Making content count 

Created for STC Intercom Magazine 

Years ago,  Melissa did an article series called "Adam Smith didn't expect this: Measuring the economic value of content." That series spawned her popular "Content & Cash" presentation. A more scholarly version of the topic was requested by the Society of Technical Communication. 

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Making Content Count (STC Intercom Magazine)  PDF only
The Value of Content: Adam Smith Didn't Expect This 
The Value of Content: Nobody's Perfect (The sequel) 

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The Value of Content: Adam Smith Didn't Expect This  

Most people understand that content has value. Big value. They just can’t prove or measure the ROI. And, therefore, they have no concept of how much content is worth. 

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Proving and measuring the value of content is complex. But, as content professionals, we have to do it. I have some ideas about how to do it, but before I even go there, let’s talk about why everybody is so confused in the first place. 

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Brace yourselves, content folks. We’re going to talk economics. I promise there will be no math involved. 

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1776:Defining product value, Adam Smith style. 

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I’m no expert in economics, but I know this much: Adam Smith was a smart dude. Back in 1776, he wrote The Wealth of Nations, a book that basically defined economics as we know it. His ideas still influence the way we assign value to things today. 

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For the market economy to work, Smith said, products of value have three characteristics: 

• Excludability: The seller can "exclude" you from owning or using the product unless you pay for it; the product is difficult to replicate, so you have to buy it from the seller. 

• Rivalry: It’s more expensive for two people to use the product than for one person (So, I can buy a pair of shoes for $10, but if we both want to have shoes, it’ll be $20).

• Transparency: Customers can see exactly what they’ll get before they buy the product.

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These rules work pretty darn well for things like apples, shoes, or kazoos. Those are the kind of tangible products people bought in 1776. (Well, kazoos weren’t invented yet, but apples and shoes surely were.) 

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1956: A funny thing happened on the way to the factory 
Smith’s theories worked pretty well for 180 years, but in 1956, something happened that would have surprised Adam – in the U.S., the number of white-collar jobs surpassed blue-collar jobs. 

So, instead of people working in factories and farms making tangible products, people were sitting behind desks making … information. Accountants creating reports, lawyers creating legislation, advertisers creating TV spots, etc., etc. In 1956, content/information was red hot. The first computers were up and running (Check out the photo below of a home computer in 1956 for proof). Heck, Marilyn Monroe even married Arthur Miller, a playwright (you may have heard of him). 

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The industrial age was over. The information age had begun. Information was in demand in a way it had never been before — and Smith’s three pillars of economic value had started to blur. 

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Today: Content breaks all the rules 
Until the 1990s, Adam Smith three pillars seemed to be adequate, if not perfect, even for content. Before then, if you wanted some information, you bought a book or newspaper (tangible items). Sure, you could lend your book to a friend, who would get the content for free, but content creators were largely paid for their work. 

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But, with the advent of the internet, the pillars of value for content collapsed. 

• Excludability: Content is now easy to create, use, and replicate. 

• Rivalry: When content is posted online – even if you make me pay for access – I can easily share it with millions of friends without paying a cent. 

• Transparency: Once you’ve looked at content in-depth, you really don’t need to buy it, do you? 

Simultaneously, the business importance of good content went sky-high AND the value of content tanked (according to Adam Smith). On top of it all, the internet movement suggested that all content should be free. And society agreed.

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2009: Classical economics is toast 
So, let’s recap. Today, content is one of the most important business assets in the world. AND, according to traditional economics, content has little value. AND people expect to get it for free (see newspaper industry stats). AND we’re experiencing the worst recession in 80 years. 

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The economic system is just plain out of date. 

I wish I could tell you about the economic model of the future. (Not only would that be nice for you, but I’d make zillions.) Lots of brilliant economists have been trying to figure it out for years. 

No wonder people are confused about what to pay for content strategy and creation. 

COMING SOON: The Value of Content, Part 2 (The Sequel) 
Here’s what I do know. Content makes money. Content saves money. And, ROI of content can be measured. That’s what my next blog post will be about in a few weeks. (It’s just like when the Brady Bunch went to Hawaii – two whole episodes of non-stop fun! Just. Like. That.) 

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The Value of Content, Part 2: Nobody’s Perfect (The Sequel)   

Once upon a time, I wrote a blog called The Value of Content, Part 1: Adam Smith Never Expected This. It was about how traditional economics makes it difficult to assign value to content. In that blog, I promised to write a sequel about measuring content “in a few weeks.” That was (blush) 94 weeks ago. (I’d like to say I was abducted by aliens or something, but in reality, I was on a bunch of exciting content strategy projects. Way cooler than aliens, right?) 

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Since “Part 1” was published, content strategy has gained a lot of ground in the business world. However, justifying budgets and resources for content projects is still a major challenge. So, here, at long last, are seven tips to help you measure content effectively. 

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Disclosure: There’s no silver bullet 
I wish I could give you a simple, foolproof way to make all your content measurement dreams come true. Unfortunately, there’s no magic app or secret mathematical equation that does all the work. Sure, there are tools that streamline the measurement process, but no matter how many fancy widgets you buy, measuring content value will still take a significant amount of time and attention. 

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1. Don’t worry about exact numbers 
Before we talk about how to measure content, let’s talk about measurement itself. Most people think of measurement as a practice of absolutes (I am exactly 5 feet 9 inches tall, my dog weighs exactly 98 pounds, etc.). With this mindset, things that can’t be measured exactly can’t be measured at all. 

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This perception is reinforced in the business world. As I explained in my previous blog, our economic system was created when most products were tangible things, such as shoes or chairs. Calculating the manufacturing costs, units sold, and price for these products is relatively easy. The CFO sticks all the data in a fancy Excel spreadsheet and poof: the company’s year-end profit from shoes is exactly $4,829,006.56. (I’m oversimplifying it, but you get the gist.)

