We were excited to welcome a new client in the construction industry last spring. We’ve loved getting into their content and social media, but their marketing metrics so far have been, quite frankly, unremarkable:
- Average website traffic has increased +12% from May 2023 to December 2023
- Social media fans and followers increased by 8% from June 2023 to December 2023
OK, this one is more brag-worthy:
- Organic keywords have increased by 37% from May 2023 to Jan 2023 (largely thanks to many content updates we’ve made on their website)
Why are we sharing these content marketing metrics that range from meh to mediocre? Because we have an important message to share about how you measure the success of marketing efforts.
Here’s why there’s more to marketing than metrics
In the age of big data and artificial intelligence, it’s easy to see why marketing is often thought of as a purely analytical discipline. These days, we have access to vast amounts of data and analytics that we can use to evaluate our performance and inform strategic decisions.
But marketing can’t simply be reduced to numbers and algorithms. At its core, marketing is about people—understanding their needs, putting yourself in their shoes, and providing them with products, services, and information that solve their problems, inform, and delight.
Despite not exactly shooting the lights out when it comes to hard content marketing metrics, our client has received plenty of positive anecdotal feedback on their content. Their revamped online presence has been a catalyst for positive conversations, more inbound calls, and credibility in the market. People are taking notice, reaching out to commend their content, and asking who does it for them! For the first time in the company’s history, they’re regularly getting calls from prospective customers who found them on Google. Marketing isn’t just about chasing metrics; it’s about building relationships and creating a sense of trust and loyalty that goes beyond the transactional.
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We’re in it for the long game
We’re confident that, in time, we’ll be able to share some more impressive content marketing metrics from this client. That’s because we don’t believe in overnight success and virality. There are nearly innumerable ways to promote your business online, and it’s easy to become distracted by vanity metrics and that shiny, flashy thing your competitor just did.
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We believe in creating a solid, sustainable foundation and building on it over time, forever focused on your target customers—what they want, where they go for information, and how they want to engage with you. Not everyone is your target customer, so quality trumps quality every time. For example, you’d rather have 1,000 engaged social media followers than 10,000 fake accounts and random followers who would never in a million years become paying customers.
Prior to working with us, the homebuilder client was putting a lot of effort into social media—particularly TikTok. They have an impressive following on the platform, and their posts there get a lot of engagement. As we dug in to start working as their outsourced marketing team, we defined their target audience. Long story short, that audience isn’t spending time on TikTok. In fact, they’ve never gotten a single lead from the platform. The metrics looked good, but the results weren’t bringing cash in the door.
A robust social media following isn’t a negative for your business—we’ve all seen online creators turn their audiences into an empire of profits. But for that to work, the following has to be made up of people in your target audience who are ready to buy what you’re selling. The companies we work with are small businesses providing niche, personalized, and often localized services. Our clients do things like design homes, put together financial plans, coach executives, and provide legal services for nonprofits. By and large, these types of businesses do extremely well generating leads through content marketing, provided they have the right strategy in place.
All of which is to say, if being a viral TikTok sensation isn’t your life goal, you may want to reconsider your marketing strategy and the metrics you’re tracking. Can you connect your marketing activities to real dollars coming into your business? Do your metrics look good but you feel like something is missing? It may be time to schedule a marketing strategy session.
Is your LinkedIn presence lacking?
When last did you receive a compliment on your marketing content?
If you’re looking for marketing that gets results both on and off the analytics platform, we’d love to hear from you! Get in touch to schedule a free consultation to see if we’d be a good fit.
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