Recently, I encountered a case where someone was thrilled that their content was generating buzz, only to be abruptly asked by upper management, "So, did it lead to sales?" What should they do?
As more executives emerge who, while unfamiliar with digital systems, understand that digital platforms provide various metrics revealing user reactions and contributions to sales, we'll likely encounter such scenarios more frequently.
Defining what constitutes success is inherently challenging in content marketing. Crucially, we must determine "what success means" before releasing any content. If the project team doesn't agree beforehand on "success = what we gain by releasing this content," we'll inevitably face sudden questions like "Did it lead to sales?"
So, how should we approach defining this "success"?
① Are PVs/UU considered "results"?
For those who've poured their all into planning each piece of content, the unconscious response to "content results" is often "how many people saw it." This is a crucial metric when the goal is to "increase content or site visitors."
However, when the goal is to "drive sales," as mentioned at the beginning, simply acquiring PVs and UU is insufficient. To achieve the goal, we must consider what kind of content planning will be effective. Yet, PVs and UU rarely provide insights into "how exactly this will lead to sales."
In fact, even if the goal isn't "driving sales," when managing multiple diverse content pieces, repeatedly creating only popular content can lead to several problems: the content types become skewed, the audience becomes limited, and in some cases, the content might become entirely unrelated to the product or brand. While managing the content, you often intuitively notice this imbalance. Even if you understand that this skew is undesirable, simply looking at PVs and UU doesn't easily reveal "what kind of content should be planned next." This is precisely why it's said that PV and UU alone don't constitute results in content marketing; they are merely intermediate metrics.
② To measure results, you need a scenario.
This is obvious to those with e-commerce or data analytics experience: to derive results like "people who engaged with the content bought the product," you need to track the process from when someone views the content to when they make a purchase. What information sparks interest in a product? What makes someone want to buy it and look up detailed product information? We need to predict, to some extent, the varied purchasing consideration processes people go through and what information they need along the way. Without preparing hypotheses for behavioral scenarios that lead to purchase, we cannot track the process. Moreover, to actually track it, we simultaneously need to establish the technical methods to measure the processes within that scenario.
Fundamentally, accurately measuring whether a piece of content led to a sale—meaning an actual purchase—remains challenging at present. Unless purchase records exist on the web, like in e-commerce, significant technical and cost barriers persist. While this is common knowledge among digital marketers, project leaders or owners may be unaware, necessitating careful explanation.
③ Scenarios must be considered during content planning.
Content planning is incredibly enjoyable. When immersed in brainstorming ideas—what concept to pursue, what photos to use, who to feature—terms like "results" or "metrics" tend to be forgotten. However, once the initial planning excitement subsides, it's crucial not to overlook discussing how results will be measured. First, confirm the objective. To achieve that objective, what action should the audience take after viewing the content? While formulating scenario hypotheses, you need to prepare to drive action by utilizing various methods: creating contextual information, designing site navigation paths like links, and leveraging recommendation engines. These preparations must be completed before releasing the content.
The desired outcomes for content vary widely. Similarly, the outcomes expected from a content marketing project can be diverse. "Outcome" is not necessarily synonymous with "success." Fundamentally, an "outcome" is what you gain by releasing that content into the world. Therefore, even if things don't go as hypothesized, the fact itself and the reasons inferred from it become precisely what you've gained. The true significance of continuing content marketing lies in learning from these "gains" and continuously improving based on them.
To ensure content marketing projects remain meaningful, we must consider outcomes not after publishing content, but simultaneously while planning it.
From the Front Lines of Content Marketing [19]
