How To Measure Content Marketing ROI (Return On Investment)

How To Measure Content Marketing ROI (Return On Investment)

by | Jun 9, 2022 | Business & Marketing Strategy, Business Intelligence & Analytics, Insights, Marketing Planning & Execution, Storytelling & Branding

How To Measure Content Marketing ROI (Return On Investment)

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The targeting, planning, and tracking of content marketing campaigns continue to get more sophisticated as new capabilities and tools are tailored to the task. However, CMI recently reported that 44% of marketers still find some aspects of improving content measurement challenging, though it remains a top priority.

Measuring their return on investment, or content marketing ROI, is increasingly essential because customers engage with content at every stage of their journey. Forrester found that a customer engages with 11.4 pieces of content before purchasing. Furthermore, the customer journey is rarely linear, especially in the B2B sales funnel. Instead, potential customers may dip in and out of the funnel several times, sampling different pieces of your content before converting.

Measuring content marketing ROI is not an exact science, but tried-and-true best practices are emerging. Read on to learn more about content marketing ROI, measuring it, and which metrics are truly vital.

What is Content Marketing ROI?

Simply put, content marketing ROI is a percentage showing how much you earned from content marketing compared to what you spent producing and distributing it. It is one of the most critical measures of the success of a content marketing program because it is directly tied to revenue.

However, content marketing ROI has been challenging for marketers to quantify because, as mentioned above, the customer journey is often anything but straightforward. Content marketing is, after all, a long-term strategy, which makes attribution more difficult to determine. Plus, content alone won’t necessarily generate ROI – it is most valuable when created to bring value to additional channels like email, ads, etc.

What Are The 4 Steps Involved In Measuring Content Marketing ROI?

Marketers have developed a formula to determine the content marketing ROI percentage. Still, many more metrics are not tied directly to revenue but help provide a holistic view of the success of your content marketing campaigns. First, we’ll explain the formula.

Step One

Add up how much you’ve spent producing content. This could include images, video, audio, the content creator’s salary, work done by other departments, etc.

Step Two

To that number, add what it costs you to distribute the content. This could include tools/software used for creation and distribution or paid promotions. If you are using those tools for multiple purposes, use a percentage of that cost – for example, are you using email solely to distribute content? Perhaps not, so focus on only the portion of the cost attributed to content. This sum represents the total cost of producing all of your content, or your investment.

Step Three

Add up all of the sales or leads (you must establish a lead value) that resulted directly from a piece of content. This is your return.

Step Four

To that number, add what it costs you to distribute the content. This could include tools/software used for creation and distribution or paid promotions. If you are using those tools for multiple purposes, use a percentage of that cost – for example, are you using email solely to distribute content? Perhaps not, so focus on only the portion of the cost attributed to content. This sum represents the total cost of producing all of your content, or your investment.

Which Content Marketing Metrics Really Matter?

The first thing you should know is that it is counterproductive to try to track all possible metrics. Instead, you should hone in on specific metrics depending on what you want to accomplish with your content. When you begin a new content marketing project or campaign, focus on metrics that support your key goals and provide you with information you can use to optimize the project or campaign. Don’t wait until the piece is released to decide which metrics are important. Plan ahead and limit yourself to the most meaningful and actionable information.

Here are some key metrics to consider linked to some common goals:

To Measure Revenue Potential: Lead Quality and Sales

There are many ways to measure lead quality, which are likely to vary from business to business. For example, if you have Google Analytics set up on your website, you can see whether visitors spend time on important pages. Set up a goal for those pages and view the results at Conversions > Goals > Funnel Visualization. Another way to evaluate lead quality is by looking at traffic, bounce rates, and conversions together. For example, high traffic with high bounce rates and low conversions can indicate low lead quality.

In B2C, if you want to know how many leads turned into sales and the value of those sales, you’ll need eCommerce enabled in Google Analytics. At Behavior > Site Content > All Pages, you’ll find a Page View column that can show which pages are driving the most revenue. However, this only works for straightforward, one-session conversions, which aren’t that common for most websites. You can learn more by visiting Conversions > Multi-Channel Funnels > Assisted Conversions, which measures conversions that each channel assisted with, and sorting by landing page. For B2B, focus on form submissions.

To Evaluate SEO Performance: SEO Success and Exposure/Authority

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) increases website traffic by helping your website rank higher in search engine results, where potential customers are more likely to click. Measuring the success of your SEO often involves looking at whether you rank well for your target keywords (this is vital), have high-authority inbound links, and are popping up in relevant answer boxes. You can check this by using a private/incognito window to search for key terms and seeing how well you rank. Tools like Moz’s Link Explorer that can give you specific measurements around domain and page authority, and show you your inbound links. Compare your SEO success with your social engagement to see how well your content uses keywords and whether it is finding the right audience.

