What KPIs and metrics can you recommend to use to measure the demand generation function + content marketing function?

What is the objective that you want to drive? Is it customer acquisition? Is the top of your funnel healthy, but conversions aren’t? Are you looking at optimizing cost and campaign performance?

The answers to the above questions should give you the primary metrics and KPIs that you need to monitor.

Some metrics that will show up are:

• MQLs, SQLs, etc., which help you monitor your customer acquisition strategy

• Metrics like, Sign ups, Meetings completed, Pipeline, Win Rate, Conversion of MQLs to SQLs, etc. can help you focus on conversions and pipeline health

• Tracking Cost per Lead, Cost per customer, etc. are metrics that’d help you manage campaign performance

Content metrics can range from website related - bounce rate, user engagement, leads generated, page views, to time spent on page, etc. But the ultimate test lies in conversions.

Apart from the above, a continuous analysis of campaigns, source of SQLs, wins, etc. channels that are effective, will help you determine areas that are working and areas that need work.

If Demand Generation and Content Marketing were to share a single KPI, Marketing Engaged Leads (MELs)—also known as leads generated or new emails in the system—would be ideal.
MELs provide a clear view of top-of-funnel content performance, it answers which blog posts, landing pages, and ad creatives drive new signups and grow the lead base. This KPI is powerful for understanding if content is attracting the right leads and if Demand Generation can scale paid traffic to that specific content effectively.

However, there are additional KPIs and metrics to consider:

For Pure Awareness Efforts: Content marketing can be assessed through web traffic metrics, such as page views and visits. It’s crucial to exclude any artificial traffic boosts, like those from paid promotion or newsletters, to get an accurate picture. I recall a time when a niche topic seemed highly successful in page views, only to later realize the blog post’s high traffic came primarily from onboarding emails rather than organic interest.

Further Down the Funnel: Content and Demand Gen can align on KPIs like opportunity creation and revenue influenced by content. For instance, did a particular piece of content serve as the last touchpoint before someone started a trial or before sales created an opportunity? This alignment is even stronger when the sales team leverages content in outbound efforts, showcasing its value directly in the sales process.

Typically a content marketing function is measured on the engagement with the associated content put into market via paid, owned, earned tactics (i.e. content/asset downloads, social media engagements, webinar views, etc.), however when associating that content to demand generation programs and campaigns, It's important to understand how that content is impacting and driving the business. Essentially, how many MQLs did that content produce and ultimately what is pipeline associated to the content. I think it's also important to understand how marketing content is driving business outcomes via a direct attribution, as well as influenced attribution as customers will engage with multiple pieces of content throughout the customer journey. However, if your company is not at the state of having a sophisticated multi-touch attribution model that provides a weighted measure of the content's impact, you'll have to align on a first-touch or last-touch model to determine which content gets "credit" for driving downstream impact. It's also important to understand the type of content your organization is creating and the purpose of that content. For example, thought leadership content is not typically intended to drive short term pipeline, but it can impact a weighted multi-touch attribution model. Content on a company's website also has a very different purpose which is to engage and convert customers/prospects to the next action in the customer journey. Therefore it's very important to align on clear expectations of the purpose of the content being produced before it goes into market.

The quickest answer for demand generation would be impact to pipeline and bookings produced. How you represent that is a longer answer that would include the ability to show how different marketing channels and engagements impact each phase of the buying journey/funnel/flywheel. For example in the awareness stage showing how many targeted impressions you got is important, how many web visits, how many demos or contact sales submissions, how many quality leads did marketing produce. Those numbers hold meaning as they relate to the way they impact the bottom line of pipe and bookings

A few ways to look at content performance - web engagement rates, if it's gated content then conversion, SEO metrics.

This is a great question! Demand generation marketing and content marketing should work hand-in-hand to achieve broader marketing objectives. When identifying KPIs and metrics to measure demand generation and content marketing together, you should consider the type of content being distributed and the channels through which it's being distributed. This will help determine your KPIs.

For example, a blog post may not have the same KPIs as a gated piece of content or a video. The channel mix of promotions will also factor into KPIs. Is this a larger integrated marketing campaign that will require a more extensive mix of promotions and budget? Or is this a smaller campaign, perhaps targeted at a specific/smaller audience, that won't require as much external distribution and promotion?

Once you understand these components, you can determine your KPIs. Here are some general KPIs to consider:

• Number of site sessions to a blog post

• For gated content: Conversion rates, form fills

• Number of video views

• MQLs, SQLS, sourced opps and/or influenced opps from the content being promoted (how many deals/opps were generated or influenced by this content)

• Impressions

• Share of voice

• SEO metrics - keyword rankings, organic search traffic to the content

Demand generation and content marketing are truly a match made in heaven 🌟. Together, they create a powerful blend of long-term brand building and short-term pipeline generation—a partnership that strengthens your marketing strategy from every angle.

Here’s how I would measure their combined impact:

1. Content Marketing Metrics 📝:

   • Audience Growth: Track how much your database is growing 📈. How many people are you bringing into your funnel through content?

   • Long-Term Conversions: Measure the lifecycle of leads generated through content. For example, someone downloading a white paper today might convert to an opportunity or closed-won deal years later ⏳.

   • Engagement Metrics: Identify which content pieces are resonating (e.g., time on page, bounce rate, social shares) to refine your strategy.

2. Demand Generation Metrics 🚀:

   • Pipeline Contribution: How much of the pipeline originates from demand gen efforts?

   • Revenue Impact: Tie leads and opportunities from content marketing to closed-won deals 💰.

   • Channel Effectiveness: Evaluate how content marketing enhances other demand gen activities, such as email marketing, paid social, and retargeting.

3. The Combined Impact 🔗:

   • Customer Journey Tracking: Use tools to follow leads from their first content interaction through to pipeline creation and revenue. This showcases how content influences and supports the entire funnel.

   • Cross-Channel Amplification: Recognize how content marketing boosts other efforts:

     • Email Marketing: A strong database built through content drives higher engagement 📬.

     • Paid Social: Retargeting thrives when fueled by a robust audience familiar with your brand 🎯.

     • Website Traffic: Consistently valuable content makes your website a trusted destination for prospects 🏡.

4. Consistency Is Key 📆:

   • Content marketing is a long-term play. You need to act like a consistent publisher 📰—the industry “watering hole” where prospects return for trusted information. The more consistent and strategic you are, the stronger your demand gen and content synergy will become.
     

By pairing the audience-building power of content marketing with the revenue-focused metrics of demand generation, you’ll create a holistic view of success and set your strategy up for sustained growth 🚀.