What is Content ROI, and How Can You Increase Yours?
In today’s digital landscape, where businesses strive to stay ahead of the competition, content marketing has emerged as a pivotal strategy for driving success. However, creating content without understanding its impact is like navigating without a compass. This is where Content ROI (Return on Investment) comes into play – a key indicator of the effectiveness of your content strategy.
However, it’s one thing to say and another to do. Majority of the marketers still find measuring returns from their marketing efforts challenging. Here’s what they find hard.
Source: CMI
Clearly, measuring content ROI may not be as straightforward as a single mathematical formula. Let’s get into details and see how your content marketing ROI is calculated and comprehended.
What is Content Marketing ROI?
Content Marketing ROI measures the return on investment from the content you create and distribute. Simply, it evaluates whether your content marketing efforts translate into tangible business outcomes, such as leads, conversions, or revenue.
Generally, returns are a financial figure that gives an idea of how your invested efforts have turned out. However, in the case of content marketing, a few other quantitative and qualitative numbers are required to realize the content ROI more accurately. It may include conversion rates, brand awareness, customer loyalty, etc.
Why Does Your Business Need CM Metrics?
For several reasons, understanding the metrics associated with your content marketing efforts is essential. Most importantly, you need them to observe and track your content marketing efforts across different channels, i.e., to measure your content ROI. Some other reasons to decide on appropriate CM KPIs include
- Firstly, it helps you allocate your resources effectively. By knowing what works and what doesn’t, you can optimize your strategy for maximum impact.
- Secondly, metrics provide insights into audience behavior, allowing you to tailor your content to meet their needs better.
- Finally, having concrete data on the performance of your content allows you to justify your investment to stakeholders and demonstrate the value of your efforts.
How to Calculate ROI (Formula, Measurement Basics/Factors)
Web Content
For web content, calculating ROI involves comparing the cost of creating and promoting content to its revenue. The formula for web content ROI is:
ROI = (Revenue-Cost/cost) x 100
Social Media Content ROI
Social media ROI is often measured by engagement metrics, lead generation, and conversions. The formula is similar:
ROI = (Revenue-Cost/cost) x 100
SEO Content ROI
SEO ROI focuses on organic traffic and conversions. The formula is:
ROI = (Revenue-Cost/cost) x 100
Understanding these formulas is just the beginning. To get a comprehensive view, consider factors like customer lifetime value, conversion rates, and the time it takes for content to yield results.
Metrics to Track while Measuring Content ROI
To gauge the effectiveness of your content marketing strategy, track key metrics across different channels:
Web Content
- Traffic: Measure the number of visitors to your website.
- Bounce Rate: Assess the percentage of visitors who navigate away from your site after viewing only one page.
- Conversion Rate: Track the percentage of visitors who complete a desired action (e.g., filling out a form or making a purchase).
Social Media
- Engagement: Evaluate likes, shares, comments, and clicks.
- Lead Generation: Measure the number of leads generated through social media campaigns.
- Conversion Rate: Track the percentage of social media leads that convert into customers.
SEO
- Organic Traffic: Monitor the number of visitors from search engines.
- Keyword Rankings: Track the positions of your target keywords on search engine results pages.
- Backlinks: Assess the quantity and quality of websites linking to your content.
How Do You Know What Your KPAs Are, and How Do You Maintain Them?
Key Performance Areas (KPAs) are aspects that affect your content ROI and, ultimately, your profits. Identifying your KPAs involves understanding which metrics directly contribute to the success of your content marketing strategy. Once you’ve identified them, maintaining KPAs involves continuous monitoring, analysis, and adjustment.
Identify KPAs
- Lead Generation: If your primary goal is lead generation, track metrics like the number of leads, conversion rates, and customer acquisition cost.
- Brand Awareness: For brand awareness, focus on metrics such as social media reach, website traffic, and impressions.
- Revenue Generation: If revenue is the key goal, track conversion rates, average order value, and customer lifetime value.
Maintaining KPAs
- Regular Monitoring: Regularly track your chosen KPIs to stay informed about the performance of your content.
