{"id":9142,"date":"2017-06-30T14:36:59","date_gmt":"2017-06-30T12:36:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chartmogul.com\/blog\/?p=9142"},"modified":"2023-08-10T17:10:41","modified_gmt":"2023-08-10T15:10:41","slug":"measuring-content-chartmogul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chartmogul.com\/blog\/measuring-content-chartmogul\/","title":{"rendered":"How we measure content at ChartMogul"},"content":{"rendered":"

What metrics do you use? How do you measure the success of what you publish? In my opinion, these two questions are what keeps most content people awake at night.<\/p>\n

When presenting our content strategy at ChartMogul \u2014 which definitely doesn\u2019t conform to many of the \u201cnorms\u201d in the industry \u2014 the immediate question is always the same: How do you know whether you\u2019re succeeding at this? What metrics do you measure?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s probably a little overdue then, that we share our approach to measuring content at ChartMogul. Just one disclaimer though: This is not a one-size-fits-all approach. It\u2019s a set of values that define the way we operate, and for us it works well. I\u2019m not preaching here \u2014 just sharing our approach since so many of you have asked ;)<\/p>\n

Why do we measure?<\/b><\/h1>\n

A modern Marketing team in 2017 is overwhelmed with data. We\u2019ve written about this recently, as well as the need for better data literacy to empower people to make sense (and use) of such datasets.<\/p>\n

In 2017, we measure because it\u2019s easy, and almost every tool and system we use leaves a trail of data behind for you to analyze and scratch your chin over. Data storage is cheaper than ever, cloud connectivity means that everything can constantly \u201cphone home\u201d, so why not? Data is the currency of the future, so we should be aggressively hoarding it. The data FOMO is real.<\/p>\n

Although Content Marketing is a term that only really exists in the era of the web, we\u2019ve been marketing our products with \u201ccontent\u201d for decades. We just weren\u2019t able to measure it very effectively. That full page spread you ran in the New York Times? Who knows how many people were affected by it, or even saw it. Or how many new customers it brought you. Because of this, such campaigns were treated more as exercises in branding \u2014 with the goal of drumming up increased brand awareness rather than new customers.<\/p>\n

When Marketing moved online from print, TV and other forms of media, it was a breath of fresh air for industry veterans who were used to basically zero capability to measure the success of campaigns.<\/p>\n

Today, the Content Marketing involves a huge array of metrics, many of which originate from a display advertising background, in an attempt to quantify the success of their efforts. Which articles bring the most new customers?<\/em> Measure it. Which webinars bring the most-engaged leads?<\/em> Just measure it! You get the idea.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not so often that we sit back and question this strategy on a higher level, especially with so many influencers adopting a “copy this growth hack today!” attitude. Does it really make sense for content marketing to try and imitate the display advertising industry when their goals are so fundamentally different?<\/p>\n

What\u2019s driving the need to think differently<\/b><\/h1>\n

The problem is, the metrics we use so often in Content Marketing on the web today aren\u2019t well-aligned with our true goals for what we\u2019re trying to achieve with the efforts in the first place. And in some cases we\u2019ve trodden so far away from the path that it\u2019s hard to go back.<\/p>\n

As Intercom\u2019s Managing Editor John Collins<\/a> puts it:<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s all ‘get-rich-quick’ schemes\u00a0about the\u00a0marketing and promotion, and there\u2019s very, very little about the content itself.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s so tempting to chase the vanity metrics and short-term gains that come with traffic spikes and clicks. But with any \u201cquick win\u201d strategy, there\u2019s little benefit to be had in the long term.<\/p>\n

A friend recently told me a great analogy about Content Marketing efforts within a business. He described Content Marketing as a big wheel that you\u2019re trying to build and put in motion.<\/p>\n

\"London<\/a><\/p>\n

The key point to make here is that it takes a TON of energy to get this wheel moving; months or even years of effort, without much in the way of a return on your investment. But once you get the wheel moving and things really start to pick up speed, the momentum of the thing is massive. The power of the whole operation becomes almost unstoppable. This is Content Marketing \u2014 the long game. It can take years to see the fruits of your hard labor.<\/p>\n

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Super quick story:<\/strong><\/p>\n

One week in 2016 I checked the analytics for ChartMogul’s blog — how many people were reading, what the most popular articles were for that particular week.<\/em><\/p>\n

I nearly dropped my coffee when I saw that THREE of the top five articles for that week were OVER A YEAR old.\u00a0I mean, I knew evergreen content is… well, evergreen… but wow!<\/em><\/p>\n

THIS is the big wheel in action.<\/em><\/p>\n

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However, chasing short term wins and \u201cget-rich-quick\u201d schemes doesn’t contribute towards that overall momentum. They result in you building a wheel that\u2019s much, much easier to accelerate, but as soon as you stop pushing, the thing stops. Something like this:<\/p>\n

\"hamster<\/a><\/p>\n

So for us at ChartMogul, if we\u2019re going to measure what we\u2019re doing at all, we want to measure the ongoing acceleration of this big wheel we\u2019ve built. Because that\u2019s our goal.<\/p>\n

Enough wheel analogies. What are your actual goals?<\/b><\/h1>\n

I\u2019m so glad you asked! We want to:<\/p>\n