The more exposure you get and the more you establish your brand’s authority both online and offline, the more people will want to share and link to your content. The Moz tool offers good insight into authority by domain and page, but you should also be sure to track offline metrics like instances of media coverage and participation in industry events. While authority is valuable, it can be challenging to track, so you may want to get creative with the types of metrics you measure here. For example, don’t forget to pay attention to what people have to say about your brand on social media.

You can also see what terms your blogs get impressions and clicks for in Search Console or Analytics. Additionally, there are tools (like Search Analytics for Sheets) that will continuously and automatically export out all queries your pages get impressions for so you can monitor average position and help determine which terms to target for new content.

To Track Engagement: Web Traffic, Onsite Engagement, and Social Media ROI

Without traffic, you can’t generate revenue on your site, so web traffic is an important metric to combine with others for a well-rounded view. You can use Google Analytics to see how much traffic a content piece is driving by visiting Behavior > Site Content > Landing Pages. This view shows you which pages visitors first land on, sorted by highest-traffic pages first. Next, look at where your traffic is coming from (referral traffic) by clicking on a specific page and clicking Secondary Dimension > Acquisition > Source/Medium.

Once people arrive at your website, you’ll want to understand how much time they spend on which pages. Low bounce rates are a good sign that your content is well-received, but there are also other important onsite engagement metrics. In Google Analytics, go to Audience > Overview to see pages per session, bounce rate, and average session duration. To see how fast visitors are bouncing off a specific piece of content, go to Behavior > Site Content > All Pages and find its URL.

Social media shares are important to track because social proof and peer recommendations have become so critical in the purchase process. You can see how much traffic you get from specific platforms at Acquisition > Social > Network Referrals, and the Social > Overview page can show you how much revenue that traffic has earned you.

Try &Marketing’s Content Marketing ROI Calculator

Using &Marketing’s Content Marketing ROI Calculator is your first step toward creating a thoughtful content strategy that aligns with your business goals. This calculator will help you determine which keywords and topics will generate the most organic traffic and conversions on your website (depending on where your content ranks for those keywords on Google). It also calculates how much it would cost to get those same results via paid advertising. This comparison will help you determine whether it’d be more cost-effective to invest in paid advertising or organic content, or a combination of the two!

Try the Calculator

Looking for more guidance around understanding and optimizing your content marketing ROI? Contact us today!

About the Authors

Marketing Director Paul Ferguson helps clients develop fully integrated marketing solutions that make impressions and drive results. Whether it be design-oriented campaigns or digital market execution, Paul skillfully creates strategies to effectively reach client’s desired audiences.

Content Specialist Kim Steinmetz helps brands and thought leaders discover and develop their unique voice and tone while establishing authority on a topic through compelling messaging and copywriting. An accomplished writer and marketer with over a decade of experience, Kim is well-versed in both B2C and B2B content.

About &Marketing

&Marketing provides the robust outsourced marketing department growing companies need without the high overhead costs of big agencies or full-time employees. Our variable model empowers businesses to reach their growth goals through access to the guidance and expertise of senior level strategists and a flexible execution team.

Are you facing challenges of your own in generating leads and meeting your business’ growth goals?

We’d love to learn more about your challenges and how a coordinated marketing approach might help take your organization to the next level.

Why is Marketing Important? The Value Marketing Offers Your Business

Why is Marketing Important? The Value Marketing Offers Your Business

by | Jun 2, 2022 | Business & Marketing Strategy, Insights, Marketing Planning & Execution, Storytelling & Branding

Why is Marketing Important? The Value Marketing Offers Your Business

&Marketing, and marketing, outsourced marketing strategy

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From building brand awareness, ensuring consistent messaging, to bringing in leads—your marketing department breathes life into your company from top to bottom through your customer’s eyes. Marketing does some seriously heavy lifting to help grow a business, but which lift is the most important one? When some of the work marketing does happens behind the scenes, what do business owners see as the strongest value-add?

We conducted a recent LinkedIn poll to answer a common question: “What’s the most important contribution a marketing department can provide to a company?”

The answers ran a wide gamut, but a few clear winners came up on top in the court of public opinion. Read on for an in-depth look into the role of marketing within a company. The most popular answers are broken down below, with the highest result last.

    Why is Marketing Important?

    1. Customer-Centric Culture

    A little less than one-fifth (16%) of respondents to our survey said the most crucial role of marketing is to deliver a “customer-centric culture.” But what does it look like in practice?

    Your marketing team is responsible for all of your messaging, including the construction of your target customer personas. These are archetypes of people who represent your “ideal” client base: from demographics to hobbies and typical online behavior, your buyer persona represents who you are directing your marketing efforts toward overall. This helps you build all of your efforts with this customer’s needs and wants in mind.

    Good branding strategies never lose sight of this all-important individual. Customers feel included and invited to interact with your brand (and hopefully into your marketing and sales funnel to close the deal) when they are being directly spoken to and empathized with in your messaging. When interacting with brand materials, your clients “should also have increased awareness of and engagement with a firm’s brand, products …. all of which show that the brand is integrated into their priorities in a positive and productive way,” says Barbara Kaplan, CEO of BSK Strategies.