- Adapt and Optimize: Use the data collected to adapt your strategy. If certain content types perform better, allocate more resources to them.
- Benchmarking: Compare your KPIs against industry benchmarks to understand how your content strategy stacks up against competitors.
What is Meant by “Success” When It Comes to Your Content Marketing Strategy: Content ROI
While content ROI and KPAs are indicators of your content marketing performance, success in content marketing goes beyond superficial metrics. A successful strategy is one that:
- If It Generates Leads: The benefits of content marketing are most evident when it contributes to lead generation. Your content should attract, engage, and convert prospects into leads.
- If It Builds Brand Authority: Successful content positions your brand as an authority in your industry. This fosters trust and credibility, making leads more likely to convert into customers.
- If It Fuels Customer Engagement: Content should not be a one-way street. It should encourage interaction, discussion, and feedback from your audience, building a community around your brand.
- If It Adapts to Change: A successful content strategy is agile. It adapts to changes in the market, industry trends, and customer preferences.
- If It Aligns with Business Goals: Success is achieved when your content strategy aligns seamlessly with your overall business goals. Your content should be a driving force, whether it’s increasing sales, expanding market share, or launching a new product.
How to Increase Your Content ROI
Creating content that sells involves more than just listing product features. It requires a strategic approach that aligns with your audience’s needs and challenges. Here are key elements to consider:
Understand Your Audience
Know your audience’s pain points, preferences, and behaviors. Tailor your content to address their specific needs.
Craft Compelling Headlines
Did you know as many as 80% of readers do not make it past the headline? So this has to be your hook! Focus on above-the-fold content. These are the first few words that your customers come across and MUST be a hook for them to stay on your page. Further, spend time on deciding the headlines. The headline is the first thing your audience sees. Make it compelling and relevant to grab their attention.
Provide Value
Every piece of content should offer value to the audience. Whether it’s informative, entertaining, or inspiring, it should leave the audience with something valuable.
Include a Strong Call-to-Action (CTA)
A CTA prompts the audience to take a specific action, such as subscribing, downloading, or making a purchase. Ensure your CTA is clear, concise, and aligned with your business goals.
To give you an insight, CTAs in videos have resulted in 380% more clicks! YouTube is the most eminent example of this.
Source: GetFans
And those in email marketing have increased sales by 1617%! Isn’t that amazing?
Source: OptiMonk
Shown above is a Netflix email. Clearly, their CTA works wonders in getting people to subscribe for a 30-day trial.
Optimize for SEO
Make your content easily discoverable by optimizing it for search engines. Use relevant keywords, meta tags, and high-quality backlinks to improve your content’s visibility.
Utilize Visual Content for a Better Content ROI
As per Forbes, more than 91% of people prefer visual content over written pieces. Evidently, incorporating visuals such as images, infographics, and videos enhances the user experience and conveys information more effectively.
Source: Foap
As you can see above, Starbucks’ glowing red cups signify the Christmas spirit, especially around December. The message was made clear without even mentioning Christmas explicitly.
Engage on Social Media
Engaging with your target customers is a great way to increase your content ROI. Share your content on social media platforms to broaden its reach. Having said this, you must also create something that people find worth sharing. Encourage social sharing and engagement to amplify its impact.
To give you an example, BuzzFeed collaborated with Friskies, a renowned cat food brand. Their collaboration targeted viewers’ sentiments via an adorable YouTube video that garnered over 32 million views!
See for yourself.
Measure and Iterate Your Content ROI
Tracking the performance of your content and iterating based on what works is an essential part of measuring content ROI. You can use data and analytics tools like Google Analytics to track your performance.
Conclusion
The benefits of content marketing extend beyond creating appealing content. It’s about understanding your audience, measuring success through content ROI and KPIs, and creating content that not only attracts but also converts leads. By implementing a robust content strategy, businesses can unlock the true potential of content marketing and drive sustainable growth in today’s competitive landscape. If you need help with a robust content marketing strategy, get in touch with content marketing experts.