Analytics plays an invaluable role in modern marketing. We have talked extensively about the value of using data for marketing strategies in all industries.
Analytics can be particularly useful for content marketing. Many marketers are stuck in 2008, when data analytics didn’t have a place in digital marketing strategies. This has changed dramatically in recent years, as data analytics has become increasingly vital to the future of content marketing.
The Evolution of Analytics in Content Marketing
If you are looking to grow or gain new leads as a business, you are going to need to take an in-depth look and your marketing and how you want to approach content. It is easier to flush out your marketing strategy with the use of marketing automation and analytics tools.
HubSpot has a list of content marketing analytics tools worth exploring, which include:
- HubSpot Marketing Analytics and Dashboard Software
- Google Analytics
- Buffer
- SimilarWeb
- Hotjar
- Semrush
- Moz
This includes how you are going to educate your customers on what you do through blog posts, social media, and more. In order to achieve your content goals, you are going to need to create a strategy that provides value.
Here’s how small businesses can take advantage of content marketing with analytics-based strategies.
Stand out in your industry
When you are trying to compete with others in your industry, you are going to need to create unique content that can helps your customers in a way that your competitors can’t. This can be especially true if you are looking into your SaaS content marketing, since you are trying to sell a product that is not physical and your clients can’t hold. All options might look the same to potential customers until they see your content and it educates them on what they need to know about your service.
Analytics tools can help you assess your overall ranking in the industry. You can use data analytics to see the reception of your content relative to competitors and adjust quality as needed.
Find new leads
Content is one of the main ways you are going to get people interested in what you have to offer. It’s also the best way to get the word out there to those who might be your most loyal customers, but they just don’t know about your business. You will want to do some research and determine which marketing methods will help you find the type of leads you want so you can devote your time and budget toward making content that will convert for you.
You can use analytics to optimize your lead generation strategy. Tools like Google Analytics help you determine what types of content, keywords and other variables are driving the most leads.
Know which channels to cover
This also means you will need to know where your customers are hanging out online and which is the most effective form of marketing for them. Depending on the type of content that would resonate with your customers best, you might need to be making video, blog posts, using photography, and more. This can lead to overwhelming or feeling like you have to hire people in order to be everywhere at once. The truth is that you can be effective on one or two platforms and still manage to find clients—you just need to know which would be best for you.
This is another area where analytics can be very helpful. You can use analytics tools to see the performance of different channels, such as Facebook, YouTube and other mediums. You can see which offer the highest ROI with your data-driven insights.
Create your own reputation
Quality content marketing allows you to shape your own narrative around your business rather than customers completely relying reviews from your other clients or what your competition says. By creating content that inspires or informs, then you are establishing a relationship with individual customers and allowing yourself to have access to them in a way that PR and other forms of advertising cannot.
Analytics is Key to Successful Content Marketing Strategies
No matter what type of small business you have, it’s likely that you will need to invest in some content marketing in the future. You can’t do this without the right analytics tools at your fingertips. Once you have an analytics-driven content marketing strategy in place, you will see the benefits of connecting with your audience and how it can make a difference for your revenue.