Content marketing continues to reign supreme online even almost two decades after Bill Gates wrote his “Content Is King” article back in 1996 when he stated, “Content is where I expect much of the real money will be made on the Internet, just as it was in broadcasting.”

Although Bill Gates’ prediction came true, he did not anticipate the huge effect that social media and mobile devices would have on the online market. However, it’s clear that more content is being consumed on mobile devices. Some refer to this as “the biggest shift since the internet began,” noting that mobile use surpassed desktop use in 2014, and this trend will keep growing rapidly.

The infographic, “How To Approach Mobile Content in 2015,” shows that it’s not surprising how much time mobile users spend on social media. For instance, mobile usage on social media is at 93 percent, but only 27 percent of marketers are targeting profiles that reflect these digital behaviors on mobile devices.

What Drives Users To Content

Before we start delving into measuring content results, it is important to determine what can bring readers to valuable information, ask yourself a couple of questions:

  • Where can new content subscribers come from? Emails, blog posts, social media interaction and webinars are common doorways.
  • What topics will bring about the most interest? Industry relevant information, trending news topics, reviews and product information are popular choices.

As with any type of measurement, analytics are often utilized to track and examine results. But before we go running off to Google’s Analytics, we need clearly defined content marketing goals that are associated with these metrics. Below are examples of common marketing KPIs used to measure metrics and track audience engagement.

  • Brand Awareness: Web traffic, pageviews, videos watched, downloads, social interaction, documents viewed and links followed.
  • Generating Leads: Conversion rates, forms completed, downloads and documents read, new email and blog subscriptions.
  • Increased Sales: Manual reporting, online and offline sales.
  • Retention and Loyalty: Percentage of content viewed by existing customers, retention and renewal rates.

Measuring Content In Your Marketing Strategies

  • Priority – Make the measurement of content quality and success a priority.
  • Conversions – Track conversion rates and examine their origin. Place more emphasis on successful locations and strategies.
  • Peers – Consult with others in your business and industry for valuable, important insights on sites like LinkedIn.
  • Adapt – Be ready to ditch data that isn’t working, is no longer relevant or simply has lost interest with your readership. Evaluate and adapt with new content.
  • Persist – Continue to examine and re-evaluate content measuring techniques.

For content measurement, it is important to continually learn what appeals to your audience and offer them the type of information that continues to improve readership. Maintain a presence on social media with paid and organic outreach to stay in touch with the online viewing audience at large.