Is your content marketing REALLY working? This is a big question because content marketing isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. It’s not just about increased sales. You may be looking to build brand awareness through your social media and/or to gain subscribers to your blog.

The key is to have a marketing strategy for creating specific goals (that align with your business goals) and then to assess those SAME goals. When you have clear and measurable goals for your content, you can figure out what content is working and what needs adjusting. 

So let’s talk strategy …

Know the WHY Behind Your Marketing

When you assess your content marketing (and when you create it in the first place), you want to be sure that you know the WHY behind each marketing strategy (and ultimately each tactic.) Think of each marketing effort as having a job description with goals to achieve.

Let’s look at a few and focus on primary goals for simplicity …

• What is the job of your social media? Maybe it’s to build brand awareness.
• Your blog? Maybe it’s to provide value and create relationships.
• Your emails? Maybe it’s to cultivate trust in your expertise.
• Your website? Websites are your main marketing tool so have multiple goals … common ones are guiding clients/leads to CTAs and ultimately to purchasing your product/service.

Know WHO You Want to Reach

When you create goals for your marketing, and then assess them, you ALWAYS want to focus on reaching your audience. And we all know that it can take time to build your ideal audience. (Check out my guide: Create Your Ideal Customer Profile in 6 Easy Steps.)

 So start by asking some questions:

• Who is attracted to your content?
• What actions are they taking when they engage with your content?
• How do they feel when they interact with your content? (Ok, this is a tricky one to gauge … unless you ask …)

ASK Your Customers What They Want/Need

Sometimes the best way to know what your customers really want — and determine if your content and commerce is helpful or not — is to ask. There are lots of ways to ask and you can see what’s the most effective for your audience (for now anyway.)

Ways to check-in with your audience:

• Social media poll
• Survey
• Questions/comments on your blog
• Questions in your emails campaigns and newsletters
• Polls on your website

This feedback helps your content marketing and may help you re-think your products/services. 

And it can be a fun way to engage with your audience 😊

Choose the Right Metrics

As the owner of Message Artist Creative Group, it probably comes as no surprise that I favor words over data and metrics … EVERY TIME. But that said, metrics are important and can actually be simple and effective when they’re tied to your marketing goals — and I’m all about marketing goals and plans! When you have a strategy, there’s no need for overwhelm when you’re looking at your analytic data not knowing where to start, what to assess, or how!

So, let’s look at an example of a marketing goal, strategy, and assessment. I’m going with sales as that’s the ultimate goal of content, but keep in mind that goals like building brand awareness are important stepping stones to sales.

1) Marketing Goal

To create and nurture quality leads that influence sales. A “quality” lead is one that engages, stays around, and eventually converts to a customer.

2) Marketing Strategy & Tactic

To create and nurture the lead relationship, your content MUST provide value and earn trust. This approach is called content (or permission) marketing. It’s different from traditional marketing which pushes a sale. (Read more about the difference between content and traditional marketing.)

One tried and true strategy is to use content to guide leads through the sales funnel. One of the easiest tactics is to use a lead generator (aka freebie!)

Ask: With what does your ideal customer really need help?

Answer: Offer a freebie that addresses that problem and provides a solution … and voilà, you immediately offer value.

A few common freebie examples:

• Checklist
• Ebook
• Webinar

3) Assess Your Goal

Now, based on what you offered for a freebie, check your metrics for the related key performance indicators (KPIs). For the list shared above, the KPIs, respectively, are: email sign-ups, content downloads, and webinar registrations.

See? It can be straightforward! 👏

How Can We Help You?

Is your content marketing REALLY reaching your ideal customer?

Do you have a solid marketing strategy for 2023?

Do you have a marketing plan and/or an editorial calendar?

Discover how we can help you meet — and surpass — your 2023 marketing goals by scheduling a free call.