Content marketing ROI begins (and ends) with purpose

Content marketing purpose defines the return on investment (ROI). This is why—no matter the brand, audience, marketing budget or channel involved—content should Content marketing purpose defines the return on investment (ROI). This is why—no matter the brand, audience, marketing budget or channel involved—content should have a defined purpose, whether it’s a measurable goal or a softer objective. Deviation from that purpose is a missed opportunity, at best, or a customer turnoff in some instances.

Here’s a real-world example. Imagine picking up a novel and finding a cigarette ad printed directly in the middle of it. The novel is content. So is the ad. Both support different purposes, however, and the misalignment of those purposes can trigger annoyance, anger, indifference or apathy in the audience. More on this example later.

Clients often ask Pace to help make content stretch further, perform better or just work in general. To complete our equation for content marketing ROI, however, we usually have to ask a few questions of our own:

This last question is the key. Yet so many marketers fall into the trap of creating content for content’s sake, not for a specific marketing outcome. In fact, a “lack of clear goals” was the top barrier to effectiveness, according to the Content Marketing Institute’s most recent annual survey.

If your goal is to create content for content’s sake, then that’s the return you can expect. But content is an ideal vehicle for reaching more substantial goals as well.

I have on my bookshelf a first-edition copy of Ursula K. Le Guin’s novel The Word for World is Forest. If you read the book or the author’s own description of it, you’ll find a clear purpose for the novel.

The first edition of the novel is unique, but not because it’s truly rare or valuable. It’s that it has a vintage cigarette ad printed inside the book itself. Unsurprisingly, this ad serves a strikingly different purpose from that of the novel. The book’s key message: Stop violent colonialism and be nice to trees. The ad’s message: You’ll be happier if you buy cigarettes.

I wish I could see how the advertiser measured success for this kind of ad, but I expect there wasn’t much to report. Most novels are ad-free in all formats now (as they almost always have been), which suggests to me that sales from mid-novel ad placements weren’t outstanding.

At its core, the ad inside the book is a divergence from the purpose of the story. If you want greater impact from your content, create your content in service of a more focused objective.

Here are a few common goals, objectives and purposes to consider for your own content.

There would be no Google search without content to search for. There would be no social media without the media people are socializing. There would be no movie-centric theme parks without much-beloved movies coming first. Content is a true prerequisite—and having your content be found is a worthy objective for content marketing.

While discovery shouldn’t be your end goal, it’s a part of the marketing journey where content continues to shine. There’s strategic legitimacy in creating content to help your brand attract traffic, show up well in search engine results and earn the recommendation of others (human and content platform alike).

Helpful KPIs for assessing content discovery include:

A key measure of content marketing ROI is your content’s success in nurturing brand loyalty and trust. Consumer and professional audiences are experienced critics, and they expect branded content to help them solve their problems. These audiences are also generous. Once you show value in a non-promotional way, they’re a lot more likely to add value in return (e.g., advocate for or spend money on your brand).

In short, if you can fuel brand love through your content, your audience will respond in kind.

There’s a challenge, though. Most of the world’s content has no positive impact on brand sentiment. In fact, Pace’s partner Knotch found that 30% of content actually has a negative effect, diluting brand strength and consumer loyalty. So, it’s not just content for content’s sake. It’s content that damages the brand behind it.

From the moment you clear the content-discovery hurdle, you’re in a position to make your brand memorable (for better or worse). If you’re serving up relevant, helpful or entertaining content that aligns with your brand mission, however, you’re well on your way to building positive sentiment.

You’ve captured someone’s attention. You’ve added value. It’s time to spur audience action next. From a content marketing ROI perspective, audience action could come in a variety of shapes and sizes:

No matter what your content’s end goal is, there’s an audience out there that is ready to take action.

The ideal situation is when users take actions that advance their decision-making journey. Entertaining content, for instance, can move the audience from awareness to consideration, and educational content is a strong vehicle for guiding audiences from consideration onward through the next rounds of decision-making.

Most of this journey occurs as an end customer engages with content on their own, at a pace of their choosing, well before contacting anyone about making a purchase. This is another area where content marketing truly shines, empowering these potential customers rather than selling to them. Brands that understand the journey their buyers are taking will be well equipped to support that journey from the beginning through to key junctures in decision-making—with content doing the heavy lifting for them.

Plenty of brands create content hoping it will motivate a sale. This is a worthwhile and achievable goal for content marketing. Nearly half of participants in the Content Marketing Institute’s 15th annual survey said they have generated sales/revenue within the past 12 months using content.

A staggering 83% of marketers see content as “the most effective strategy for demand generation.” Outside of direct demand, countless brands also use content to generate advertising data, to earn advertising dollars from other brands, and to pocket revenue directly via purchase or paid subscriptions (not of a separate product).

Truly, content has a place at every stage of the customer journey. Here are two actions brands should take, no matter what that journey looks like for their audience.

You’ve likely used content audits, SEO analyses, engagement measurements and other strategies to determine where content is or is not working. What’s typically missing is the connection between performance data and content marketing purpose. For example, it’s great to see content that drives organic traffic to a brand website. But organic traffic is rarely the end marketing goal.

So, to elevate your use of content, pair your performance assessments with a true picture of the purpose intended for each content asset—and for your brand’s content program as a whole. Even a rudimentary analysis like this opens a clear path. For example, you’ll probably rethink any mid-novel advertisements you were planning.

Your measurement framework should set the direction for the content you create, how you optimize it over time and the end results it brings about. But most content marketers struggle to measure anything related to core business objectives.

Based on firsthand analyses of numerous enterprise content programs, Knotch shared the following with Pace’s clients: “In spite of the claimed success in brand awareness, credibility/trust and audience education, there are no metrics being used that align with these objectives.”

The right measurement framework will align content outputs with brand outcomes. As such, it will be a compass in the fog of perceived (versus proven) success.

Content marketing is a long game to play. It takes time to get quality. Content-discovery platforms—search, social, streaming and so on—also move at their own speed. And then there’s the time needed to measure and adjust to current market expectations. There are often quick wins to be had, but it can still be months before it’s clear whether most forms of content are working. That’s why, as we’ve learned over 51 years of content creation, it’s so critical for brands to establish clear objectives for content marketing upfront.

Joe Pulizzi, the godfather of content marketing, said this to a group of Pace clients last year: “Content marketing is the only type of marketing where you deliver value to customers outside of the products you offer.”

Adding value for your customers is a content marketing purpose worth the wait. And it bears repeating: When you give value to your audience, they’ll be primed to return the favor.