WORKWEEK

I really love planning for a new year. You get to see what has and has not been working for your team and envision a better future––one that aligns your organization, and moves you closer to your content vision. 

One thing top of mind for me in FY 25 planning is content analytics. That’s because there is so much opportunity here to lay a foundation for more data-driven content strategy. Not just SEO and traffic. Not just immediate conversion focused on last-touch. And geez, no, not the building of multi-touch attribution.  

Here’s the thing: we all know content has a halo effect for a brand when done and distributed well. 

Most content teams can control for “done well” through content operations and editorial governance. 

But distribution can be a challenge when: 

1. The zero-click world is upon us, and less and less folks are coming back to the site.
2. When paid teams are incentivized primarily by conversion. 

This means there is likely a lot of content you are creating that isn’t getting the visibility it deserves simply because it doesn’t live on a zero-click channel (think newsletter, LinkedIn, etc.) or because it doesn’t immediately convert. 

To help solve this, I’m actively looking at content analytics platforms that help me visualize a content journey and understand which assets lead to faster conversion (even if they don’t convert themselves). 

This information is critical for building content strategy because it gives me hard data to bring to teams who are often focused on last-touch conversion, and need data to prioritize resources or shift strategies. 

Not every piece of content created is supposed to convert. But every piece of content created should help build or reinforce a journey, and it’s high-time we are able to visualize that journey, optimize it, and leverage our distribution teams (including paid media) to drive traffic to the top of that funnel, rather than to a value-exchange page only. 

It’d be better for brand. It’d be better for paid media. But first, I have to figure out if there’s a tool that can do it. 
Knotch is currently leading the pack, if you’re interested. We’re only demo-ing, so if you have any insight on actual use cases, please send them my way. Or, if you have a tool you use for this work, I’d love to hear about it.