    2. Growing Customer Awareness

    You may offer the best product or service in your industry, but your best customers could be passing you by for a competitor if they aren’t familiar with your brand. According to our survey, 29% of participants believe the most important role of a marketing department is to ensure that “customers know the brand(s).”

    Robert Curtiss, a National Account Manager with Business Group Resources, provides a poignant example of the power of brand recognition, “Can I have a kleenex? I spilled coke on the Formica because I was distracted by the Zamboni crashing into the jet-ski. That Zamboni driver should get a seeing-eye dog!”

    As humorous as it is outlandish, Curtiss’s example holds water: Brand recognition is king in the court of public notice. Being the first brand that springs to mind for your category is a powerful way to “live rent-free” in your customers’ minds.

    Through consistent application of brand guidelines, thought leadership work, and positive product and service placement, your marketing team is responsible for growing customer awareness.

    3. Delivering Positive ROI

    At the end of the day, your marketing team is there to provide a positive return on investment for the money you give them. This was the most popular choice, with nearly half (46%) of our respondents choosing it over other options. It seems the most obvious answer in business terms: your marketing team exists to convert the money you give them into more money for your business.

    But is it that simple? “Positive ROI is a lagging indicator of a customer centric culture, customers knowing the brand, and everything else a marketing department does,” stipulates Mark H. Johnson, Talent Optimization Manager with PI Midlantic. “It’s all about financial results.” According to quite a few other commenters, Johnson hit the nail on the head with this analysis.

    While delivering favorable ROI is a final result of a successful marketing team, their primary objectives, such as building a brand image, spreading awareness, and creating customer journeys, will all ultimately serve the purpose of creating a positive ROI. It follows that while this should be the main goal of your marketing strategy (and any other department in your business, in most cases), it can be achieved through a range of other avenues.

    Not insignificantly. 9% of our respondents reported that the most important role of a marketing team is something else entirely. They may be onto something: from crafting client relationships to reflecting business values, reaching out to press, representing new releases, and more—chances are, your marketing team is busy creating more opportunities for your business growth than you realize.

    Darren Sudman, Founder of Unless, an outsourced corporate social responsiblity consultancy, made a case for his answer. “Reflect the culture, purpose and value proposition. If those are aligned and well received, everything else takes care of itself,” says Sudman.

    It’s a tried and true method to follow. The great Simon Sinek famously wrapped up his vision for marketing in rather succinct terms: “People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it and what you do simply proves what you believe.”

    If people are always going to buy your “why” before your “what,” perhaps the answer to the question “why is marketing important” lies within being able to connect and communicate your company’s why and your customer’s why.

    Not sure if you’re communicating to the right customer, or don’t have a clear idea of the story you’re telling them? Download our Narrative Marketing Outline to help get that process started.

    Get to Know Your Customer

    What do you think is the most important role for a marketing department? If you’d like to discuss this topic further or get help identifying the role your marketing department plays and how we can help fill those gaps, contact our team!

    About the Author

    As the Managing Director of &Marketing (and-marketing.com), Rajat “Raj” Kapur strives to provide small, medium, and mid-market businesses unparalleled marketing strategy and execution services. His team of professionals can either augment an existing team, or outsource the marketing function for a client.

     

    About &Marketing

    &Marketing provides the robust outsourced marketing department growing companies need without the high overhead costs of big agencies or full-time employees. Our variable model empowers businesses to reach their growth goals through access to the guidance and expertise of senior level strategists and a flexible execution team.

    Are you facing challenges of your own in generating leads and meeting your business’ growth goals?

    We’d love to learn more about your challenges and how a coordinated marketing approach might help take your organization to the next level.

    How To Create An Effective B2B Content Marketing Strategy

    How To Create An Effective B2B Content Marketing Strategy

    by | May 23, 2022 | Business & Marketing Strategy, Insights, Marketing Planning & Execution, Storytelling & Branding

    How To Create An Effective B2B Content Marketing Strategy

    &Marketing, and marketing, outsourced marketing strategy

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    Content marketing is proving to be just as crucial for B2B organizations: Statista shows that 30% of marketers consider content to have the highest ROI of any channel, and DemandMetric has found that 91% of B2B marketers use content to build brand awareness, loyalty, and drive leads.

    The pandemic has also driven significant growth in B2B content marketing investment. If you’re interested in implementing a B2B content marketing strategy but not sure where to start, keep reading to learn:

    • What is content marketing in B2B?
    • How is it different from B2C content marketing?
    • What are the most successful B2B content marketing strategies?
    • How do you promote B2B content?

    What Is Content Marketing In B2B?

