Use these three steps to calculate content marketing ROI to show the value of your investment.

As supply chain and logistics businesses are finally recognizing the merits of content marketing, many are looking into it. But it doesn’t take much research to realize what an enormous investment it is. And how difficult it can be to calculate content marketing ROI.

Many companies we talk to need help convincing management that it’s a worthwhile investment. To that we say, use data!

But what data should you use? How do you quantify certain benefits, like growth in brand awareness? And do you really have to keep track of all the hours you spend writing blog posts, managing social media, etc.?

Here are three basic steps for how to calculate content marketing ROI.

3 steps to calculate content marketing ROI

1) Set up your ROI measurement.

It’s important that you measure content marketing ROI at the initiative level. This means calculating the ROI of your blog, your webinar series, your Facebook marketing, etc. individually.

After calculating the ROI of each initiative, you can aggregate that data to determine your overall content marketing ROI for your business.

2) Know as much detail as possible.

“To measure ROI, you have to know, in as much detail as possible, the R (return) and the I (investment) of your content initiative,” says Jay Baer, president of Convince & Convert. Baer walks his readers through the example of figuring out ROI for a podcast, including calculating total investment in the project (including preparation and execution), and calculating total return.

Content marketing is about creativity. By the same token, think creatively about every measurable avenue of return in each of your initiatives.

3) Calculate your ROI.

The formula for ROI is universal: return minus investment, divided by investment, expressed as a percentage.

And there’s some good news for supply chain and logistics content marketing: “Content marketing ROI calculations are indeed easier for B2B companies because they almost always have visibility at the transaction layer,” writes Baer.

Once you’ve calculated ROI for each of your major initiatives, it’s time to think strategically about optimizing your content marketing resources, in terms of allocation and timing. Having hard data helps you answer questions about which initiatives are most fruitful, what language engages your audience best, when your efforts are most likely to pay off.

Ultimately, this data-driven approach lets you continually adapt to the needs of your audience, ensuring an ongoing, robust ROI.

Related posts:

• 4 Metrics to Measure the Impact of Content Marketing on Brand Awareness
• Video: Use These Metrics to Benchmark Marketing Performance against Your Competitors
• Our 6 Favorite Marketing Automation Tools for Supply Chain and Logistics Marketers