Search on Content Marketing, and nearly 400,000 items will appear.  Clearly, there’s a lot of marketing energy going into this new competency and discipline.  Content Marketing is among the largest line items on the marketing budget and encompasses content creation, distribution, managemen,t and creation. It’s a bit unsettling to realize that, given all this energy and investment, marketers still aren’t sure how to measure the value of content marketing. According to Gartner’s 2019 study, CMOs struggle to align marketing metrics with business priorities. Only 39% of marketers say their organizations are effective at content marketing.

Marketers have been creating content since the beginning of time, so what‘s different now?

Add Intelligence to Your Content

The extensive number of channels and the fact that they’re always on has changed everything. It reminds me a little of when television went from programming on a few channels and a network that “turned off (remember when there was just “snow” if you fell asleep while watching TV?) to hundreds of channels and a system that’s 24/7. You need a lot of content to keep viewers, with this level of access to that many channels, fed. It’s never been more challenging to have the right content on the right channels at the right time. Nor has it been more important to be able to measure the value of this investment.

So, this is where the “intelligence” part of the equation comes into play.

Apply intelligence to your content marketing
Be smart about your content – apply intelligence

There are several ways data can help you make more intelligent content decisions and avoid wasting your precious marketing budget.  Right out of the gate, data can help you decide what topics and formats are most preferred by your content consumer, based on the personas you have created.  Then investigate what topics this audience is reading and sharing, including what content your competitors are producing. But don’t limit yourself only to these topics. As a thought leader, you need to be ahead of the pack, so you also need to consider what content they should be reading. Then select topics that are best aligned with your organization’s priorities and initiatives. Data is instrumental in making timing and channel decisions here as well.

All of your content should be tied to a business outcome so you can establish metrics beyond views, clicks, and shares.  Content should always be moving the consumer forward in their relationship with your organization.  Appropriate metrics might include engagement, conversations, proposals, velocity, win rate, and of course, ultimately, revenue. Use data to set performance targets and then measure how well the content is enabling you to achieve your business outcome, as well as what is and isn’t working.

Performance and Operational excellence assessment

Purchase Your Assessment

Summary: Creating content isn’t the hard part—creating Relevant, Informative, Timely, and Entertaining (RITE) content is the challenge. It requires having the right data and insights to make the right decisions about what content to create and publish, when, in what format, in what channel, and for which segments and personas. In our opinion, these are fundamental questions for every marketer and something every marketing leader should have top of mind. Data is key to being able to answer these questions and ensure your content is properly synched to your customers’ buying journey. If your organization is producing and “airing” content and hasn’t yet mapped your customers’ buying journey, it’s time to regroup.

Make your content sync intelligently with your customers’ journey. Learn how with our Customer Journey Mapping Workshop

FAQ:

(written by Penn of Sintra.ai)
Q1: Why are marketers still struggling to measure the value of content marketing despite heavy investment?
A: Because content marketing has expanded into a major budget line item across creation, distribution, and management—yet many organizations still struggle to align content metrics with business priorities. Gartner’s 2019 study notes CMOs struggle with metrics alignment, and only 39% of marketers say their organizations are effective at content marketing.
Q2: What’s different about content marketing “now” compared to the past?
A: The number of channels—and the fact that they are always on—has changed everything. The environment requires more content, delivered continuously, across more formats and platforms. That makes it harder (and more important) to ensure the right content is in the right channel at the right time—and to measure whether the investment is producing value.
Q3: What does it mean to “add intelligence” to your content strategy?
A: It means using data and insight to make smarter decisions about what content to create, for whom, in what format, when to publish, and where to distribute—so you reduce waste and increase the likelihood content advances business outcomes.
Q4: How can data help marketers make more intelligent content decisions?
A: Data can help you:
  • Identify topics and formats preferred by your content consumers (based on personas)
  • Understand what the audience is reading and sharing—and what competitors are producing
  • Select topics aligned to organizational priorities and initiatives
  • Make better timing and channel decisions
Q5: Why shouldn’t content topics be based only on what the audience already reads?
A: Because thought leadership requires being ahead of the pack. In addition to producing what your audience is already consuming, you must also consider what they should be reading—then choose topics that both educate the market and align to strategic priorities.
Q6: Why must content be tied to a business outcome (not just engagement)?
A: Because tying content to outcomes enables metrics beyond views, clicks, and shares—and makes it possible to quantify value. Content should move the consumer forward in their relationship with your organization, which can be measured through progression and conversion metrics.
Q7: What metrics better reflect content’s business value than views and clicks?
A: Depending on the outcome, appropriate metrics may include:
  • Engagement quality
  • Conversations initiated
  • Proposals influenced
  • Pipeline velocity
  • Win rate
  • Revenue (ultimate outcome)
Q8: What is RITE content, and why is it the real challenge?
A: RITE content is Relevant, Informative, Timely, and Entertaining. Creating content is not the hard part; creating RITE content consistently is. It requires data-driven decisions about what to publish, when, in what format, in what channel, and for which segments and personas.
Q9: What should a marketing leader do if the organization is producing content but hasn’t mapped the customer buying journey?
A: Regroup. Without a mapped buying journey, it is difficult to intelligently sync content to how customers actually buy—making it harder to deliver the right touchpoints and to measure contribution to outcomes.

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