Content Marketing ROI in Commercial Real Estate: Metrics That Matter to Stakeholders
If content marketing were a building, most commercial real estate professionals would construct it with beautiful architecture but forget to install the electricity meters. They create stunning market reports, insightful blog posts, and glossy property showcases—but have no idea if the investment is paying off.
Let's fix that, shall we?
Beyond the "Trust Me, It Works" Approach
Picture this: You're in the boardroom, and someone asks, "What are we getting from all those fancy reports and LinkedIn articles we're publishing?" If your answer involves nervous laughter or vague statements about "building brand awareness," this article is for you.
Content marketing without measurement is like leasing space without collecting rent—it might look impressive, but it's not sustainable.
Start with the Right Foundation
Before measuring anything, you need to connect your content to business goals. Are you trying to:
Generate new property inquiries?
Retain existing tenants?
Position your firm as the go-to expert for a specific property type?
Support higher lease rates through perceived value?
Different goals require different metrics. If you're measuring everything, you're effectively measuring nothing.
The Metrics That Actually Matter
Forget vanity metrics like page views or social media likes. Those are like counting how many people glance at your building without coming inside. Instead, focus on:
1. Conversion Metrics
Track how many people take meaningful actions after consuming your content:
Property tour requests initiated from market report downloads
Contact form submissions from blog readers
Meeting requests from webinar attendees
2. Influence Metrics
Measure how your content influences the leasing process:
How many prospects mention your content during sales conversations
Whether leads who engage with content close at higher rates
If content-engaged prospects have shorter sales cycles
3. Revenue Connection
The holy grail of measurement:
Closed deals influenced by content engagement
Lease value from content-sourced prospects
Retention rates of tenants who engage with your content
Making It Digestible for Stakeholders
Now for the tricky part: communicating this to people who don't care about marketing jargon.
Create a simple quarterly dashboard that shows:
Content cost vs. revenue influenced
Top-performing content by business impact
Stories of specific deals where content played a role
The Attribution Challenge
"But wait," you might say, "how do I know if the content actually influenced the deal?"
Fair point. Commercial real estate decisions involve multiple touchpoints and long timeframes. Your solution? Ask people directly. Build content engagement questions into your CRM process:
"Did our market report influence your decision to tour this property?"
"Was our industry analysis helpful in your leasing decision?"
Start Simple, Iterate Often
Don't try to build the perfect measurement system overnight. Begin by tracking just one or two key metrics tied to your most important goal. As you prove value, you can expand your measurement approach.
Remember, demonstrating content ROI in commercial real estate isn't about proving marketing's worth—it's about ensuring you're investing resources where they'll generate the greatest returns. Just like you wouldn't develop a property without running the numbers first, don't create content without a plan to measure its performance.