What is content marketing?
Content marketing is a specific type of marketing, which is proven to be extremely successful when executed correctly. It is focused on the creation of content- be it blog articles, white papers, or visual content like images and videos- that are created for and directed at a target audience. It has been proven to be the best way to develop a company's brand, grow engagement, and finally drive sales.
There is a clear and persistent connection between the creation of quality content, and the increase in audience engagement- but only if you also market it in a correct and conscious way.
What is content scoring?
Content scoring is an important piece of developing your content marketing strategy- it allows you to assess and quantify the quality/value of a piece of content by tracking how it performs in creating tangible leads
It's not just enough to create quality content. You need to be deliberate about how you are creating it, what topics and focuses it has, and how you are delivering it to your target audience. Content scoring can help with all of these things...
Why is content scoring crucial?
- Audience retention: you're measuring your content against your target audience, and it shows you what pieces and types of writing/content creation resonate with the folks visiting your site and interested in your product, and which don't.
- An understanding of what "quality" entails when it comes to your content: You're not only seeing what types of content are resonating with your audience, you're seeing an increase in retention when the quality of your offerings go up. You need to understand what elements are most important to your viewers, and content scoring will show you the patterns and aspects that appeal to them.
How do I score content?
- Decide what your units of measurement are. Are you focusing on how much interaction you're getting? Likes or shares? Or, are you just aiming for page views? Pick the single (or handful) of units you'll be using that are important to your product and the way it sells.
- Monitor the performance of your various pieces of content, using whatever tracking software you'd like. We use Hubspot, Google Analytics can also be helpful.
- Figure out what's working and what isn't over a longer period of time- examine the performance of your content against the metrics you decided to use. Try different topics, different times of day, different combinations of social platforms. Play around with the vehicles by which you deliver this content, but make sure you're doing so strategically and allowing for a control group so you're not changing everything at once. That won't help with your results.
- Keep doing this over and over... you need to see the patterns and results over time, a week or so won't give you enough information, and there are so many different combinations you can test.
Final Tip:
Consistency is crucial. As you play around with content scoring and experimenting with when and how to deliver your content to your target audience, the one super important piece you need to hold onto is your consistent voice and message. Through finding that and creating content using that, you create a brand. Your content should have an easily discernible voice and pitch throughout all channels. It's definitely difficult to maintain consistency when your campaign is continuous and your company is growing. And, the more content you put out, the harder it is to maintain a harmonious style. That's what makes it so important!
Good luck in creating your content marketing campaign, refer back to these tips from time and you'll be golden!
