One of the ways that you can amplify your content efforts is to actually take on a growth hacking approach — meaning you couple them with a paid media strategy that’s going to increase your reach and awareness. From there, you’ll then be able to figure out how you’ll be able to drive qualified leads and sales.
Don’t get me wrong, there isn’t anything wrong with going the ‘organic’ route with your content but if you are serious about getting results that will positively impact your business, then you will have to dedicate dollars for proliferation.
There are a lot of different ways about doing this too and this is what I’m going to highlight in today’s blog post. More specifically, I will walk you through five specific content growth hacks that will surely drive leads and sales for your business.
Before we dive in, here are content marketing stats to know:
- 95% of the B2B service and product buyers admit that they view content as a trustworthy marker when evaluating a business.
- 71% in the B2B industry also admitted to reviewing an organization’s blog during their buyer’s journey.
- 75% of the content marketers use content to build trust.
- 90% or nearly all of the most successful top players get these results by prioritizing their audience’s informational needs over sales-y messages.
Let’s dive in…
1. Align paid media with your content
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that just because you are creating great content, people just immediately are able to find it and then flock towards you. In fact, it’s become a lot harder to attract your target audience in general due to the supply and demand of information. On the other hand, the ability for anyone to find more information for whatever it is they are looking for has become easier.
So what’s the solution here?
Coupling paid media with your content is going to help a ton because it puts your content in front of the right audience. So when you think of paid media, there is a few different buckets that your content could fall into as depicted here:
Your job is to test the avenues where you can create a ‘push’ such that the right audience is exposed to your content and then ensure that once the ‘pull’ happens, you provide a targeted place to actually convert.
2. Measure quantitative and qualitative data
Taking the guesswork out of your efforts is to take the data that you’re collecting more seriously. This means that you’re developing the right benchmarks, forecasting based on research or historical data, and then tracking metrics that are important to your business.
Let’s quickly breakdown the difference between quantitative and qualitative data by G2:
Quantitative data
A statistical and is typically structured in nature – meaning it is more rigid and defined. This type of data is measured using numbers and values, which makes it a more suitable candidate for data analysis.
Whereas qualitative is open for exploration, quantitative data is much more concise and close-ended. It can be used to ask the questions “how much” or “how many,” followed by conclusive information.
Quantitative data can be generated through:
- Tests
- Experiments
- Surveys
- Market reports
- Metrics
Qualitative data
A non-statistical and is typically unstructured or semi-structured in nature. This data isn’t necessarily measured using hard numbers used to develop graphs and charts. Instead, it is categorized based on properties, attributes, labels, and other identifiers.
Qualitative data can be used to ask the question “why.” It is investigative and is often open-ended until further research is conducted. Generating this data from qualitative research is used for theorizations, interpretations, developing hypotheses, and initial understandings.
Qualitative data can be generated through:
- Texts and documents
- Audio and video recordings
- Images and symbols
- Interview transcripts and focus groups
- Observations and notes
3. Leverage LinkedIn search and interactions
There are two specific ways you can go about figuring out what types of conversations are happening relevant to your offering and the people you want to bring in as customers. I often turn to LinkedIn’s search and then push for authentic interactions.
For example, let’s say I want to see what types of posts are being shared and discussed around “digital marketing” or anything related to that such as email marketing, growth hacking, etc. I would type that into the search bar on LinkedIn, then look at the posts.
Once I see a post that is contextually relevant to whatever it is I’m working on or passionate about, I will respond in the comments to the person who posted the content. This not only provides visibility for me but if my response is thoughtful, then the chances of getting that person’s attention is a lot higher than just sending a cold inMail outreach.
4. Run value-driven and action-oriented webinars
It doesn’t matter if you’re selling medical equipment or pencils. There is a degree of trust you need to establish with your customers before they’ll commit to a purchase. In B2B sales, in particular, 79% of business buyers say it’s highly important to develop trust with anyone they buy from.
A webinar builds that trust in numerous ways. For starters, it builds awareness of your business and makes you more familiar to your customers.
Your webinar also positions you as an expert in your field as well as someone who is helpful and genuine. Viewers see you as someone with extensive knowledge and a willingness to share it, and this goes a long way toward building trust.
Additionally, customers want to know who they’re buying from. They’d rather feel like they’re supporting a real, genuine entrepreneur instead of a faceless corporation.
A webinar is an opportunity for you to get face time with customers, especially those who aren’t in your immediate area. They get to experience your personality, your expertise, and your passion for what you do, and that goes a long way in building a connection that makes you the viewer’s new go-to specialist in your industry.
(Read more on how to use webinars to drive sales here)
5. Repurpose and revive as much as possible
Not all content is created equal, and not all content will perform as well as you expect it to. What separates good content from great content can vary in terms of the topic, context, and type.
Expanding the lifecycle of your content assets is one of the most effective and efficient ways to revive and repurpose content without having to put in a ton of effort. Content repurposing is instrumental in driving traffic, leads, and sales. For these very reasons, it’s worth noting that:
- Nearly 60% of marketers will reuse one piece of content 2-5 times.
- Content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing and generates 3 times as many leads.
- 9 out of 10 B2B buyers say online content has had a moderate to major impact on their purchases.
Further, a big mistake that businesses will make is that they create content for the sole purpose of generating leads that have the potential of leading to revenue. However, if you change your perspective on the purpose and role that content plays for your audience, you’ll be much more successful.
In other words, your primary goal in creating content should be to serve your audience. This is key for longer-term success and how you expand the lifecycle of your content assets. It’s not about writing a blog post with the hope that it’ll contribute to your financial goals only, but that you are using that content to build an audience who will also help you proliferate that content.
The way your target audience interacts with your content will help you understand the following:
- How you can position and message your offerings to resonate.
- What triggers your audience to take action and the type of content that drives them to do so.
- Who are the influencers and actual decision makers.
Lastly, here are some ideas on how you can repurpose content besides republishing or sharing on other sites:
- Take popular blog posts and turn them into a video series.
- Turn an eBook into a 7-day learning course via email.
- Create 10+ different social media posts and schedule them out.
- Run and record a webinar covering the most popular topics on your blog.
- Take a webinar and create an email series and also add to SlideShare.
- Create visual infographics and even interactive ones to drive more engagement.
- Turn a video series into shorter snippets that you share across social media like Instagram Reels.
Final Thoughts
The process of developing stellar content is going to take time and a ton of effort. Oftentimes, not every piece of content is going to provide the desired results you anticipated. This is why you have to be persistent, look at the data, have a clear paid strategy and keep testing.
Finally, always keep your audience top of mind. Figure out creative ways you can truly engage with them — whether it’s running an Insta Live show once per month or starting a podcast — the possibilities are endless. It’s all about staying focused on what your goals are and going from there.
