What is the value of content marketing? How do you know if you are publishing the right type of content? iCrossing's Karen Pate and Terry Sheehan shared insights on how to measure the effectiveness of a content marketing program at the DMA 2013 Conference on October 15, 2013.

1. Measuring Content Marketing
Karen Pate, Ph.D.
Terry Sheehan

2. Topics To Cover
• Defining Content Marketing
• Measuring Content Today
• Measurement Considerations

3. DEFINING CONTENT MARKETING

4. Just so we are on the same page
Con tent something contained, the topics
or matter treated in a written work, the
principal substance.
Mar ket ing the process of
communicating the value of a product or
service to customers, for the purpose of selling
the product or service.

5. Today’s discussion is about measuring
the impact…
Con tent something contained, the topics
or matter treated in a written work, the
principal substance.
Mar ket ing the process of
communicating the value of a product or
service to customers, for the purpose of selling
the product or service.

6. Facets of content marketing
WHO is
WHERE it’s being
CONSUMING it
CONSUMED
WHICH business units
are CREATING it
HOW it’s being
MANANGED
CONTENT
AUDIENCE
DISTRIBUTION
ORGANIZATIONAL
MANAGEMENT

7. MEASURING CONTENT TODAY

8. Two Key Challenges
Organizational:
Company siloes
– Lack of coordination between department objectives
– Individual performance incentives conflict reducing
support of the overall company picture
– Differing views of success within the organization
Data Connections:
Limited Understanding
– Content to conversion
– Individual content object vs. content group
(individual vs “team sport”)
– Latent impact of content
Post-today -> impact tomorrow

9. The Challenges Personified – Part 1
Clueless
• Unsure of the end goal
• Doesn’t know what or how to measure
• End Result: Does not measure anything
Show Me The Money
• Obsessed with only the immediate revenue
• Has trouble with non-tangible measures
• End Result: Left feeling unsuccessful with little
direct revenue measured

10. The Challenges Personified – Part 2
Keep It Simple
• Measures the basic immediate response (page
views, likes, comments, etc…)
• Focused on each piece of individual content
• End Result: Unsure of what to do next
Drowning in Data
• Collects every possible data point
• Spends hours over multiple reports
• End Result: Analysis paralysis – continues to
look at the next available data point to see

11. MEASURING CONTENT:
CONSIDERATIONS

12. GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT

13. Think about “Value”

14. Identify where data comes from

15. Create structure for all this data

16. ADDRESSING THE KEY CHALLENGES

17. Align the Organization
• Develop shared view
of assessing content
performance
• Create transparency
in content
performance

18. Align the Organization
• Adapt your model for organization type
– Centralized company
– Federated company
– Multi-brand company

19. Create Data Connections
• Create a connection
and drive awareness
for the brand
• Be part of the consideration
set through relevant content
in the planning process
• Provide all the necessary
information at the point of
purchase to drive sale

20. Measure the Connections: Option 1
• Similar to media mix
• Collect aggregate
engagement details of
content & content groups
• Model high-level
correlations between
content’s immediate
responses and the ultimate
business objective
Next Month Sales
Content Mix Modeling
Monthly Page Views of
Awareness Content Group

21. Measure the Connections: Option 2
Content Attribution Modeling
• Similar cookie level
attribution in media
• Collect individual
engagement details of
content & content groups
• Model high-level
correlations between
content’s immediate
responses and the ultimate
business objective
From an individual cookie
Day 1: Twitter Click
Day 2: Product Page View
Day 3: Reviews Page View
Day 4: Purchase
To thousands of cookies

22. Apply the Insights
• Identify the right content areas
– New opportunities
– Current content worthiness
• Let insights guide content development and execution
– Appropriate format, treatment for target audience, channels
for publishing

23. Measuring Content: A Case Study
What’s the value?
• Goal is not immediate revenue
–
–
–
–
Connections made
LinkedIn page views
iCrossing visits
Buzz
• Must look at the collective
impact of all presentations
• Long-term view of relationships
– Presentations to sales
– Presentations vs. close rates
– Presentations vs. type of products
sold
• Informs 2014 presentations

24. QUESTIONS