The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council has launched a global authority leadership program to audit and assess content quality, performance and ROI. It is working with GlobalFluency and other solution providers and consultants to develop a comprehensive system for reviewing and evaluating marketing content investments. Too few companies have formal content development strategies, relevant content creation themes and topic areas, efficient content origination capabilities, effective content delivery networks or channels, or measurable content performance and tracking systems.
Random acts of content development occur across the organization without unifying and consistent themes, messages, brand value or visual identity reinforcement. The CMO Council's auditing process will be aimed at raising the caliber of content produced in organizations and the impact and influence this content might have on brand awareness, perception, deal contention and buyer/specifier consideration. It will also look at the role and value of marketing content in the process of sales lead acquisition, qualification, conversion and closure, as well as its contribution to ongoing customer retention and revenue generation.
With more and more digital content publishing, syndication, conversation and distribution channels proliferating–such as websites, customer communities, social media channels, online business networks, Internet forums and discussion groups, blogs, podcasts, on-demand webcasts, video portals, mobile devices, email, SMS text messaging, IPTV, web conferencing systems and live virtual event environments–content has to be configured and produced in a multiplicity of formats and delivery modes to optimize consumption, recall, sharing, influence and action.
Bringing more discipline and rigor to content specification and creativity and strategic thinking to content origination and delivery is now a strategic imperative for marketers. Today's "digital content factories" have to run at full capacity to keep pace with rapid changes in market conditions, customer sentiments, competitive threats and technology advancements. Taking more engaging, thought-provoking and meaningful content to market is a critical core competency that has to be continuously improved, evaluated and calibrated.
The Content Performance Audit is designed to help companies in complex B2B markets assess and improve the effectiveness, impact and return on content marketing investments. Insights from this program will also be used to develop new best practices and benchmarks for the CMO Council's Content ROI Center initiative. Each audit will provide participating companies with an in–depth, integrated view and assessment of their content marketing initiatives–from strategy, messaging and platform development to content origination, distribution, reach and impact.
Content Auditing Process
Assessment Phase:
- Initial engagement with company marketers to review global content and thought leadership strategies, resources, portfolios, uses, market research investments and intellectual capital base
- Review of content costs, budgets, plans, origination process, time-to-market, volume and quality of output, relevance and value of offerings, and competitive initiatives
- Aggregation and assessment of content platforms, products, promotional effectiveness, distribution and delivery strategies, audience reach, and consumption rates
- Identification and measurement of key performance indicators, including market interest and response; perceptual change; customer/prospect receptivity and response; recognition and exposure; voice and prominence in media; web search and communities, competitive etc.
Audit Deliverables:
- Overall content performance assessment
- Strengths and weaknesses
- Untapped or under-utilized resources
- Underperforming assets or research investments
- Areas for process improvement, focus and development
- Best-practice benchmarking and ROI metrics