EVG is doing something right. Clutch ranked EVG among the top content marketing and top social media marketing agencies of 2016. EVG’s content strategies are rooted in thorough research, exceptional storytelling, and verifiable data.

From their headquarters in the U.K. and the U.S., EVG handpicks writers, journalists, translators and linguists from around the world and partners them with analysts who understand that numbers are part of a bigger picture–one that includes your customer’s expectations and your bottom line.

We reached out to EVG to discuss the multi-channel content marketing process, common mistakes made in marketing across digital channels and geographic lines, and best practices for assessing ROI as it relates to digital. Charlotte Strapp Price, an EVG marketing coordinator, gave us the inside scoop.

CMO Tech: What approaches or tools can you suggest marketers consider for planning multi-channel content strategy across geographic regions?

Price: When building multi-channel content across various geographic regions (and targeted on various demographic groups), the keys are research, iteration and agile change. The strategy or tactic (e.g. a content piece or social media blast) that works in a single region, for a single demographic group almost definitely will not work for all.

Marketers must accept that one piece of content does not fit all. They have to be willing to log the research time up front and try different things before they find the sweet spot is for each market, and each sub-market therein. When they find what it is, they need to rely on their research and practical experience to move quickly and be willing to tweak, analyze, evaluate and rollout, or abandon even more quickly.

CMO Tech: What are common mistakes you have noticed brands or businesses making?

Price: The most common mistake I’ve seen is brands attempting to be something they’re not in order to appeal to a new audience on a new platform. The second most common mistake is forgetting a social media channel should be focused on community conversations first and selling last.

Too many brands forget the audience is there by choice and instead treat them as a captive audience as they indulge in a “me-me-me-all-the-time” approach to posts, thus creating tone-deaf content falling on disinterested ears. That being said, everyone can make a mistake on social media. [But] it’s easy to say I’m sorry for a tone-deaf post, such as xxx.

Most people are willing to accept the apology and offer a second chance. Continued mistakes destroy trust. And a simple apology doesn’t restore trust. The audience has moved on.

Brands make a third mistake when they assume that the audience on Instagram is the same as the one on Twitter. They create a single piece of content and simply fling it out to every channel. That’s simply not going to work. Instagram users cherish and respond to high-quality imagery that delivers impact and aspirational connotations. Images that are pedestrian, predictable and blatant pitches, lack engagement on every level and do not build a community of followers.

My concern is that many brands, even large, sophisticated ones that should know better, take the “one message, many audiences” approach. That doesn’t work. Success using 'Strategy A' with your launch market doesn’t serve as a guarantee (or even a predictor) of success relying on the same strategy with your Phase 2 market. Intelligent localized marketing goes far beyond geographic boundaries and ethnicities. We have to gather data and test messaging against age, socioeconomic, education, etc. demographic groupings. Otherwise, we’re just painting the house with a toothbrush.

CMOTech: What about success stories in maintaining continuity of brand messaging across different audiences/markets?

Price: Successful brands are those that embrace the unique elements of each platform and find their own voice and style within it. GE has done a remarkable job across platforms including Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and YouTube. They even make wind turbines look good! On Pinterest, they have a variety of boards and breadth of interests. On Facebook, they show that they get the power of localized posting (look at the first post).

Look at GE’s YouTube video on bringing digital within an industrial company and how, for customers, they make it relevant and entertaining (in their many other videos, including one using beloved astrophysicist Neal DeGrasse Tyson) I love how they stay relevant and interesting like a snowball’s chance in hell!

IBM has a smaller social footprint, but is equally good at customizing across its Twitter, Facebook and YouTube platforms.

CMOTech: How will social platforms will be instrumental in brand messaging in years to come?

Price: Social platforms will be integral to brand messaging for the foreseeable future. As the young audience comes of age and becomes purchasing consumers, their behavior will be informed and influenced by their exposure to all digital forms of communication.

Since the iPhone was first introduced in June 2007, the ability to leverage the power of a handheld computer has revolutionized the entire approach to marketing. In 2011, Google and Jim Lecinski’s Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT) model recognized this shift from push to pull. It’s about a conversation, not preaching to the masses to urge them to buy. In 2016, it’s a common truth that Millennials don’t trust marketing per se, prospective college students don’t want schools reaching out to them on the student’s social channels and everyone, regardless of age, expects to make consumer decisions based on peer reviews, not on the content provided by a brand.

Consumers have taken the lead in the conversation about what’s a good product, what brand can be trusted or cares about us, and what information they want in order to make an informed choice. In other words, it’s no longer up to brands to decide what information consumers need; consumers now demand what they need from brands, or they find it from other sources.

The smartphone has also changed the way we search for answers. This means brands can no longer predict where the “aha” moment (I must have that) occurs: in the impulse of the moment, we use our mobile to start a search. Users seamlessly segue from a search engine to social media to a brand’s website. They check reviews, compare sites, and solicit opinions as they shift from mobile to laptop to tablet throughout the entire process.

CMOTech: When it comes to assessing content strategy in terms of ROI, what do you recommend?

Price: All stakeholders have to agree on what defines success. Too many times, the concepts of success and ROI in a digital marketing campaign vary depending on who you ask: the social media guru reports data based on likes, shares, influence, CTR, etc.

The web team, meanwhile, wants to talk about conversions, page views and time on page. What really matters? I believe: If it matters, it can be measured. It might not be measured in the same way as a profit and loss statement, but it can and should be measured to determine whether or not it is working.

First, define success for each strategic initiative and then build a strategy to achieve it. Building a strategy inherently will include specific tactics to achieve the overall goal. Each tactic should be evaluated on a “did it work” basis. If you spent 50 hours ($25 per hour employee) creating 10 pieces of content, you’ve invested $1,250 into the content. If you get 5 pageviews per piece or a total of 50 people reading the content, those pieces cost $25.

If 1 person, after reading your content, makes a purchase, your initial investment has now returned XX. But ROI is more than just products purchased. What’s the value of increased brand awareness? How do you measure goodwill if you’re sharing content that helps someone but isn’t about buying something now?

Brands need to devise their own formulas to measure this. It’s not just about dollars and cents in terms of ROI. How much is customer goodwill worth to a company? Can it be measured? Probably not, but the cost for repairing a damaged reputation as a result of unhappy customers or a social misstep can be calculated in terms of lost sales, lost future sales and PR management.

Next, someone needs to be keeping an eye on engagement. If it matters, someone needs to be responsible for ensuring strategies are working. That means they have the power to pull poorly performing initiatives and the ability to make changes mid-stream to improve results. It shouldn’t take a committee to make a decision. And since social media moves at the speed of light, it needs to happen before you can send an email.

Finally, measuring is a matter of data, and you need the right tools to measure the right data. For websites, Google Analytics delivers more data than most companies use. And it’s free! Each social media channel either has a formal analytics tool or at least offers stats to be collected and tracked.