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Content Marketing Framework: Measurement

For content marketing, it’s a long season. There are, and should be, many chances to fail — as long as we fail quickly, learn, and adapt to the new surroundings.

measurement
Measurement comes at the end of this framework, but for many, it’s the beginning, middle, end (and everything in between) of your content marketing process… and it’s not easy.

As our 2021 content marketing research indicates, 33 percent of B2B marketers attribute their difficulties in achieving success to measurement challenges. One reason for this may be that the standard marketing metrics and processes don’t necessarily translate when operating within a content ecosystem.

In addition, our 2022 B2B research found that of the marketers who report feeling least successful, 39 percent say they don’t measure content performance at all – an oversight that makes it difficult to accurately gauge the value their efforts are adding to the business.

But even for those who do track performance, there’s little consensus across the industry about which metrics to focus on. For example, in his video show on How to Demystify the Process of Measuring Content Marketing ROI, The Content Advisory’s founder and chief strategy officer Robert Rose says marketers often look at some arbitrary metric – like page views or downloads – and try to link it to return-on-investment.

If you want a breakdown on what you should measure, plus helpful checklists and templates, check out How to Measure Content Marketing: The (Updated) Essentials Guide.

Just because you can measure just about anything these days, doesn’t mean that you should. Metrics can be all-consuming and confusing. Your first step should be to make sure you understand what all those different data points mean and what insights they can – and can’t – reveal about your content. Our guide, 23 Measurement Definitions Every Content Marketer Should Know, can help with that.

Then, you can sharpen your focus on some of the other measurement fundamentals:

Next, understand how other companies are measuring content marketing:

Lastly, follow some expert advice on measuring performance against specific goals, on certain platforms, or for dedicated purposes:

Measurement

Accurate, effective measurement is just one essential component of a successful content marketing program. Check out our eBook, The CMI Content Marketing Framework: 5 Building Blocks for Profitable, Scalable Operations for an overview of how the right strategic support can help you increase the ROI of your content marketing investments. You can also learn about the other components with our how-to guides on the right-hand side of the page.