Why content marketing can become your most productive channel in partnership
with created by. Content Marketing. ROI. The “soft” benefits of content ...
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in partnership with
Content Marketing
ROI
Per dollar, content marketing produces
3 times more leads
YEAR 1
BLOG POST
PODCAST
YEAR 2
VIDEO
INTERVIEW
ARTICLE
YEAR 3
ANNOUNCEMENT
INFOGRAPHIC
WHITEPAPER
EBOOK
The “soft” benefits of content marketing are obvious: public trust, more engaged
Why content marketing can become your most productive channel
prospects, happier clients. But what about the hard benefits. What about ROI? “Content Marketing ROI” is the first study to address the fundamental questions: How much does content marketing cost and is it a better financial investment than other marketing strategies? The answer is, “Yes.” The eBook explains why. continue reading
TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction The New Rules of Marketing This Study
Content Marketing Analysis Content Marketing Operation · Content Plan · Content Organization: Managing Editor, Organizational Listeners, Internal Contributors, External Contributors, VP, Marketing, Revised Content Plan
Content Marketing Costs Content Marketing Benefits
Comparison · Content Marketing Summary: 24 Months · Paid Search Summary: 24 Months
Benchmark: Paid Search Marketing Conclusions Content Marketing ROI Measures Up Content Marketing is Not a Campaign Content Marketing Must Be Managed as a Business Process
Want to get skip ahead to the ROI calculations?
THE ICONOGRAPHY USED IN THIS EBOOK
BLOG POST
PODCAST
MID-SIZED BUSINESSES
VIDEO
INTERVIEW
LARGER-SIZED BUSINESSES
ARTICLE
ANNOUNCEMENT INFOGRAPHIC
LEAD
WHITEPAPER
EBOOK
INTRODUCTION
The New Marketing Rulebook The rules of marketing have changed.
that online display ads have a click through rate of less than one-tenth of one percent. Ad Overload:
Real Information is Elsewhere:
The Consumer is in Control:
So what can marketers do?
This Study
Content publishers by industry
Tech
Retail / eCommerce
Financial
Consumer Goods
Manufacturing
Services
Content Publishers by revenue
23 GREATER THAN
12
$100M - $1B LESS THAN
15
$1B
$100M
CONTENT MARKETING ANALYSIS
Content Marketing Operation CONTENT PLAN blog post
podcast
handheld video
interview
article
media announcement
5
per week
S M T W T F S
1 infographic
professional video
per month
whitepaper
ebook
CONTENT ORGANIZATION
Managing Editor
Community Manager
Internal Contributors
External Contributors
REVISED CONTENT PLAN
M
T
W
T
F “CURATION”
“CURATION”
“CURATION”
“CURATION”
MAJOR PIECE
CURATION POST
Content Marketing Costs operation. They are summarized in the following two tables, one for mid-sized businesses and one for larger organizations. CONTENT PLAN
Content Marketing Costs: Mid-Sized PERSONNEL Managing Editor CONTENT Blog Post Costs Premium Content Costs TOOLS Software & Hosting
monthly $6,667 $1290 $2,500 $1,500
Total Expenses
$11,957
Content Marketing Costs: Larger-Sized
monthly
PERSONNEL Chief Content Officer Managing Editor CONTENT Blog Post Costs Premium Content Costs TOOLS Software & Hosting Total Expenses
$16,667 $8,333 $1720 $3,500 $2,500 $32,720
mid-sized businesses
Fully loaded costs
$80,000/yr
$150/post $2,500
/premium content
larger-sized businesses
Fully loaded costs
$100,000/yr
Fully loaded costs
$200,000/yr
$200/post $3,500
/premium content
Total expenses for the content marketing operation
Monthly Recurring
mid-sized
$11,957
larger-sized
$32,720
Content Marketing Benefits quality
SITE VISITS PER MONTH
100,000 larger-sized 75,000 mid-sized 50,000 25,000
Month 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 11 12
13
14
15 16
17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
The chart above shows the traffic calculated for the two classes of operations in this study. Over time, the greater resources invested in the larger operation yields stronger results.
$25,000 $20,000 larger-sized $15,000
mid-sized
$10,000 $5,000 Month 1
$500
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 11 12
13
14
15 16
17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
100,000 larger-sized 75,000 mid-sized 50,000 25,000
Month 1
2
3
4
COST PER LEAD
5
6
7
8
9
10 11 12
13
14
15 16
17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
$25,000 $20,000 larger-sized $15,000
mid-sized
$10,000 $5,000 Month 1
$500
2
3
4
5
6
7
In first 5 months costs/lead drop
80%
$375
8
9
10 11 12
13
14
15 16
17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
The long-term yield of content marketing is illustrated in the chart above, which shows the cumulative cost per lead over the 24 months, or how much has been spent divided by how many leads have been generated over time.
$250 $125
Month 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 11 12
13
14
15 16
17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
COMPARISON
Content Marketing to Paid Search CONTENT MARKETING SUMMARY
PAID SEARCH SUMMARY
Cost per lead: 24 months
$125
mid-sized
paid search
larger-sized
$109/
paid search
expenses: $437,376 leads: 4,032
$108/
expenses: $1,452,984 leads: 13,488
$100
Content marketing costs
31% less than paid search
Content marketing costs
41% less than paid search
content marketing $75
$75/
expenses: $312,560 leads: 4,172
content marketing
$64/
expenses: $869,060 leads: 13,569
$50
BENCHMARK: PAID SEARCH MARKETING What is the cost per click?
Cost per click across several segments derived from Google’s Traffic Estimator tool life insurance
$16.59
divorce laywer
diabetes medicine chicago physical therapy
$10.88
$4.74
$4.17 passport services
dallas real estate
$2.50
$2.69
tax advisors trucking services
running shoes
$3.58
$2.42 mexico vacation
$1.86
$2.14
dvd player baseball cards
quilting supplies
$0.82
$1.27 $1.22
$4.22 average cost per click
an average cost per lead of $109 / $108.
CONCLUSIONS
Content Marketing ROI Measures Up Many Factors: Content Expense
Conversion Rates Keyword Prices
Content Marketing is Not a Campaign
becoming
owning
The graph below compares the cumulative number of leads generated per $1000 spent from the study’s content marketing operation (large organization) and its paid search campaign:
36
Once you’ve built your audience, your ROI goes up since you no longer have to pay rent to the media
31 leads
/$1,000
30
CONTENT MARKETING
24 18
9 leads /$1,000
12 6
PAID SEARCH
Month 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
Content Marketing Must Be Managed as a Business Process
ABOUT THE AUTHORS About Kapost
About Eloqua
About Eloqua & Kapost
