Content marketing ROI, amplification, and Asia – Content24

Welcome to Content24. What makes this different is that it’s a digest of the stories that have made an impact over the past 24 hours and not just a platform for recycled content marketing strategy. Today we’re looking at content marketing ROI, amplification, and how the sector is faring in Asia.

Is content marketing ROI really measurable?

A few months ago we looked at how to measure content marketing ROI. There are a lot of factors to consider. One issue that was pointed out recently is the fact that a large amount of content is produced but never used.

This piece covers the same angle but in more detail. One marketer says: “The truth is that I just don’t know how to measure what we do [in content marketing]. I can pay some vendors and get the numbers I ask for, numbers they think please me, so I keep buying from them. Numbers that the bosses might like. But it is hard to really get numbers that are trustworthy and actionable – and that concerns me.”

It’s all very well talking about the benefits of content marketing, but issues like this need to be out in the open and tackled head-on if the sector is going to prosper.

More spend on amplification

First, a confession: we’re cheating a little on this one as it came out a week or so ago. This article by The Wall is a little short on detail, but it talks about the move towards spending money on the likes of Outbrain, with brands realising that the organic route no longer generates traffic in the way it used to.

There are some interesting figures. According to The Wall, content amplification took up 9.2 per cent of total budgets in 2014. But it’s expected to grow to 15 per cent by the end of 2015 and will continue to increase each year, with 57 per cent of under-34s willing to engage with native ads.

Content marketing in Asia

The content marketing sector is growing in Asia. However, mobile is the preeminent medium. This is especially true in Singapore, South Korea and China. But in other parts of the region, internet penetration is still low in large areas of the region so there are differences to be taken into account in terms of how the content reaches readers.