Part one and part two of this series, talked about the importance of knowing your audience and identifying a distribution strategy to create content that is tailored to meet your readers’ needs. As I mentioned in parts 1 and 2, the true value of your efforts is awarded by your target audience. And to identify this value, you need to quantify it through key performance indicators.
This last blog provides three tips to help you strategically measure the fruits of your hard labor. As you identify which KPIs to track, you should:
Keep your metrics simple.
Create a tracking dashboard and rhythm.
Connect the dots to identify trends.
Tips for Measuring Your Content Efforts
Pre-Tip: Assess What You Already Have
Many content distribution tools provide built-in dashboards that let you see how your content is performing. However, you may not be able to download the data unless you purchase a subscription. You may also not need all the data these tools provide or may need to perform additional analyses to measure performance in a relevant way.
If you are using a digital marketing automation tool or a content management system, you should be able to download performance data. Whether you manually input or automatically upload your KPIs into a spreadsheet or database, you must be able to manipulate your data and identify how your audience’s content needs have evolved over time.
Tip 1: Keep Your Metrics Simple
At first, you will want to track everything. My advice is to resist the urge. To get started, track five key demographic traits and five key behaviors. Once you feel comfortable with these 10 metrics, you can add more.
When I first became editor, the first thing I did was distribute a survey to obtain baseline information about my readers. In addition to basic demographic questions (first and last name, age, gender, professional title, industry/line of business and annual revenue), the survey asked several behavioral questions:
Usefulness ... “Please rate the publication’s usefulness as it pertains to your work.”
Current Engagement ... “What kinds of topics do you enjoy reading most?”
Future Engagement ... “What topics would you like for us to start featuring?”
The Why ... “What prompted you to subscribe to the publication?”
Sharing ... “How likely are you to share the publication with a co-worker?”
Consumption ... “How much of the publication do you read per issue?”
Time ... “How long do you spend reading an issue?”
Once I was able to transfer the publication to a more sophisticated content management tool, I started tracking traditional website metrics, such as page views, average time spent on the site, bounce rates, unique visitors, keyword searches, etc. Because the publication was announced via email, I also tracked delivered, open, click-through and unsubscribe email rates. And because our publication had an education forum, I moderated and tracked comments posted every week.
Unfortunately, I tracked all of this information manually as there was no automated way to upload the information into a spreadsheet. And it was time consuming … really time consuming. Fortunately, I only had one publication to manage. What I learned from my first editorial position was the importance of tracking the KPIs that were relevant to the questions I needed to answer.
First, think about the top demographic traits you need to better understand your target audience. Then, think about your destination: What are you trying to accomplish with your content? Is it lead generation? More blog subscribers? Positioning your CEO as a thought leader? Increasing the number of website visitors? Once you identify the desired outcomes of your content, you can start tracking the behaviors that will enable you to demonstrate how your content is helping you go from A to B.
Tip 2: Create a Tracking Dashboard and Rhythm
After you identify which metrics to monitor, you need to create a tracking dashboard. Creating a dashboard that is powered by your KPIs is important to help you identify how your content is performing based on what you are trying to achieve.
This dashboard also needs to be monitored on an ongoing basis. Whether you are manually entering data into a spreadsheet to create graphs or use a data visualization tool like Domo, tracking performance metrics on an ongoing basis and at a predetermined frequency will help you establish an accurate baseline of your content's performance.
Going back to my editorial story, I decided that it was best to collect demographic information once per calendar year in January when my readers were feeling refreshed and had their performance goals in mind for the next 12 months. (I managed an educational publication aimed at providing information to help readers succeed at work.)
However, I still needed to track behavioral metrics on a regular basis. In addition to web trends data, which I captured monthly, I decided to include two questions at the end of each article. The questions asked readers to rate the usefulness of each article and their likelihood to share it. Also, while I moderated the education forum daily, I only collected data every Friday morning. Information tracked included:
Number of new posts added during the week.
Total number of comments generated during the week.
Number of comments generated by post.
Ranking of topics discussed based on comments generated.
Topic sentiment (i.e., were the comments per topic positive, negative or neutral?).
I compiled the two-question survey and forum data every Friday and manually entered it into the same spreadsheet I used to capture my web trends information. My dashboard consisted of a one-page report summarizing key highlights and trending charts, which I created quarterly.
Compared to 10 years ago, today's market offers many tools that will automate the data capturing and reporting process. Whichever way you choose to track your KPIs, make sure your dashboard is updated and monitored regularly to properly report on your content's performance.
Tip 3: Connect the Dots to Identify Trends
Data is great, but only you can transform it into a story that ties back to your objectives. To make sense of your information, you need to dig a little deeper. For example, perhaps your audience is no longer interested in reading about topic X. Rather than writing about Y, look for clues in your dashboard before you give up on X:
What websites are your readers visiting after they leave yours?
What are your competitors talking about?
If they are writing about X, what are they saying that you are not? (BuzzSumo is a great tool for identifying top influencers who are publishing content on a topic.)
What about unique and overall visitation trends? Are they up, down or flat? Can you identify why? For instance:
Have you changed writers recently?
Did visitation spike after an external event that was related to your business?
Is your content longer now?
Did you start including pop-up ads?
Are readers now required to fill out a form before they can access your content?
Did your audience's composition change?
There are many variables that can and will impact your content’s performance during any given period. Looking at your KPIs and connecting the dots can help you make sense of your data in a holistic fashion.
Bottom Line
Tracking your readers’ behaviors and your content’s overall performance is an ongoing effort. While you may have created the most amazing email campaign carefully targeted to address the needs of your audience, somewhere down the road your message will get lost and forgotten if you don’t have a strategy behind it. And, once your message reaches its target destination, you need to monitor the success of your efforts.
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