Blog / The importance of measurement in your content marketing

Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half.
- John Wanamaker

Your law firm has achieved its goal of rolling out a multi-channel content marketing initiative and your marketing team or attorneys are regularly contributing blog content, social media posts and thought leadership articles to third-party content aggregators. Now comes the equally important ongoing process of measuring the results of your content marketing efforts.

Each time you share new online content, it is vital to measure its effectiveness. There are several reasons for this. The first is a matter of return on investment. Suppose that each of the 10 partners of your firm spend three non-billable hours each month writing online content. How much is this costing the firm each year? In order to know whether these are hours well spent, you need to know what you are getting back for their efforts.

Second, results measurement tells you which content and channels are helping you to achieve your goals of generating awareness and leads for your practice. Knowing what is working and what is not allows you to apply this intelligence by reviewing and refining your content marketing strategy and plan.

Here are some of the areas on which to focus your measurement:

• Audience - Compare the audience that you are trying to reach with your online followers. Look at who is retweeting your content, who is sharing your blog posts on LinkedIn and who is contacting you after reading your content on Lexology Navigator. These should largely consist of potential clients and referrers of business, as well as influencers and media outlets. If they don't, you may need to make adjustments.

• Calls to action and offers - Is your audience clicking on the links at the end of your online articles or downloading the case studies on your websites? Which offers work best: free content or complimentary consultations?

• Frequency - How frequently do you need to communicate with your audience to maintain and build your following? For example, look at the number of people who visit your blog when you post weekly as opposed to when you skip a week. Is there a discernible difference?

• Topics - Which topics are your target clients most interested in? Are there specific subjects that cause a spike in new inbound website traffic or that don't garner the same attention as others? Take this information back to your next content calendar planning session.

• Media - Which content channels are most effective in attracting potential clients and industry peers? Which generate the most engagement? Which social channels are the most effective in driving traffic to your website?

Content marketing takes a good deal of effort to execute successfully, but it's infinitely worth it when you consider the advantages it offers in terms of promoting awareness, thought leadership and new business for your law firm. By keeping your eye on the results and applying this learning to your content marketing plan, your practice will continue to reap the rewards.