The A level and GCSE results are now out and over the last few weeks we have been busy congratulating/commiserating with various relatives over their success/disappointment.
It struck me that regardless of the arguments regarding the comparative performance of one year versus the next at least all that hard work is rewarded with one definitive measure of success or failure.
It’s far more straightforward to the wide variety of ways in which as content marketers we are required to measure the success of our activity. In fact in a recent survey Sticky Content’s respondents thought it was easier to come up with good ideas and brief writers and write copy than to measure impact. (Read more at http://f.datasrvr.com/fr1/413/39009/Sticky_Content_results_2013.pdf)
Page views from ‘first time visitors’, higher ranking in search engine result pages, Click throughs, Likes, Shares, Comments, Retweets – an easy win that gives a good indication of the amount of interest you’ve created but it doesn’t measure what you’ve sold as a result of the activity.
Increases in the length of time spent on your website/lower bounce rates/total page views (many people find the longer a customer spends on their website the more likely they are to interact with you either by making a direct sale or by giving you an inbound lead). Additionally it shows search engines that viewers find your site relevant and can help move you up the rankings.
Increases in inbound leads (e.g. contact forms submitted as a result of a particular blog post, newsletter sign ups, webinar registrations etc).
Reduction in calls to the call centre – by helping customers find what they need to know quickly and immediately on line you can save money on call handling.
What value to your business are the insights and comments you get from comments on your blog, social media pages. Have they changed the way you do business for the better?
Regardless of how you measure your success the benefits are clear. It will help you work out what works best for your business and give you the justification you need to demand budget to support the activities that drive the most sales.
See also our recent post on measuring and improving Net Promoter Score here.