Halfway through my studies towards an accounting degree I had an epiphany: accounting accounts for things that have already happened. Its entire orientation is backwards facing, while everything about me is forward 
facing.
I realized: I should have gone into finance. Doh!
I share this story despite the fact that it doesn’t reflect particularly well on me - but I’ve reconnected with the idea recently and here’s how.
After a long and interesting career in publishing and technology and marketing and now something at the vanguard of all three of those worlds, I’ve been reminded of the difference between looking backward or looking forward in conversations about content marketing analytics, of all things.
...most of us are at risk of letting our analytics reviews be backwards-facing exercises
It strikes me that most of us are at risk of letting our analytics reviews be backwards-facing exercises when the sole purpose is merely to measure past performance. “How did we do?” is a fine question to start with, but it’s no wonder that we as content marketers struggle with getting maximum value out of our analytics when we also stop there.
We’re not accountants. What we really need is a “finance” approach – a way to use the past (our data) to help us make better decisions about future content initiatives. The good news is that it’s relatively easy to do this. Here are three ways that you can use your analytics to better your future content undertakings:
1. Identify what’s popular and write more of it
Very simple, really. What were the top three posts from the prior period? Reflecting upon them, what was it about them that caused them to be better read (or shared) than your other posts? Write more about that. This way, you’ll be giving your readers what you know they want, not what you hope they want.
2. Identify top companies/industries reading your content and write to their needs
Teasing out reader details can sometimes be a challenge (shameless self-promotion here: JD Supra just launched Reader Highlight alerts letting our clients instantly spot notable readers of their content). The benefits of knowing this information is worth the trouble to dig out. After all, you are most likely not slaving over new articles because you’re hoping to be the next Oliver Wendell Holmes - you’re most likely doing so to attract potential new clients. It’s worth looking at your readers and making sure that you’re attracting those you want as readers. If not, time to mix it up a bit and write to your target audience's interest. (Or put another way: if your most-read content is not reaching the people you want to reach, recalibrate your focus and try again.)
3. Review the profiles of the notable people who engage with you content
Many of these people have public, social personas. What other topics/subjects are they engaging with and sharing? Perhaps there’s a great new post idea hidden there.
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And, just as accounting systems can’t do it all, so it is with analytics and content marketing. You can’t always be looking backwards and expect to go forward. With that in mind, here are two additional suggestions for forward-facing “finance” activities to help your content production:
1. Connect with someone who shared your article
Thank them for the share and ask what future topics they’d like to see you address. You’ll sure to get a couple of great future topic ideas plus you’ll secure a built-in future share and create a loyal reader.
2. Write to address potential solutions to hot topics/issues
I once had a boss tell me that anyone can identify what’s wrong - leaders identify what to do right. So it is with legal content. There is an enormous volume of content that focuses on the “what-if’s” and potential risks of a hot topic. There’s far less content that offers practical, down to earth thoughts on steps to take to address it. That content, on average, tends to be better read than the rest.
These are just a few a few of my thoughts. What tips do you have in using analytics in a forward-facing way? Please share comments and ideas below.
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