Show stakeholders the value of content transformation
Transforming your content strategy will help you improve brand awareness and engage your audience. But how can you get stakeholders to buy into the idea?
Getting stakeholder buy-in
Getting the green light to spend more money is rarely easy. The first thing decision-makers will ask about investment is: “Is it worth it?”
However, you’ll need agreement from any relevant stakeholders if you’re going to deliver an effective content strategy based on user experience (UX). This means you’ll need the most compelling argument possible for change.
To prepare a convincing argument, you’ll need to start thinking about something called ROI. (Clue: this doesn’t stand for “Republic of Ireland”).
Using return on investment to prove outcomes
ROI, or ‘return on investment’, shows how well your content works to meet your organisation’s goals.
In other words, it shows what benefits you will get from the resources you’ve put in to creating, promoting, and distributing content.
This isn’t just limited to financial gains. It can also include non-monetary benefits such as:
- brand awareness
- thought leadership
- customer loyalty
- reputation building
Got it? Then it’s time to …
Identify the stakeholders
To get your organisation on board, you need to convince the stakeholders.
No, these are not people who carry large bits of wood around for a living.
These are the people who:
- sign off on resources, people and money
- are going to be directly affected by your strategy
- may be fighting for the same resources, funds or people
- can stop your project if they choose to
Without agreement from each of the stakeholders, you won’t be able to get your strategy up and running.
That’s why you need to identify and include each of them in the process.
You’ll need to:
- talk to key people in the organisation who can confirm who the decision-makers are
- establish contact with these decision-makers (for example, go for a coffee or schedule a video call with them)
- listen to what they have to say
When you’ve identified the key stakeholders you can start preparing a convincing business case. You’re going to have to persuade them of the urgent need to implement your ideas and how this will lead to improved results and financial benefits.
Define clear objectives
Clearly stating your objectives and the benefits involved will create a more convincing argument. Then, stakeholders will have to take notice.
For example, your stated goals could be:
- increasing website traffic
- generating leads (creating personalised content that turns visitors into returning users or customers)
- boosting conversion rates
- enhancing brand visibility
This will show stakeholders the value of taking action.
Define how you’ll measure success
By setting specific key performance indicators (KPIs), you can track your progress and measure success.
Identify these KPIs in line with your content project objectives.
For example, if your goal is lead generation, KPIs could include:
- the number of leads generated
- conversion rates
- how much it costs your company to create a potential lead
You’ll need to monitor performance so you can show what impact your work has.
Track engagement metrics
Engagement metrics help you see how your audience interacts with your content.
Page views, bounce rates and time spent on page can be a quick way to see if people are engaging with pages. Social media shares can show you which pages are doing particularly well. You can also track user comments for more direct, in-depth insights.
By analysing these metrics, you can see if your content is clicking with your target audience. Use this information to back up your case.
Find out more about tracking performance metrics.
Track conversions
Conversions are critical for measuring how effective your content is. They show how successful your website is at achieving its goals.
Depending on your goals, conversions might include:
- newsletter sign-ups
- submitting forms (for example, completing an application for a course)
- downloads
- purchases
Use analytics tools and conversion tracking to measure conversions from specific content pieces. This data will help you decide which pieces of content are having the biggest impact.
Analyse traffic sources
Understanding where your traffic comes from is vital for measuring ROI.
Analyse traffic sources such as:
- organic search (visits from free search engines)
- social media
- email campaigns
- referral websites (other sites that link to yours)
Identify which channels are driving traffic that best engages with your site and contributes to conversions. Use this information to improve your content promotion strategy.
For example, you might decide to focus on specific channels to make better use of your time and people.
Calculate cost and revenue
To measure ROI accurately, you need to consider both costs and revenue.
First, calculate what your content project costs your organisation.
This includes:
- content creation – what you spent on labour, production, overhead, and any other expenses related to the creation of content on your website
- design and promotion – all costs related to designing, marketing and promoting your website
- distribution – all costs related to distributing your content across different channels, including ads
You can then analyse how much money you made as a direct result of the project, such as:
- increased sales
- attracting new visitors or customers
- upsells (getting visitors to sign up to an upgraded version of your product or services)
Subtract the costs from the revenue to determine the net ROI. Use estimated figures if you can’t get specific figures.
Compare ROI against industry benchmarks
You should compare the ROI of your content project to provide context and support your case. Include:
- how your current content is performing – for example, using key indicators such as conversion rates and sign-ups
- previous successful projects within your organisation
- how your competitors are performing – you can get data about their website traffic by using tools such as SEMrush and SimilarWeb
Your ROI comparison can show how your project performs in relation to others and showcase its potential impact.
Present a compelling business case
When you have put together all your data, present a compelling business case to decision-makers.
Clearly present the:
- project’s objectives
- measured KPIs
- engagement and conversion metrics
- calculated ROI
Use visualisations, charts, and graphs to present the data. Clear visual graphics will help to make the key points easily understood.
Emphasise how the project matches the organisation’s overall goals and how it can contribute to:
- revenue growth (improving income and cutting costs)
- brand authority (the trust people have in your brand)
- audience satisfaction (how happy people are with your services)
Find out how to write a business case for user experience (UX) design.
Address potential concerns
Think about potential concerns that decision-makers may raise, and how you address them in your business case and presentation to stakeholders.
Common concerns may include:
- budget constraints
- how to allocate resources
- perceived impact of content projects
Use your data-driven insights to highlight the positive results achieved by similar projects and the potential for long-term success.
You need to show your decision-makers the competitive advantage of a well-executed content project.
