Content Marketing Research

1. Clarify the objectives

What does the research need to do?

Is it for: media coverage, thought leadership research, website content, demand generation, awareness building, event collateral, analyst engagement or even tracking trends over time?

Well-conceived content marketing research doesn’t need to be one dimensional – we can help you multi purpose it.

2. Check what’s been published or shared

Spend a little time doing background research.

Naturally, you don’t want to repeat what’s already been done. Equally, is there anything that can be built on or used as a reference point? What’s trending and likely to grab attention? What’s in or out of scope? Where is the ‘clear air’/low noise? We work with clients to identify metrics that their content generation research can be aligned to, or themes it could support and build on.

3. Decide on the respondents & agree the methodology

Agree the scope, size and structure.

Firstly, the structure for the research and identify who needs to be interviewed needs to be defined. Once this is done, we can advise on the best way to research the audience, the most appropriate methodology and the most cost effective way of doing it. We use a number of qualitative and quantitative methods in our content marketing research services. 

4. Develop the idea, themes, and headlines

Don’t go straight to questionnaire design!

It’s easy to start developing questions as soon as you have an idea. However, take a pause and agree the themes that will provide the core focus and engage the target audience. We’ve developed a specific methodology to help ideate and encourage clients to be creative, as (quite simply) it’s the most important part of research for content marketing.

5. Design the questionnaire

A questionnaire isn’t necessarily a list of questions.

The best questionnaires are: relevant, structured, focused, concise and use questioning techniques to achieve specific outcomes. Well-designed questionnaires save time, deliver better results (because they engage audiences) and save money. We can either design the questionnaire for you or work with you to fine tune something you’ve developed.

6. Execute the research

What happens after the questionnaire is signed off?

Completing market research to a high standard, in the most cost effective and time efficient way possible, is pretty important. Online panels now provide us with access to 40 million+ people in 80 countries. We’re totally impartial about which panel owners we work with and are happy to share the quality best practices we use to make sure you get what you want and what you’re paying for.

Of course online won’t always work. Sometimes, a qualitative or telephone approach is more appropriate if the audiences are really finite, the insight is more explorative or the verticals are very specific. We’re methodology agnostic so if you want impartial advice just ask.

7. Analyse the data

Bringing data together so it’s easy to use.

Data needs to be structured so you can see patterns, identify key differences between groups/segments and reanalyse the data to get real depth and understanding from the results. Excel is an amazing tool, but sometimes more specialist programmes and traditional analytical skills bring a different dimension and depth of insight. We can also help you to link your findings to published data or business metrics and bring a new dynamic to the outputs. 

8. Tell the story

Identifying the take outs and developing the themes.

Insight isn’t just numbers or percentages. It’s identifying what’s really going to resonate with audiences. Content – and the research that’s part of it – must appeal to and engage with audiences otherwise it’s just noise. We develop storyboards to make everyone’s life easier.

9. Disseminate the results

Content marketing research is more than the generation of statistics for digital engagement & media placement.

Well-crafted, research-led insight can be a key element of a marketing strategy that: raises visibility, promotes engagement and positions the brand as genuine thought leaders. We don’t stop at Excel tables and PowerPoint. We’re more than happy to produce infographics, reports and present at events and webinars.