In business, you are trained to persuade clients and customers, whether it is trying to get someone to buy a new medical device or convincing someone to invest in your company’s services that will help their business grow. That being said, your hardest sell is actually to your boss, especially when it comes to selling the return on investment (ROI) on your content marketing strategy.
Before he or she makes the commitment, your boss’s main concern will likely be what value a content marketing strategy offers to the company and what potential revenue the strategy will bring in. While your boss will likely be interested in just short-term results, it’s your job to convince him or her that content marketing provides beneficial end-results that can be measured with short-term conversions and long-term revenue (depending on your sales cycle, revenue results may not be seen for months or longer). So the question remains: How do you explain to your boss the value of content marketing to ensure a positive commitment to a content marketing strategy?
Top three elements to persuade your boss to invest in content marketing
- Content can generate leads: Elements that call for visitors to provide their contact information, whether that is subscribing to a newsletter or downloading a whitepaper, can turn into leads for the company. Tracking the number of subscribers, downloads or even increases in your visitors’ time on site are measurable short-term goals that you can track to show quick results for your content marketing strategy. TIP: Set up goals in Google Analytics for your landing page to automatically track activity and create reports to show your boss on a regular basis.
- Content can generate sales: This right here could be your golden ticket. By tracking how many people make a purchase after reading a blog post or sign a contract after downloading a whitepaper, you can show the value of content marketing and give your boss a quantifiable revenue number of how content marketing is working. TIP: Be sure that your lead generation forms are tied to your CRM to properly track campaigns and ROI from the time the leads enter the system until the time they purchase.
- Examining competitors’ content can give you an edge: See what resonates well with your audience by doing some investigative research into your clients, industry associations and trade publications. You don’t want your competitors to have more compelling content than you so try to get the leg up by positioning your company and executives as thought leaders and industry experts. TIP: Utilize industry forums and social channels to engage your audience and start new conversations through your content pieces and then track social engagement including likes, comments and shares.
To learn more, connect with a member of our team.
