Evaluating the success of your content marketing campaign

No matter how adroitly you carry out the task of marketing your business or how much money you invest in to reach the broadest possible audience, your efforts will likely not live up to your expectations unless you go in with an organized and clearly outlined approach. By its very nature, online marketing – particularly content marketing – is complex and difficult to track. Sure, you can measure click throughs and social media shares, but gauging the overall effect and level of return on investment is a different matter.

However, it is not hard to take a more analytical approach and see how effective your campaign has been so far. Instead of large investments or expert counsel, all you really need to do is go through your objectives carefully, evaluate the results you’ve seen so far and create a clear plan for the future.

Look at your audience
The first tactic for evaluating your content marketing campaign is to see how well it is meeting the demands of your target audience. Write a clear description of your target audience – who they are, where they live and how they act – and make sure every piece of content matches it. Without knowing precisely who you are writing to, it is impossible to craft content that will engage them and compel them to do business with you.

Although proactively dealing with this problem is the most effective way to get your desired results, it is also possible to look at the output you’ve produced and determine if it is eliciting the reaction you intend. Ask for comments from your customers and watch closely to see how they respond to new initiatives. However you approach the task, make sure you are not just blindly throwing content into the ether assuming it is what your customers want.

Thought leadership
One of the hardest aspects of your business to measure is thought leadership. However, this quality is incredibly important, so you must work hard to evaluate your success – or lack thereof – in this area as best you can. How many people are spreading links to your content? How are they discussing your company online? These are both good ways to determine if your content is not only generating clicks, but inspiring confidence in your company.

What steps have you taken to improve your content marketing campaign? Discuss some of your favorite strategies below!

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