What is smartocto?

We're the next generation content and editorial analytics solution. We've been conceived, built and developed specifically with the needs of our sector in mind, and we offer data-informed analysis and insights on every story you publish. We're different from our competitors because we place actionability and notifications at the heart of our solution: we believe if you're going to have a tool it needs to be able to offer something useful and valuable. Our mission is to make every story count, and we're constantly developing new ways to help our clients do just that.

I already use Google Analytics. Do I really need another analytics tool?

Google Analytics is widely used, but we know it's often difficult to get to work really well. The reason is simple: the answers you get from data are only ever as good as the questions you ask, and while many of us might be outstanding journalists, editors and publishers, it doesn’t necessarily follow that we’re also world-class data scientists. What newsrooms need are the insights. The stuff that can point you quickly to the areas you need to act on, the things you need to do to improve your output and performance and the areas in which you're already excelling. GA doesn't do that. Smartocto was designed specifically to slot into the workflow of newsrooms and content creation hubs like yours. It’s here to help you get results, easily, efficiently and painlessly. If you want to retrain as a data analyst, cool, but we know most of you just don’t have that kind of time.

Can I try out the tool?

Of course you can. If you contact us here, our team will get in touch with you to talk you through the basics, arrange a demo and answer any and all questions you might have.

What about using the tool? Is it easy? Can I get help?

Yes... and yes. smartocto is a visual tool: it's designed to be easy to understand, fun to use and quick to grasp. That said, we always have an onboarding period, in which you'll receive all the information and guidance you need to feel confident to get the most out of it. And, our customer support champions are always on hand to help with any issues you have.

I've heard you talk about 'realtime' and 'insights'. What's the difference?

Good question. As the name suggests, 'realtime' serves analytics and notifications for stories as and when they're happening. It's what you need to act quickly on audience feedback to maximise your impact - perhaps a nudge to republish on a social channel or write a follow-up. 'Insights', on the other hand, is our post-publication analysis. This allows you to build customisable reports about how an article, author or topic has performed since publication. It's particularly useful for evergreen content and newsrooms that deal less in breaking news and more in longform content.

Who should use smartocto?

All professionals who deal with content on some level and need to measure their content performance can benefit from smartocto. If you're reading this, chances are you will too. We offer great value for: Publishers, Newsrooms, Broadcasters, Journalists, Storytellers, Social Media content creators, Content marketers, SEO professionals. Our content intelligence tool was created by editors, for editors. We believe in smart digital publishing so stories can find the audiences they deserve - and really connect to them. Together we can make every story count!

How about content marketers? Can smartocto help us?

Yup. Absolutely. Content marketers use storytelling to build trust and loyalty and our insights approach can help you understand which content is driving positive engagement on this front.

Who are the people behind smartocto?

If you’re thinking that all this sounds just a teensy bit familiar, you may be right. Smartocto is the new, merged company of Content Insights and SmartOcto. We joined forces in 2020 and we’re excited. Damn excited. Many of the founders of both companies (Dejan Nikolic of Content Insights, and Erik van Heeswijk & Rutger Verhoeven of SmartOcto) come from the media industry, and both of these apps came into being after searches for editorial analytics tools proved fruitless. None that Dejan or Erik and Rutger found served their editorial needs from a storytelling perspective; all were created from a data point of view. Fine for analysts, not so useful for busy editors and publishers. This perspective matters - and it’s what makes us unique in the market. We get you because we’ve been there.

features

What is the Story Value Engine?

In short: it's your answer to online profitability. And now that we've got your attention you probably want to know more... Based on numerous data-points (historically and in real-time), we're able to calculate what the expected performance of your story will be. You can use that predictive insight to optimise your online presence. Simple to explain, tricky to develop, invaluable to use. Read more about the Story Value Engine here.

What's so special about the Story Life Cycle?

We think of stories as being part of a cycle: an ongoing process which gets more and more refined with experience. We’re able to help guide you through each of the 8 stages of this cycle, offering guidance on how to properly maximise your impact at each step of the way. If you want to find out more check the special page or download the whitepaper. Read more about our Story Life Cycle.

Can you A/B test headlines with smartocto?

The short answer is: YES! Head on over to our features section, where you’ll find everything you need to know about this.

insights

What is CPI?

CPI is the cornerstone of the Insights tool. It's a compound metric that takes into consideration multiple metrics, weighs them against each other and spits out a number between 0 and 999. 500 is the average for your newsroom. Anything above that is good, anything below needs attention (and for the wrong reasons). CPI can be calculated for Engagement , Loyalty and Exposure and on articles, authors, topics or sections.

onboarding

How much help can I expect with setting up smartocto?

As much as you need. Our Support Team will send you customised instructions on how to successfully set up our top-notch application, and they'll support you from the beginning until the very end of the process. We have smart data access documents, tutorials, eLearning - and we can talk to you via Slack. Everything to make your onboarding into a pleasant experience.

Does smartocto have limited seats?

Nope. Building data literacy is absolutely crucial these days and we believe that we need to remove obstacles to this wherever we can. So, no: we don’t charge per seat, and this obviously means you can give anyone in your team access to smartocto. Spread the love (and the data-informed good vibes!)

legal

How about GDPR?

Of course we're fully GDPR compliant, and as we're a Dutch/ Serbian company, all our data is stored within Europe and we're fully aware of the importance of this regulation. Read more about it here.

We're constantly optimising the information on this page in order to help you the best we can. If you have any other questions, feel free to reach out.