    Content marketing for B2B involves producing and sharing content to help you achieve several different types of goals:

    • Increase brand awareness and expand your audience
    • Develop and strengthen brand loyalty
    • Drive traffic, leads, and sales

    There are many differences in the content marketing used for B2B and B2C. The audiences, for example, are very different: B2C audiences tend to be very broad while B2B audiences are much more specific, targeting key decision-makers. Distribution often looks different, too. While social media is usually pivotal for B2C companies, other distribution channels are usually more successful for B2B content marketing — 70% of B2B customers will consume content directly from your website compared to 53% looking for it on social media networks.

    Successful B2B Content Marketing Strategies

    Here are a few B2B content marketing strategies that are working particular well for our clients:

    Study Your Audience

    The most important thing to remember about your audience is that it consists of individuals. A tool like Google Analytics can help you get a little more granular, so you understand your audience a bit better using demographics like age, location, gender, and special interest data. Putting this information together may allow you to draw logical conclusions about your audience that can help you tailor content to their questions and interests.

    Focus On Keywords Indicating Purchase Intent

    Choosing the right keywords is pivotal for driving traffic through organic SEO and identifying topics your audience is interested in. An excellent way to figure out what your target audience is searching for while at work is to evaluate a competitor’s website to see which keywords they rank well for using an SEO tool like SEMrush. Look for keywords and phrases with high cost-per-click (CPC) numbers, This means those words have high purchase intent and are incredibly competitive in the paid search market.

    There may be fewer users searching for these terms compared to those with lower CPC, but that’s okay — the higher CPC indicates a more qualified lead, which can make those smaller audiences worth targeting. If you can create strong organic content that targets those topics, you can avoid having to pay to be seen for those keywords.

    Generate Valuable Content Ideas

    There are other ways to generate fresh ideas for content beyond just keyword research. Pay attention to the online communities where your audience spends time. Look for common questions people ask, as this is often an indicator that they couldn’t find the answer via search. Comment sections on industry blogs can be another great source to understand what information your audience is looking for but can’t find. Look for opportunities to create content that offers a new perspective on a trending topic.

    Host Events

    Pandemic-related closures have precipitated a major rise in virtual events like webinars and online courses. According to CMI, in the last 12 months, online events have produced the best results of all content marketing formats for B2B organizations. However, that doesn’t mean that in-person events are a thing of the past — businesses should expect to invest in both and should consider creating a calendar of virtual events if they aren’t doing so already.

    Publish An Industry Study

    If you have the resources to do it, industry studies get a lot of traffic and shares and are excellent for establishing brand authority and expertise. Even just one high-quality industry study will help you generate backlinks (where other websites link to yours and vice versa) that increase your site’s domain authority.

    Create Comprehensive Guides

    Speaking of backlinks, obtaining these is one of the most challenging goals to achieve in content marketing — 94% of content published never gets any. Competition is part of what makes backlinks so difficult to get, so it’s important to create useful, compelling, and unique content to cut through the noise. You don’t have to break the mold with something astonishingly different. Instead, focus on creating high-value content worth reading and sharing. A good strategy is to develop comprehensive guides in addition to shorter content pieces — cover absolutely everything from the very basics of the topic all the way to key terms, real-world examples, and specific techniques.

    Invest In Video

    Did you know that 53% of tech-focused B2B buyers rated video as the most useful type of content? Many B2B businesses are missing out on the opportunity video presents. If you aren’t sure where to start, try repurposing older successful content into a video format to see how your audience responds.

    Promoting Your B2B Content Marketing

    Content competition is intense, so you should promote your B2B content in addition to relying on organic search. LinkedIn is a great place for businesses to promote B2B content, but your business may also find success on Facebook, Twitter, and others. The more you share your content, the more you will attract followers who will share your content to their networks, gaining you more followers, and so on.

    If you’re wondering whether a particular topic is attractive to your audience, try testing a short, bite-sized version on a social media network with strong organic reach (like LinkedIn or Twitter.) If the content garners strong engagement, you might consider creating an expanded version to share in other channels.

    An email newsletter is another great way to promote your content — 31% of B2B businesses use them to nurture leads and build relationships with target customers. Getting your business in front of several people every week keeps you top of mind and gives them a reason to engage with your brand when they need what you offer.

      Cut The Fluff: Create B2B Content That Actually Grows Your Customer Base

      Did you know that 70% of marketers are actively investing in content marketing? While this statistic confirms content’s reigning title of king on the internet, companies often make the mistake of generating blogs, eBooks, and social media posts blindly. This results in content marketing that lacks a real strategy, a concrete plan, or a way to track tangible return on investment. Download our ebook to learn how you can create content that converts and actually grows your customer base.

      Download the Calendar
      About the Author

      Content Specialist Kim Steinmetz helps brands and thought leaders discover and develop their unique voice and tone while establishing authority on a topic through compelling messaging and copywriting. An accomplished writer and marketer with over a decade of experience, Kim is well-versed in both B2C and B2B content. Her portfolio includes written print and digital ads, national television & radio spots, press releases, blogs, email newsletters, eBooks, and more for a variety of industries including IT, pharmaceutical, healthcare, manufacturing, and consumer packaged goods.

      About &Marketing

      &Marketing provides the robust outsourced marketing department growing companies need without the high overhead costs of big agencies or full-time employees. Our variable model empowers businesses to reach their growth goals through access to the guidance and expertise of senior level strategists and a flexible execution team.

      Are you facing challenges of your own in generating leads and meeting your business’ growth goals?

      We’d love to learn more about your challenges and how a coordinated marketing approach might help take your organization to the next level.

      What Exactly is a Marketing Calendar and Why Do You Need One?

      What Exactly is a Marketing Calendar and Why Do You Need One?

      by | Mar 28, 2022 | Business & Marketing Strategy, Insights, Marketing Planning & Execution, Storytelling & Branding

      What Exactly is a Marketing Calendar and Why Do You Need One?

      &Marketing, and marketing, outsourced marketing strategy

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      You already know thorough, careful, and strategic planning is critical to growing a successful business. This goes for all aspects—from finances to operations to, of course, marketing! And in order to make sure all of your marketing trains are running smoothly as possible, are on time, and are actually getting to their destination, it’s best to use a marketing calendar as a living document that keeps track of all your activity and tactics.

      Below we’ll dive into exactly what a marketing calendar is, why you should have one, and how you can create your own.

      What is a marketing calendar and why is it useful?

      Successful marketing requires a great deal of planning ahead and many moving parts; without a way for your whole team to keep track of all of those moving parts, it can get to be a little overwhelming. That’s why a cohesive, syncable marketing calendar is a must-have tool for a growing business. It allows you to track goals with ease and keep a pulse on the marketing activities that will help you achieve them.

      Salesforce found that 86 percent of workplace failures stem from a lack of collaboration; a marketing calendar works wonders as the single source of truth to keep everyone on the same page.

      Why do I need a marketing calendar?

      Content marketing is the strategy of creating quality content for use across various digital marketing channels. The difference between content marketing and traditional marketing lies in the value offered to the reader. Traditional marketing focuses on everything the brand wants the world to know. In contrast, content marketing focuses more on the reader’s wants and needs by answering their questions, showing them how to solve a problem, and generally providing information of value and relevance at no cost to them.

      Types of marketing calendars

      Marketing calendars come in several different forms. The right type will depend on what you’d like to use it for. A few examples of tactic-specific calendars include:

      • Editorial calendar – Regularly writing and posting fresh content to your blog is a great way to drive traffic to your website. An editorial calendar will serve as the perfect way to plan ahead and stay on a consistent schedule.
      • Campaign calendar – Using a campaign calendar is one of the best ways to plan a successful marketing campaign. A marketing campaign will likely involve a lot of ads and content over multiple channels. Planning it all out in one easy-to-reach spot will ensure a smooth execution.
      • Social media calendar – A social media calendar will allow you to plan and schedule all of your social media posts across multiple channels, such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and more.
      • Email marketing calendar – Email marketing is a highly effective way to stay in touch with your target audience, build customer relationships, and drive conversions. Keeping it all straight can be a challenge–especially for more complex email marketing.

      How do I create a marketing calendar? What should be included?

      The point of a marketing calendar is to plan and schedule content in a way that makes things easier for you—so the best way to create one will depend on your company’s needs. You may also find you need to adjust the setup of your calendar as you figure out what works best and how many people will be in and out of it. However, there are some key aspects to keep in mind as you build your marketing calendar.

      To get started, we suggest breaking a sheet down into the following columns:

      • Timeline/dates – This is perhaps the most essential part of your marketing calendar. You should always include the dates your marketing activities will take place. If you’re planning a campaign, include start and end dates, as well as individual dates on which you’ll post each piece of content or host an event.
      • Themes – This is a helpful column for brainstorming relevant content. What sort of topics and themes are relevant at each particular time of year? How can you incorporate those ideas into your content?
      • Tactics/topics – This is the column in which you’ll put the final content plans. For example: a blog post and its title, an Instagram post and the topic it should cover, or a newsletter and the info you’d like it to include.
      • Status – This column will let everyone viewing the calendar know the status of the content. Is it a work in progress? Is it completed and waiting to be posted? Or is it live?

      While these are the basic pieces of information that should be included in your marketing calendar, it’s also helpful to include who on your team is in charge of which pieces of content and how you will measure the success. This will keep everyone on track and allow everyone to understand the objective at hand.

      In many cases, multiple calendars for different channels and types of content will be necessary. Additionally, it’s important to make sure your calendar is shareable, syncable, and easy to use! Half of a marketing calendar’s importance is keeping your whole team on the same page, so being able to easily make adjustments and edits that the whole team can see in real-time is vital.

      At the end of the day, your marketing calendar should allow everyone to easily see exactly what needs to be done and by when.

      &Marketing’s Marketing Calendar Template

      As you can see, a marketing calendar is an essential tool. However, building one from scratch can take a lot of work, and we know you don’t have that kind of extra time.

      That’s why we’ve created an easy-to-use marketing calendar template to help you get started. It has everything you need to start planning and scheduling the content that will land you right in the eyes of your target audience. Download it today to start customizing it for your unique business’s needs.

        Download the Calendar
        About the Author

        Marketing Manager Ann Ehinger serves as the link between clients and creative to drive projects that deliver results. With over a decade of experience working in the nonprofit, technology, and agency space, Ann is adept at managing a project from idea to completion while navigating all the ups and downs that pop up in between.

        About &Marketing

        &Marketing provides the robust outsourced marketing department growing companies need without the high overhead costs of big agencies or full-time employees. Our variable model empowers businesses to reach their growth goals through access to the guidance and expertise of senior level strategists and a flexible execution team.

        Are you facing challenges of your own in generating leads and meeting your business’ growth goals?

        We’d love to learn more about your challenges and how a coordinated marketing approach might help take your organization to the next level.

        The Importance of Content Marketing in Today’s Landscape

        The Importance of Content Marketing in Today’s Landscape

        by | Mar 14, 2022 | Business & Marketing Strategy, Insights, Marketing Planning & Execution, Storytelling & Branding

        The Importance of Content Marketing in Today’s Landscape

        &Marketing, and marketing, outsourced marketing strategy

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        Today’s buyers want, need, and expect content from your brand. According to Forbes, the average person spends about seven hours a day consuming content. Hubspot reported that 79% of online shoppers spend at least 50% of their shopping time researching products, and the Content Marketing Institute found that 61% of online consumers in the U.S. decided to purchase after reading recommendations on a blog.

        Content marketing is essential if you want to develop your brand presence, grow audience engagement, and ultimately drive sales. Offering current and prospective buyers high-quality, engaging, and consistent content establishes your brand’s expertise, authority, and trust, three criteria that are pivotal to generating website traffic.

        Most importantly, content marketing connects to and supports all facets of your digital marketing strategy — email, website, PPC (pay-per click), social media, etc. When content marketing serves as the unifying element to your overall digital strategy, the various aspects of your campaigns integrate more effectively so you can guide buyers through every step of the funnel to a sale.

        There are many more reasons content marketing is vital for both B2C and B2B brands. Keep reading to learn more about the importance of content marketing.

        Content Marketing Unifies Your Digital Marketing Strategy

        One central element in the importance of content marketing is that it unifies your entire digital marketing strategy by nurturing buyers through the sales funnel, guiding them from one stage to the next toward a purchase. Here’s how:

        What is Content Marketing?

        Content marketing is the strategy of creating quality content for use across various digital marketing channels. The difference between content marketing and traditional marketing lies in the value offered to the reader. Traditional marketing focuses on everything the brand wants the world to know. In contrast, content marketing focuses more on the reader’s wants and needs by answering their questions, showing them how to solve a problem, and generally providing information of value and relevance at no cost to them.

        What is the Sales Funnel?

        The sales funnel defines different stages of the buying process so marketers can identify where buyers are in the funnel and create a plan to guide them toward a purchase. The funnel is divided into the top, middle, and bottom:

        • Top: Buyers identify a problem they need to solve and search for a solution. Content should educate them about what options are available.
        • Middle: Buyers evaluate different options and look for more detailed information about each.
        • Bottom: Buyers are ready to choose an option and need a final push. This nudge might be a discount or special offer.

        Once you’ve identified your ideal customer’s typical journey through the sales funnel, you can begin creating content designed to guide them from one stage to the next. Once you have content in place, measuring things like website conversions helps you chart progress to understand what content is working well and where there are opportunities to optimize.

        7 Examples of the Importance of Content Marketing

        1. Learn More About Your Ideal Customer

        You can learn about the demographics of your audience through data. Over time, this data compounds so you can understand your ideal customer’s journey through your campaigns more and more clearly. These insights help you identify what kind of content has been most valuable to your audience and where there are opportunities for optimization.

        For example, you may track engagement rates on social media posts, which eBooks people download, which videos people watch, and which blogs posts people read and share. This information is essential to understand what resonates with your audience most so you can develop more accurate buyer personas and target your campaigns to them more effectively.

        2. Build Audience Loyalty and Retention

        According to Harvard Business Review, it is between 5 and 25 times more expensive to acquire a new customer than retain and satisfy an existing customer. In addition, it’s 16 times more expensive to bring a new customer up to the same level as a current loyal customer, says Small Business Trends.

        These statistics demonstrate the importance of content marketing to both new buyers and past purchasers. Targeting existing customers with your content marketing strategy will help you encourage repeat sales while simultaneously increasing brand loyalty. BIA Kelsey discovered that 60% of Small and Midsize Businesses (SMBs) say half their revenue is coming from repeat customers, so you can see how critical this tactic is for growing businesses.

