• by Michael McLaren , Op-Ed Contributor, October 25, 2021

"Content marketing" and "marketing ROI" were among the most-consumed topics by brand-side marketers in the last week, according to Bombora Company Surge. For most companies, driving leads (or sales transactions in B2C) and brand awareness are a top business priority. 

ROI is the return on investment your company receives from its marketing activities. It demonstrates how successful you’ve been in your marketing activities and approach. With 2022 on the horizon, many marketers look forward to a fresh start. But understanding these costs isn’t always straightforward. While some would call it an impossible dream, marketing leaders can look at a few key metrics such as cost per sale, conversion rate, customer lifetime value and cost per lead to determine how their digital campaigns are performing. 

Even with the right dashboards and reporting mechanisms in place, companies often accept poor-fit customers into the sales pipeline and attempt to retain them without adequately considering how costly those customers will be for the organization. As leaders understand more about those costs, they’ll become more comfortable with letting go of some customers, given the drain on brand and long-term profits.

Intent data also showed "content marketing" to be the topic most consumed by agencies this week. With content marketing budgets on the rise, agencies need to prepare for a big year ahead. Content marketing is an incredible way to create brand awareness, build credibility and establish trust among new and existing audiences. 

According to a new report from the Content Marketing Institute, content marketers who report greater success are often those who focus on strengthening relationships and loyalty through their efforts, as opposed to constantly feeding the pipeline with new leads. Despite the great duress brought on by the pandemic, a digital first – and at times, digital only – environment brought content marketing front and center, companywide. 

Heading into 2022, companies will focus their content marketing tactics on immersive engagements such as videos, webinars, and events. As always, the challenge remains one’s ability tie their marketing efforts into a revenue center that generates customers.