Content Success: What Metrics To Measure

by Brooke Ballard
In Analytics · Best Practices · Blogging · Content Curation · Online Marketing · ROI · Top Tips
— 6 Nov, 2012

I’ll admit it – I’m adamant about discussing a return on investment (ROI) for online marketers. So as you’re sitting there staring at your screen, whether curating or creating content, it’s important to set goals for what you want to accomplish with your content. Just like the old adage says, “What gets measured, gets done!”

For those of you asking how you can measure success through content, READ ON.

The good news: Online media is super trackable! The (maybe) bad news: You have to decide what’s important to YOU. You also don’t want to head out there and track everything or your life may be spent chained to your desk. Now, before we go too much further, let me be clear: generating “buzz” or going “viral” aren’t goals. Sorry to burst your bubble.

Instead, try more quantifiable goals:

Getting 25 mentions of your brand, product or service online
Getting 10 retweets of your latest blog post link
Getting 1000 users eyes on your new video

With photos and videos:

Tally your total views and compare them weekly or monthly to other media
Track your likes, favorites, sharing and other positive validations

On your blog:

How many people subscribe to your content?
Use inbound links (try Bit.ly) to track clicks
How many comments did you receive? What pieces tend to garner the most comments?
Again, track your likes, favorites, sharing and other positive validations

As with all ROI measurement, you’ll have to track diligently, compare weekly or monthly, restructure and/or reset goals and start again. It’s a process but it’s worth it if you want to get better at understanding HOW your content (created or curated) is working for you. The LAST thing you want is to start bribing people to leave comments on your posts, blogs or otherwise …. YIKES!

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Brooke Ballard

Founder, Chief Social Strategist at B Squared Media, LLC

Like many of you, Chief Social Strategist and Founder of B Squared Media, Brooke Ballard, has seen a fundamental shift in business due to social media. How do businesses take advantage of this? Where do they start? Is social media for everyone? In-the-trenches social media experience helps B Squared Media answer these questions for companies seeking to formulate successful social strategies. Using tactics developed in her yearlong honors thesis study, Brooke helps bright and innovative entities develop social strategies around content curation. Good content boosts trust and loyalty among customers. By focusing on “what is” (psychographics: values, interests, beliefs and attitudes) and letting go of “what might be” (demographics) brands can secure a closer connection to consumers and their buying habits. Simply put: Think conversation, not campaign.