Performance in Content is Key and Here’s One Company Backing it Up

Two stories on deck today really highlight where content marketing (and digital advertising) is headed. First up Via performancein.com we have an important discussion about what really matters with content marketing:

Content marketing has earned its seat at the “big table.” If LinkedIn is any indication, a simple search shows nearly 2 million professionals working in the field today — almost 200,000 of whom are in the United Kingdom alone. Until recently, “content marketing” and “content machine” were two terms that were almost interchangeable, but this no longer holds true. We are now entering the next phase of content marketing, and to rise above the noise, brands will have to harness big data, social, mobile and search insights to develop content based on performance.

 

So what exactly does this loaded word, “performance,” mean? When in the context of content marketing, it refers to quantifiable metrics that measure hard business results such as revenue, traffic and ROI. As content marketers, we are familiar with how to create and disperse content, but are often challenged with the question of what kinds of content actually deliver ROI. According to an Altimeter report, 70% of marketers feel that they lack a cohesive, strategic approach to content. Despite the vast number of marketers who are involved in the content creation process, very few feel equipped to connect the dots between what they are putting out into the marketplace and how it is driving measurable results for their companies, if at all.

That’s it in a nutshell, it’s about performance. While the ROI of content marketing and digital advertising can be tracked by many different metrics the most important performance metrics is sales. Which leads to the next story via bizjournals.com that covers how the network BlogHer will guarantee a certain level of engagement:

…starting Wednesday, her site is upping the ante: She’s giving those brands a guarantee. BlogHer will enter into an agreement with a brand, promising to generate an agreed-upon level of engagement.

 

To keep BlogHer honest, Stone and her team have created an online platform — which they are calling InfluenceHer 360 — for brands to track the progress of their campaigns in real time.

There’s a lot to be said when a service or product backs up their offering by a guarantee like this. It defiantely makes it easier to correlate performance and ROI.

One takeaway I’ll leave you with is what if you looked at your own marketing this way? What if you had an agreement that there will be a certain level of engagement or performance? How would that change the way you approach your content or your advertising?

Images from performancein.com, bizjournals.com