“What return can we expect from all this content you’re creating?” You might have heard this, or something similar, from your boss, and it’s a fair question. Return on investment (ROI) is a core business principal and, whether produced by a large team or a sole trader, content marketing is an investment.
As for the true value of content marketing, it can be difficult to put an exact figure on it, especially early in the piece. Content marketing is a long game, and without support from the top down, even a good content strategy is at risk of fading before yielding tangible results.
On the other hand, when a business commits resources (time, money, technology and most importantly, people) to content marketing, and leadership buy in, it’s much more likely to achieve the desired results and lead to greater business success.
When supported by a well-considered, effectively implemented strategy, content marketing becomes the very fabric of a business. It helps businesses build and grow audiences, increase brand awareness, build consumer engagement and trust, generate leads and improve sales. The data supports the case. According to Marketing Insider Group, content marketing generates three times as many leads as traditional marketing. Even better, it costs as much as 62 per cent less. According to Forrester, the average person consumes 11.4 pieces of content before making a purchasing decision and, when evaluating a company and its offerings, 95 per cent of B2B buyers consider content as trustworthy (DemandGen). On the blogging front, companies that do produce an average of 67 per cent more leads monthly than companies that don't (DemandMetric).
Statistic after statistic, the strength of content marketing is evident. And here’s another stat: Content marketing revenue worldwide reached US$42.15 billion in 2019 — a 14.4 per cent increase from 2018. Business is booming! Is yours?
Here’s how get the most value from your content marketing efforts.
Educate senior executives on the value of content marketing. The truth is, some C-suite executives may not have a good understanding of content marketing and its inner workings and that needs to change. You may have to start at the very beginning – What is content marketing? How does it work? – but you need the whole team on board.
Examine your current content marketing position. In order to know where you’re going, you must first know where you are. So, from where are you intending to grow? Is there a content strategy already in place? Are your deliverables in line with wider company objectives? Who is responsible for the design and delivery of content? Which platforms are you using and why? Understanding your current position will help you get the most out of content marketing as you move forward…with the whole team on board, of course.
Evaluate what’s working, what’s not. According to Ahrefs, more than 90 per cent of content gets no traffic from Google. Ouch. Too often, hitting publish on a piece of content is treated as the final step when, in fact, things are just heating up. A strong strategy will identify the metrics (think page views, bounce rates, likes, comments, organic traffic, conversion rate – the list goes on) against which you plan to evaluate published content. An annual content audit will also offer significant insights into the performance of your existing content, revealing your strengths and weaknesses and helping to inform ongoing strategy.
Execute a new plan. Objectives defined. Resources secured. Plan in place. It’s time to execute, and consistency is key. Consistent, on-brand content will build visibility, credibility and leads. Keep an eye on performance data and be prepared to revisit and refine your strategy to better meet your audience’s needs.
Click here to learn more about creating an effective content strategy.