{"id":7994,"date":"2023-05-16T17:20:51","date_gmt":"2023-05-17T00:20:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sparktoro.com\/blog\/?p=7994"},"modified":"2023-05-17T13:29:45","modified_gmt":"2023-05-17T20:29:45","slug":"your-new-kpis-to-gauge-content-quality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sparktoro.com\/blog\/your-new-kpis-to-gauge-content-quality\/","title":{"rendered":"Your New KPIs to Gauge Content Quality"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Rand hates the phrase \u201chigh-quality content.\u201d<\/a> Quality is entirely subjective. And because it\u2019s subjective, it\u2019s impossible to measure, let alone find agreed-upon standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s an example: Remember that Ted Lasso Season 2 episode, Beard After Hours<\/a>? Rand thought it was art while Casey thought it was drivel. (I have the least helpful opinion here which is that I thought it was fine. A fun slice of life, but it felt like wasted time in not seeing the overall plot move forward.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That might be an example of \u201cquality\u201d being subjective. Although I think that\u2019s a better example of style<\/strong>. Would I say that \u201cBeard After Hours\u201d was incredible on a stylistic level? Absolutely. But did I love it? Like I said, totally unhelpful; it was cool, I guess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now when it comes to content marketing, I think you actually can have agreed upon standards for what makes something \u201chigh-quality.\u201d As a not-classically-trained marketer, quality is something that has always guided my process, which I\u2019ll outline below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For starters, keyword research was never my first step. Instead, I started with audience research and social monitoring. I\u2019d consume the content my audience consumed and then I created content on the ideas they might be thinking about next. Or I kept up with the social media chatter and tapped into the top-of-mind trends. Every now and then I\u2019d get lucky when I was able to tie that into a high-volume search term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t think my process made a lot of sense to my past bosses. But they didn\u2019t complain because 1) I was productive and 2) I drove business results even if I didn\u2019t always drive SEO results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These results were driven by quality content gauged by several key performance indicators that we\u2019ll get to later in this article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s my process:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Always Tie Content Goals to Business Goals<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve always tied content goals to business goals<\/a>. I do this by connecting content to broader marketing goals, and then by extension, the overall business goals. Fortunately, the marketing funnel can help us visualize this process. Here are some examples using common business goals:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Increase revenue.<\/strong> Certainly, creating lead magnets to attract people in a target market is only one way to work towards increasing revenue. Lead magnets can be anything from a thoughtfully researched white paper to a highly-sought template \u2014 a classic partnership between Content Marketing and Demand Generation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Improve customer satisfaction.<\/strong> If the entire company is working to improve satisfaction, it\u2019s the marketing team that will focus on customer retention. The Lifecycle team might focus on nurture campaigns for repeat buyers or win-back campaigns for customers who have churned. Content Marketing can work with Product Marketing to identify customers at risk of churning, and then write guides to help customers maximize value of the product. These guides can also be used in Lifecycle campaigns.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Reduce costs. <\/strong>As the company works to reduce spend across all departments, the marketing team might try to reduce their customer acquisition costs. One way to take this down to content marketing and be more economical about creating is to use examples from your most loyal customers. Create tutorials substantiated by user-generated content. Develop a case study and ask the customer if they can be on-deck to speak to reporters. Then those customers you build the strongest relationships with? Invite them to your Customer Advisory Board where they\u2019ll get to beta test new products and features. Check all the boxes across the Growth, Lifecycle, PR, and Product Marketing teams.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    If you think about how content can serve your business, you\u2019ll elevate your thinking beyond the typical content metrics. You\u2019ll end up scoring short-term wins and alignment across your marketing team, and your content will serve multiple business stakeholders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Gauge Success With New KPIs<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Page views, keyword rank, and search rank are all things you can (and probably should) keep an eye on. But they\u2019re just a means to an end. They can help you stay on track as you keep the big picture of business growth in mind. (Of course: If you secure a top 3 ranking for a highly sought-after keyword, you definitely deserve your kudos!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    As I\u2019ve looked at tons of successful content pieces \u2014 from blogs to podcasts to courses and more \u2014 I\u2019ve homed in on six KPIs that are possible to keep tabs on:<\/p>\n\n\n\n