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However, when somebody tries to measure something intangible—like the value of content—it’s impossible to come up with an exact number. So, people assume content is immeasurable. 

Luckily, most scientists, mathematicians, and statisticians say exact measurement is a myth. To them, the goal of measurement is to reduce uncertainty. Get this: it’s impossible to eliminate uncertainty altogether—all measurement is based on assumptions. That means, when measuring content value, you don’t have to come up with precise numbers. You just need to provide enough information that your stakeholders feel comfortable making a decision. Think estimates, not exacts. Now, doesn’t that seem easier?
 
2. Start by defining what you’re measuring 
Ok, so how do you reduce uncertainty? The first thing you need to do is decide what you’re measuring. It might sound simple, but it’s actually one of the trickiest parts of the process. The key is to get as specific as possible, because the more specific you get, the more uncertainty you’ll be able to eliminate. 

Start by answering the following questions: 

• How are you defining “content”? Many people forget to answer this critical question. I have my own ideas about what content is, but your definition will depend on your situation. You may need to break “content” down into smaller, distinct categories. For example, if you define content as “text,” you may need to define several types of text (marketing vs. help text, intro paragraphs vs. sidebars, etc.). List each component or distinct type of content individually—they may need to be measured differently.

• What does the content help the user do? In other words, what is the function of the content? Most project teams identify high-level user tasks, but they don’t go deep enough. You need to get into the dirty details. For each piece of content, list as many functions as you can and rank them in order of importance. The more explicit the function, the better. For example, instead of saying the “content on our furniture store website facilitates the buying process,” you might say content on a product detail page needs to: 

--Accurately describe the furniture 
--Justify the cost of the furniture 
--Provide clear details about furniture customization options 
--Guide the user through the purchase process 

• What are the desired characteristics of the content? In addition to function, most organizations want content to have certain traits. For example, they may want it to be professional (no spelling errors) or “on brand.” Again, the more information you can gather about these characteristics, the more easily you will be able to measure them. 

3. Assign values to your functions and characteristics 
This step really pushes content people out of their comfort zone, because it involves math. And assumptions. I promise it’s not as hard as you think.

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For each of the functions and characteristics you identified, assign a value based on data or educated assumptions. (You can use monetary amounts, percentages, or arbitrary point systems. Just as long as you use numbers.) Document all data and assumptions you use, so you can show them to your stakeholders later, if necessary. 

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Using our furniture website example from above, assigning values can go something like this: ∙

• The average chair costs $500 

• Analytics show that 50 people start the process of purchasing a chair online every day, but only 10 finish the process 

• User research shows that the instructions on the purchase pages are very confusing 

• We assume 5-10 people leave the purchasing process because of something unrelated to the site, and 5-10 leave the process when they see the shipping costs 

• We assume the remaining 20-30 people would complete the purchasing process if the instructions were more helpful 

• Therefore, the value of the instructional content is likely around $300,000-450,000 per month ($500 x 20-30 people x 30 days) 

• The cost of fixing the content is approximately $25,000 

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(In this case, we can prove with a large amount of certainty that the price of the project is worth doing!) 

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A lot of work? Yes. Worth it? Absolutely. 

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In some cases, documenting only your most important functions and characteristics is necessary to help your stakeholders make decisions with certainty. In other cases, you’ll have to do the whole enchilada. (Hint: Tons of data/assumptions can get confusing, so on big projects you may want to create a content scorecard or matrix. You could even put it in Excel—just like the CFO. See how official you’re getting?) 

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4. The more ways you measure, the more certainty you get 
At Brain Traffic, when we ask a new web client how they measure content effectiveness, they often give us a Google analytics login and a smile. Analytics are great. But, no single measurement method captures the complete picture of content. 

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Try to use a variety of measurement methods, instead of relying on a favorite or easy method. When you use two or more methods, you'll get more well-rounded results. Some common methods include: 

• Analytics: use technology tools to collect data 

• User research: ask the users directly what they want or observe their behavior 

• External expert review: ask content experts or industry peers to review/rate content 

• Internal expert review: get insights from knowledgeable people inside your organization, such as salespeople or customer service reps

• Competitive comparison: measure direct competitors and your content on the same factors and compare 

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The more ways and more often you measure, the more certainty you get. But, you likely won’t be able to use all of these methods—just choose the ones that are most applicable to your organization. 

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5. Establish a baseline 
Taking a baseline measurement is simple: before you make any changes, make sure you measure your existing content using the same metrics you’ll use on the new stuff. It can be painful to get feedback on content you already know is crappy, but the baseline will help you measure the impact of your future content work. And if all goes well, you’ll have handy, glowing before-and-after stats to pass around at your company’s next board meeting. 

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6. Measure regularly 
Once your new content is live, set a regular schedule to measure the content using the established metrics. This will help you see how content performs over time as business and user needs change. In addition, it helps you understand how content activities change due to events like holidays or product launches. 

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7. Be realistic about measurement budgets 
It’s important to plan a budget for your measurement initiative. Although measurement isn’t always expensive, it does take time, resources, and money. Scale your efforts to the size of the content project. If the whole content project is going to cost $50,000, you can look at basic analytics and do some informal user testing with your friends. But, if your company is looking to invest several million dollars in a content venture, $50,000 on measurement is money well spent.
 
Phew, I had a lot to say 
Well, there you have it. Two years of pent-up measurement info in one ginormous blog. Although this is probably too much information for a blog, it’s just the tip of the iceberg in the content measurement conversation. In fact, it’s a tiny ice cube. 

Measuring content value is important to content strategists, but it’s not just a content strategy issue. It’s one of the most important business discussions of the information age. There’s still lots to learn, let us know what you think.