Is it just me or did Q1fly by? Since Q2 is certain to do the same, schedule some time this month to revisit your 2024 content marketing strategy. Is your content performing up to expectations? Are the subjects on your editorial calendar still relevant? Any tweaks that need to be made?
Use this list to guide your efforts across three key areas — web traffic, engagement and conversions.
WEB TRAFFIC
Unique visitors
Notice a spike in unique visitors after publishing a blog post or video? That’s an indication that your content is drawing new eyeballs. Great work! Try to isolate any variables you might have done differently to determine if the post’s popularity was topic-driven or something else.
Page views
A spike in page views indicates that your content is resonating with your audience. See if there’s any commonality between topics with high page views to guide development of future posts.
Bounce rates
A high bounce rate might suggest that your content isn’t engaging enough to keep visitors around. As noted above, if there’s any correlation between topics on blog pages with high bounce rates, consider avoiding that topic or reworking it for greater audience appeal.
ENGAGEMENT
Email list signups
If one of your 2024 content marketing goals is to build your audience list, see how much progress you’ve made the last two quarters. If sign-ups are skimpy, consider creating a new lead magnet or more frequently promoting the value of your newsletter on social media.
Comments and shares
The most direct measure of engagement with your content is the number of comments and shares it receives. But sometimes our connections need a nudge to do so. Tag colleagues with similar target audiences on social and ask them to chime in on the topic or share the post, then return the favor as a thank you.
PERFORMANCE
Pipeline status
How’s your follow-up looking? If you haven’t taken time to create a simple email nurturing series, make a commitment to do so now. By automating the process, you can save time and help ensure qualified leads aren’t falling off your radar.
Conversion rates
Naturally, closing the deal is the ultimate goal of content marketing. But that doesn’t necessarily have to be someone making a purchase. For your business, a conversion could be signing up for your newsletter, attending a webinar or requesting a free product trial — any action that allows you to continue the conversation.
Content is a not-insignificant investment of your time and resources. With regular check-ins on key marketing metrics for site traffic, engagement and conversions you can make sure that investment is paying off — or fix what’s not working on your current content marketing strategy.