        If you aren’t sure where to start with retention-focused content, here are a few ideas:

        • Common product problems and solutions / frequently asked questions
        • Feature guides and how-to-use instructions
        • Case studies
        • News about upgrades and added features
        • Installation, customer service, warranties

        3. Generate More Leads and Boost Conversions

        Audiences viewing your content are more likely to follow your calls-to-action (CTAs) to generate new leads and purchase from you in the future. Including clear and direct CTAs within valuable and relevant content capitalizes on the positive impression the content has generated and can nudge your reader further down the sales funnel. The better the content, the more likely they’ll make a purchase.

        4. Enhance Your Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

        Consistent, quality content is pivotal to improving your search engine rankings so your business can build up its online visibility, trust, and authority. Good content helps search engines understand the purpose of your business so you can bring more organic traffic to your website.

        Creating a high volume of content doesn’t necessarily result in more traffic, but it allows you to rank for more keywords and encourages visitors to spend more time on your site, which helps your ranking. Quality is more important than quantity overall. Google’s algorithm, for example, highly favors good quality content and ranks poor quality content lower. Plus, high-quality content is attractive for other websites that will share it with their audience, creating backlinks that increase your search engine ranking.

        5. Build Brand Awareness and Amplify Your Reach

        Quality content is a great way to improve your engagement on social media by showcasing your brand’s personality and values. Sharing information that your audience is interested in through your unique perspective can be powerfully memorable and establishes a warm relationship with your brand before a purchase is even made.

        With social media quickly becoming as big of a content source as search engines, you have the opportunity to establish yourself as an industry leader. Content that explains solutions to common problems is often considered especially shareable, and shareable content on social media has the potential to amplify your audience significantly.

        6. Demonstrate Industry Authority

        As your audience sees more and more quality content coming from your brand, they will see you as more and more trustworthy. Giving them relevant and valuable information without asking for anything in return speaks volumes about your brand’s values and esteem for your customers.

        Helping consumers make more educated purchasing decisions demonstrates your expertise in your industry. As your brand authority builds, search engines will be more likely to send quality organic traffic your way.

        7. Save Costs and Improve Digital Marketing Return On Investment (ROI)

        Content marketing has maintained its position as the most cost-effective marketing strategy available. According to the DemandMetric, content marketing generates more than 3 times as many leads as traditional advertising methods, and costs 62% less. Companies that regularly update their blogs generate 55% more website visitors and receive 97% more inbound links with 434% more indexed pages (IMPACT). This makes content marketing especially important for businesses with small marketing budgets looking to grow — small businesses with blogs get 126% more lead growth than those without.

        The key component to a strong ROI is to use the data available to create a clear description of your ideal customer and what content will interest them.

        Why Content Marketing is So Important for B2B

        More than anything else, content marketing by B2B brands should be valuable and full of information that helps your audience solve a problem. In addition, it is vital that your content positions your brand as a leader and trusted expert for them to turn to. Content marketing is so important for B2B organizations for the same reasons as above, plus:

        • Content marketing can help you explain and demonstrate your most complex services or products in an easy-to-understand way.
        • Content marketing allows you to target particular segments of your audience.
        • Content marketing is one of the easiest ways for B2Bs to not only generate leads, but valuable, qualified leads.

        Start Taking Advantage of the Importance of Content Marketing Today

        Content marketing connects all facets of your digital marketing strategy, offering many benefits that ultimately increase sales. It is a highly cost-effective strategy, but it does take time to reap the greatest results. Quality online content can provide value to your brand for many years to come, and creating it takes time and effort, so it’s best to begin developing (or enhancing) your content marketing strategy today.

        You don’t have to create a massive, intricate strategy — start small with what’s manageable. Social Media Examiner found that 75% of marketers experienced increased traffic by investing as little as six hours a week into their social media content.

        Want &Marketing to help you take advantage of all the importance of content marketing? Contact us today!

        Try our Content Marketing Calculator
        Contact &Marketing
        About the Author

        Content Specialist Kim Steinmetz helps brands and thought leaders discover and develop their unique voice and tone while establishing authority on a topic through compelling messaging and copywriting. An accomplished writer and marketer with over a decade of experience, Kim is well-versed in both B2C and B2B content. Her portfolio includes written print and digital ads, national television & radio spots, press releases, blogs, email newsletters, eBooks, and more for a variety of industries including IT, pharmaceutical, healthcare, manufacturing, and consumer packaged goods.

        Kim graduated from Indiana University in 2013 with a Bachelor or Arts in Creative Writing and a minor in Audio/Video Production. She currently resides in New Orleans, Louisiana and spends her time second lining and volunteering with animal rescues.

