast Cycle)
Strategic Level
(Mid Cycle)
Corporate Level
(Long Term)
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33. The ROI Pyramid
(Source: Altimeter)
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34. The “action” Reporting Dashboard
(Source: Avinash Kaushik)
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35. Live Dashboards
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36. IBM
“Cultures don’t transform overnight.
Executives were pragmatic. We kept measuring,
kept showing improvement. Some people might be
convinced after a month, some after a year.
We kept telling the story in a
consistent framework.”
Measure & Evaluate Content Marketing ROI, And Prove It To Your Boss Join the conversation: #ProveContentROI @idioplatform @concentricdots

37. Anyone can prove ROI on a
campaign.
Sustainable ROI is all about
Scale & Time.
Measure & Evaluate Content Marketing ROI, And Prove It To Your Boss Join the conversation: #ProveContentROI @idioplatform @concentricdots

38. $
# content items
Cost
As you do content marketing more, you
get better!
Measure & Evaluate Content Marketing ROI, And Prove It To Your Boss Join the conversation: #ProveContentROI @idioplatform @concentricdots
Content Costs

39. $
# content items
Cost
But the benefit lags…
Measure & Evaluate Content Marketing ROI, And Prove It To Your Boss Join the conversation: #ProveContentROI @idioplatform @concentricdots
But Benefits Lag…
Gain

40. Cost
Gain
Time
Measure & Evaluate Content Marketing ROI, And Prove It To Your Boss Join the conversation: #ProveContentROI @idioplatform @concentricdots
$
Improve, don’t just prove your ROI

41. Cost
Gain
Time
Measure & Evaluate Content Marketing ROI, And Prove It To Your Boss Join the conversation: #ProveContentROI @idioplatform @concentricdots
B > A, hopefully!
$
B
A

42. Fixing the ROI problem is not about
proving ROI.
It’s about
improving ROI.
Measure & Evaluate Content Marketing ROI, And Prove It To Your Boss Join the conversation: #ProveContentROI @idioplatform @concentricdots

43. Can I identify
which content is
wasted and why?
1 2 3
Will my content plan
resonate with my
audience?
Do my salespeople
access the right content
at the right time?
How to Improve Costs
The key questions that successful marketers ask, and answer.
Measure & Evaluate Content Marketing ROI, And Prove It To Your Boss Join the conversation: #ProveContentROI @idioplatform @concentricdots

44. 1
Can I identify which content is wasted and why?
Measure & Evaluate Content Marketing ROI, And Prove It To Your Boss Join the conversation: #ProveContentROI @idioplatform @concentricdots

45. 2
Will my content plan resonate with my audience?
Measure & Evaluate Content Marketing ROI, And Prove It To Your Boss Join the conversation: #ProveContentROI @idioplatform @concentricdots

46. 3
Do my salespeople access the right content at the right time?
Measure & Evaluate Content Marketing ROI, And Prove It To Your Boss Join the conversation: #ProveContentROI @idioplatform @concentricdots

47. Is my funnel
leaky or
productive?
1 2 3
Is my content
leading to
conversion?
Am I helping
salespeople to
close deals?
How to Improve Gains
The key questions that successful marketers ask, and answer.
Measure & Evaluate Content Marketing ROI, And Prove It To Your Boss Join the conversation: #ProveContentROI @idioplatform @concentricdots

48. 1
Is my funnel leaky or productive?
Measure & Evaluate Content Marketing ROI, And Prove It To Your Boss Join the conversation: #ProveContentROI @idioplatform @concentricdots

49. 1
Is my funnel leaky or productive?
Measure & Evaluate Content Marketing ROI, And Prove It To Your Boss Join the conversation: #ProveContentROI @idioplatform @concentricdots

50. 2
Is my content leading to conversion?
Measure & Evaluate Content Marketing ROI, And Prove It To Your Boss Join the conversation: #ProveContentROI @idioplatform @concentricdots

51. 3
Am I helping salespeople to close deals?
Measure & Evaluate Content Marketing ROI, And Prove It To Your Boss Join the conversation: #ProveContentROI @idioplatform @concentricdots

52. Measure & Evaluate Content Marketing ROI, And Prove It To Your Boss Join the conversation: #ProveContentROI @idioplatform @concentricdots
Conclusion:
ü Calculating ROI is only the start.
ü Focus on improving, not just proving, ROI.
ü It’s about progress, not perfection.
Start the journey now!

53. Thank you for your
time. Questions?
Stephen Bateman
Concentric Dots
stephen@concentricdots.co.uk
@concentricdots
Andrew Davies
idioplatform.com
andrew.davies@idioplatform.com
@idioplatfrom

54. Measure & Evaluate Content Marketing ROI, And Prove It To Your Boss Join the conversation: #ProveContentROI @idioplatform @concentricdots
Coming Soon!
Webinar: The B2B CMO's New Role In Sales Enablement:
From Priming The Pipeline To Engaging Buyers
Laura Ramos, Vice President, Principal Analyst
Tuesday 7th April
4pm GMT / 11am EST
Thank You!
Start the Journey Now!