Measuring ROI from Content Marketing with Nicc Lewis @Expozive #VCBuzz

Measuring ROI from Content Marketing Nicc Lewis @Expozive #VCBuzz

Content marketing is a great way to build trust, attract some links and social media shares and promote brand awareness.

But how exactly can we calculate content marketing ROI?

Let’s discuss!

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About Nicc Lewis @Expozive

Nicc Lewis @Expozive is a veteran in Online Marketing & Marketing Communications with 2 decades of experience including B2B & B2C.

Nicc is the CEO of Expozive, a unique MarCom & Marketing Agency with a fresh approach in providing solutions.

Connect to Nicc on Linkedin

Questions we discussed

Q1 How did you become a digital marketer? Please share your career story!

I came from a fashion background growing up in London, which followed me to South Africa. I always leaned towards Marketing even then.

I arrived in Israel 2001 when digital was exploding armed with English & Marketing & found myself in demand for digital marketing.

I found it served my freakish nature or enjoying data & creativity in equal amounts – the rest is history (backed by success of course)

Q2 Content drives lots of signals. How to define which metrics to include in your ROI calculations?

It is all about calculating back revenues via attribution. In brief, I measure both direct & indirect. E.g. for indirect would be the increase % in CTR from ads & increase % conversions.

At the end of the day company owners & boards will want to see revenues as their guide, so this is what I provide.

Obviously there are a number of factors on the way – but bottom line is what it is.

A2 #vcbuzz: Data is everywhere, information is rare. All metrics must be refined to inform, and provide actionable strategic intelligence on performance or opportunity.
— Ammon Johns♞ (@Ammon_Johns) May 25, 2021

#VCBuzz A2.2

Cont.
* Campaign cost
* Campaign variant (if app.)
* Channel performance
* Channel value
* Channel cost
* Source/Origin

Ideally, things have been set for tracking (custom Domain, SubDomain, Landing URL, Parameters etc.)…

>>>
— Lyndon NA (Darth Autocrat) (@darth_na) May 25, 2021

A2 Ideally, work with your client to define and describe what signals/metrics you will use to track the success of a content campaign to make you both happy with the success you see from it;. #VCBuzz
— Bill Slawski ⚓ (@bill_slawski) May 25, 2021

#VCBuzz A2,4

Depending on the nature of the campaign/channel,
other metrics may be applicable – such as Rankings, Traffic, Email open/click rates etc.

Costs may vary from “content cost” through to “promotion costs” (ads, affiliates etc.).

>>>
— Lyndon NA (Darth Autocrat) (@darth_na) May 25, 2021

Q3 How to take into account secondary / indirect results of content marketing (things like brand awareness and loyalty)?

This is great question with lots of parts. I always look for % increases on CTR & conversions from ads as a good guide, plus direct traffic & brand searches

From social media we see increases in non-solicited followers & engagement, plus mentions. Obviously, I am also looking at SERP results for brand, industry & targeted keywords / topics.

One thing I also check is direct contacts via phone & email, plus increases in enquiries on topics covered in the content.

A3 A content campaign can be targeted specifically towards building brand awareness by spreading impressions (Mentions/shares) of the client, or it may focus more on strengthening the website of the client, by building links/traffic/contacts. Build what you want to see. #VCBuzz
— Bill Slawski ⚓ (@bill_slawski) May 25, 2021

A3: Listen to what others are saying about you & your brand online or from what you hear from customers/prospects#VCBuzz
— John Buglino (@john_buglino) May 25, 2021

#vcbuzz A3 Addendum: Beware though that Brand Awareness is one of those 2 dimensional signals. If a billion users think you suck, that’s high brand awareness, but your business is dead.
— Ammon Johns♞ (@Ammon_Johns) May 25, 2021

#VCBuzz A3.2

… you can measure things such as:
* Mentions
* Inbound Links
* Brand queries/searches
* Social engagements
* Social approvals
* Contacts/Complaints
* Traffic to Home/About/Contact pages
* Views of Social Profiles/Directory listings etc.

>>>
— Lyndon NA (Darth Autocrat) (@darth_na) May 25, 2021

#VCBuzz A3.4

So you not only need to be able to find things like ratings/reviews, and check their dates,
you may need to use tools to identify the sentiment,
have CS provide aggregated figures and general notes etc.

The softer metrics are harder – but can help see more.
— Lyndon NA (Darth Autocrat) (@darth_na) May 25, 2021

Q4 How to monitor your content performance?

For individual pieces, obviously first I look at reach and read. How many saw it, how many read it, for how long.

Then, I look at attribution of the readers to see where they came across the article.

A4: how you report is really important. Most biz owners aren’t wowed by the “numbers and charts” report. They want some facts but are more interested in interpretation of cause and effect and trends. This is where a strategist makes their money. #vcbuzz
— Don Dingee (@don_dingee) May 25, 2021

Then the behavior after reading – did the reader read other articles (related or not), other website pages in general, whether they reached a commercial page (e.g. contact form or cart).

When you sit with a client on SEO not all the single parts are measured with the client, but the overall effect on SERP and ultimately results & revenue. Content should be presented the same – overall content effects on revenues. But you need to measure everything.

#vcbuzz A4 Addendum: Remember some marketing goals are not about growth, but efficiency. Content like FAQs to reduce calls and time spent on customer support is a valid objective, and the metric then is reduced costs in time and money.
— Ammon Johns♞ (@Ammon_Johns) May 25, 2021

A4: Know how you will gauge success/fail prior to launch. Make sure your results are clear (or as clear as you can get them) when looking at reports.#VCBuzz
— John Buglino (@john_buglino) May 25, 2021

A4 You can Monitor Your content performance using analytics, tools that capture & count mentions, shares, views, and so on depending on what signals or metrics you have agreed to beforehand. Promote Your campaign smartly. #VCBuzz
— Bill Slawski ⚓ (@bill_slawski) May 25, 2021

Before answering Q5 – overall, the most important way to show effect to always have a baseline including the currents ads CTR, conversion rates and traffic sources. This should be the guide to showing effects and ROI to clients…

Q5 What are your favorite content marketing and analytics tools?

I hate myself for saying this but Google Analytics & Console are #1 on the list – I especially like the behavioral flows.

Internal CRM is next on the list – both CRM and Google make up the vast majority of the data I need.

Outside these I use BuzzSumo (extremely handy tool for content in general – including planning), AHREFs a bit & Buffer analytics on social media.

I use others from time to time – like Mangools recently – but most of the tools outside Google are extrapolations so a little less accurate.

I also ask & listen – so I will often get feedback at expos, or in meetings or via contacts. I also ask clients of the service or product what they think.

I love data, but we should be aware & clear headed. I once wrote an article proving that statistically the crop of potatoes in Belgium effects the price of the US$. Don’t have preconceived ideas – otherwise your action items may become skewed.

Conclusion

You cannot improve what you are not measuring, there’s no denying that. Before you attempt to increase your ROI, you need a well-defined conversion optimization strategy.