        About &Marketing

        &Marketing provides the robust outsourced marketing department growing companies need without the high overhead costs of big agencies or full-time employees. Our variable model empowers businesses to reach their growth goals through access to the guidance and expertise of senior level strategists and a flexible execution team.

        Are you facing challenges of your own in generating leads and meeting your business’ growth goals?

        We’d love to learn more about your challenges and how a coordinated marketing approach might help take your organization to the next level.

        Why Your Content Marketing Plan Needs a Solid SEO Strategy

        Why Your Content Marketing Plan Needs a Solid SEO Strategy

        by | Feb 9, 2022 | Business & Marketing Strategy, Dexter Burgess, Insights, Marketing Planning & Execution

        Why Your Content Marketing Plan Needs a Solid SEO Strategy

        &Marketing, and marketing, outsourced marketing strategy

        Written By

        On

        Most businesses are starting to learn the basics of SEO (search engine optimization) and why it matters, though developing a content marketing strategy optimized for SEO turns out to be a much more difficult task. Not only do businesses need to do quality research, content must be clear and engaging for their target audience. 

        By having a combined SEO and content marketing strategy, your business can maximize the time it takes to begin receiving quality traffic through organic search while driving valuable conversions on your site—meaning the right people are visiting and taking action.

        What is an SEO Content Marketing Strategy?

        A content marketing strategy is an organized plan to drive organic traffic and convert quality visitors into leads through publishing and distributing frequent and highly engaging content. The most effective content marketing strategies pair SEO research and tactics with content that addresses your audience’s needs, builds trust, helps them solve a problem, and encourages them to take action toward resolving their challenges.

        How to Create a Content Marketing Strategy in 3 Steps

        A content marketing strategy is a roadmap that combines SEO research, marketing planning, and creation and distribution of content. Here are the most important steps in creating a content marketing strategy:

        Step 1: Research SEO Keywords to Target through Content

        Content marketing starts with researching SEO keywords that you will target through quality content creation. Think about your business and what services you offer and utilize tools, like SEMRush or Ubersuggest, that help you understand the search market. 

        In most cases, you will want to target keywords that generate several monthly searches and have low competition. In other words, lots of people are searching Google for those terms and phrases and not a lot of other businesses are targeting them, too. These terms also need to harmonize with:

        1. Your products or services
        2. The specific problem those products and services solve for your customers
        3. What your audience is searching for in order to help them solve that problem

        It can be a fun challenge to hunt down the right terms, and our data team loves spending time finding the right ones for our clients! Once you have identified your keyword targets, prioritize and plan with a content calendar.

        Step 2: Create a Content Calendar

        Without a content calendar, your content marketing strategy will be inconsistent and difficult to maintain. Content calendars can be simple, but most importantly, the calendar must establish content topics and keywords, due dates, and goals for the content. As a baseline, &Marketing recommends posting one new blog per month, though if time allows, two blogs per month is the most optimal. 

        Struggling with planning? Check out our sample content calendar inside our marketing planning workbook to help you get started.

        Download our Marketing Planning eBook

        Step 3: Write Engaging and SEO-Optimized Content

        Once you have planned your content, activate your writing superpowers. Ensure that your target keyword appears in the title, first header, and first paragraph of your content, while making sure that your target audience will be engaged with your words. This may be the trickiest part of a good content marketing plan, as you are writing for both robots (Google) and humans. 

        In addition to good grammar, keep engaging storytelling top-of-mind while you write. Channel that favorite high school English teacher of yours and make sure your article has a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. Finally, be clear about what you want your reader to do when they finish reading. Should they move on to another piece of content? Download a helpful guide? Call you? Buy a product? Tell them what to do next, or they’ll do nothing at all (aka leave your website).

        Don’t forget to post your content on all social media and share through email! 

        Need help with the process?

        SEO and content marketing plans, although they require time and planning, have the potential to drive high quality organic leads for your business. Hold yourself accountable by creating a content calendar that sets your keyword targets and establishes due dates for your content creation. If you have questions or need help with any part of the process, reach out to us! We can guide you through keyword research, help provide topics for your calendar, or even execute the entire plan for you.

        If you’re curious about some of the keywords and how they might perform, try our content marketing ROI calculator to truly understand the Return on Investment content marketing can provide your business.

        Try our Content Marketing Calculator
        About the Author

        Marketing Manager Dexter Burgess takes the lead on implementing new tactics and promoting change through data-driven strategies. Dex works hard at client relations through consistent communication and positive feedback, never settling until the customer is understood and happy. 

        About &Marketing

        &Marketing provides the robust outsourced marketing department growing companies need without the high overhead costs of big agencies or full-time employees. Our variable model empowers businesses to reach their growth goals through access to the guidance and expertise of senior level strategists and a flexible execution team.

        Are you facing challenges of your own in generating leads and meeting your business’ growth goals?

        We’d love to learn more about your challenges and how a coordinated marketing approach might help take your organization to the next level.