MEASURING ROI FOR YOUR FIRM'S CONTENT MARKETING.

AuthorByrne, John M.

No longer seen as a fad, content marketing for law firms has finally arrived, and in a big way. Several surveys in the last few years reported that a vast majority of all law firms--big, medium and small--not only are marketing with content in some form or another, but they also intend to do it even more in the coming months and years.

But what about measuring the ROI of content marketing? That train seems to still be waiting at the station for many firms. Tracking the tangible benefits of content marketing can be a touchy subject. Many marketers push back when asked to report the ROI of their content marketing efforts, finding it either too difficult to measure or nearly impossible to measure meaningfully.

Luckily, there are many aspects of content marketing that can be measured, and that data can be used to evaluate current efforts and plan new or different strategies.

For our purposes here, we will assume that your firm has selected its various, appropriate target audiences for content, as well as set goals that tie to your business development strategy. After all, why would you just start producing content randomly without figuring out what you want to achieve with it, whether it's increased visibility or getting new matters in the door?

Let's also assume that you've decided what kind of content and subject matter you want to deliver to clients and prospects, as well as the delivery channels to use, such as your website, blogs, email marketing and social media.

Given all that, we can get started measuring the ROI of content marketing.

Determine Your Investment

Lawyers and their marketers are often too focused on the "R" of ROI, forgetting that the "I" is just as important. Before you look at your return, you need to figure out your investment. As with most things, that's often easier said than done.

To start, you must calculate any overhead or salary costs that relate directly to producing your firm's content. Have you hired a content manager or an in-house writer? Most in-house marketing departments don't track time, but you should be able to estimate the percentage of marketing staff time, and thus salary and benefits, devoted to producing and managing your firm's content.

Don't forget about other associated costs. Are you using any agencies, consultants or freelancers for content strategy or production? How about the online platforms you host your content on or send it with, such as blogging software and email marketing systems? Did...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT