To win over executives, quantify the "equivalent value" of your content's organic reach. Frame it as, "We generated 50 million impressions organically, which would have cost the paid media team $X to buy." This reframes content as a compounding, cost-saving investment.

When pitching new marketing initiatives, supplement ROI projections with research demonstrating a clear audience need for the content. Framing the project as a valuable service to the customer, rather than just another marketing tactic, is a more powerful way to gain internal support.

Instead of relying on manual requests, create a system for passively collecting social proof. Set up a dedicated Slack channel where CS and sales reps can post customer wins. Better yet, use call recording software that automatically identifies positive customer sentiment and posts clips to that channel.

For content without direct attribution, prove its value by systematically collecting qualitative feedback. Create a 'Trophy Room'—a document with screenshots of positive social media comments, Gong call mentions, and Slack messages—to tell a compelling story of impact beyond hard metrics.

Instead of stating that customer retention improved from 80% to 95%, tell the story behind it. Explain the problem, the specific actions taken by a cross-functional team, and the resulting outcome. This narrative makes the numbers credible and memorable.

Not all brand campaigns have direct, measurable ROI. Justify their cost by tracking "soft ROI," such as increased employee pride and retention (e.g., employees on billboards), positive candidate feedback during interviews, and using tools like Gong to track how often the campaign is mentioned in sales calls.

To keep the wider company engaged with marketing's progress, use highly visual weekly updates that act as a 'highlight reel.' Focus on screenshots of shipped work (blog posts, ads) and positive customer comments rather than complex frameworks or dense metrics, which tend to lose people's attention.

To get buy-in for a webinar strategy with delayed ROI, AirOps's VP of Growth used qualitative data—prospects mentioning the webinars on sales calls—as an early proof point. This storytelling helped secure resources before hard attribution was available.

Views and likes can be deceiving. The most reliable indicator of effective content is positive feedback from your ideal customer avatar in the real world. A text from a respected business owner saying "that was fire" is a stronger signal to double down on a content format than a high view count from an unknown audience.