Marketers should attribute conversions to their sources to leverage content marketing efforts.

Credit should be given where its due, which is why marketers should focus on attribution, especially this holiday season. Asking what types of content and SEO keywords drove users toward websites, in turn causing them to make purchases, should be considered as marketers look to strengthen content marketing campaigns on social media sites, blogs and websites.

A recent report by Econsultancy revealed that 46 percent of businesses don’t pursue marketing attribution, even though its results have been proven to help decide on future strategy. With 89 percent of those who do carry out marketing attribution measurements believing that the process has brought benefits, attributing success to its proper source is worthwhile.Econsultancy

Why aren’t brands attributing their efforts?
The survey asked marketers why they haven’t attributed their marketing efforts. Lack of knowledge came in first place, followed by technology limitations and skepticism about attribution’s value. The inability to understand is front and center, which is why some should consider outsourcing content marketing efforts to third party services. Still, this presents challenges.

“With so many vendors offering attribution-related technology and services, the challenge lies in identifying a supplier who can provide actionable and reliable information from the vast amount of data available,” said Amy Rodgers, a research analyst at Econsultancy.

Social’s measuring challenge
Brafton reported that 40 percent of companies say they believe measuring social media marketing contributions is a top challenge. Because Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and other social media platforms are so dynamic, it can be difficult to assess conversion measurements and give proper attribution to specific channels. Additionally, a survey from Pulse Point found that many are using intuition, rather than hard data, to assess the success of social media and content marketing efforts.

Despite the challenges, those who attribute success to various marketing efforts will be able to streamline and improve content marketing efforts. Are consumers finding products via Facebook or considering services because of blog posts?

The ability to answer these questions – to focus on successful paths and to improve those in need – will only bring further success to marketing campaigns.

Emma Siemasko is a former member of Brafton's editorial team. Emma has experience with blogging, travel writing, industry news, SEO and content marketing. She used to live in South Korea, where she mastered the art of using metal chopsticks.