Businesses should consider some new growth marketing techniques to improve their strategies, as many factors are affecting online reputation right now. The steady advancement of online technology is catching up to businesses that look great online but aren’t as impressive in real life. Customer reviews, shopping apps, and a host of feedback mechanisms are tweaking virtual worlds to more closely align with what’s available.
This happens whether businesses like it or not.
The single best response I can think of is for businesses to hone in on what they do best, use the digital realm to differentiate themselves from the crowd and trust that the market will return the favor when they offer something of real value to the market. Growth marketing is a key way to differentiate yourself and stay ahead of your competition.
In my experience, content is a key element of a successful growth marketing strategy. When planning a growth strategy, there are several content trends to be aware of.
1. Aligning your content strategy is critical.
I once said that one of the keys to success in growth marketing is killing as many birds as possible with one stone. I said this so often that I finally decided I didn’t want to be known for killing birds, so I changed it to “Feed as many birds as possible with one scone”.
Granted, it’s not rocket science, but the concept is key to growing your marketing ROI. First, look at each of your marketing and communications strategies and understand how it impacts your content strategy.
If you look at Dave McClure’s Pirate Funnel and how it applies to growth marketing, you’ll see the importance of aligning awareness, acquisition, activation, retention, revenue, and referrals throughout the funnel. All of these strategies are heavily influenced by content creation and distribution strategies, so they must be aligned.
Consider the RACI matrix
Before you spend time executing your plan, take a step back. Map how these regions interact with each other. You can even download the RACI matrix and explore what your team is doing. This will help you understand how it affects other areas of the company and other strategies.
The visual above is an example of how to create a matrix with tasks on the left and the people/areas they affect on top. In order to market faster than everyone else, you need to have a system in place to maximize the ROI of your content efforts.
A piece of content can be put on a blog and left to die. Or you can run it through some kind of matrix. It can be sent to potential recruits to lure them into keeping their heads above water. If sent to the right people in sales, it can be used as a sales asset.
I’ve studied many of the fastest-growing companies whose strategies work. They all make some changes to this content alignment. Content is always aligned with the rest of the business and used in a variety of ways to maximize ROI.
2. Niches matter more than ever.
SEO experts have published a ton of content related to how Google’s algorithms are getting smarter, so the details matter. Search results are moving towards showing the best answers/resources, not just the ones with the highest domain authority.
Relevance is becoming key. No matter what your profession is, it’s important to understand what content strategies work in that particular niche.
For example, I come from a family of lawyers. When they ask me about niche marketing, the first thing I send them is the book Law Firm SEO . I pointed them to this resource because I wanted to give them an idea of the strategies used in their niche. They agreed it was a very helpful read.
Honestly, in the old days, I would have probably sent them my own book or something from Joe Pulizzi or Ann Handley. I might still do it sometimes. However, there is so much content these days and you have to hone in more in your field.
I’ve designed content strategies for both small startups and some of the biggest brands in the world, and I can tell you one thing without hesitation. You won’t be ahead in growth marketing if you’re producing content like everyone else.
The reason I also recommend the above books to my family of lawyers is that I want them to understand the content strategies that are being used in their industry. To me, this is the first step toward a successful content growth strategy. Of course, best practices for marketing in a particular industry are something to always keep in mind, but then take the next step and actively emphasize how you and/or your company could do things differently.
Test organic growth strategies
For example, we recently tested some organic growth strategies using our online scheduling and calendaring app Calendar. We know what others in the calendaring and scheduling industry are doing, so we made a checklist:
- Is there a user-friendly guide on their website?
- Do they have a set of linked blog posts?
- Is the underlying technology up to snuff?
We noticed one particular gap right away. Yes, they are doing PR. However, they did so without aligning with the desired search terms or the areas they were looking to grow organically. Instead of looking for something like a calendar app in their PR strategy, they opt for calendar founder article features, or just general PR to get a brand name.
Google algorithms are too smart these days to just look at the best practices experts say to follow. Instead, it wants to see you own your industry naturally. When content is too sporadic and all over the place, it can be difficult for Google to know exactly where they should be targeting you.
redesign your website
Another way we see that niche marketing really matters is whenever a website is redesigned.
I suggest that once you redesign a website, you have a targeted PR campaign six months later. As you change everything around you, Google is trying to figure out where you should land. If you don’t help them understand the niche in which you should be the best resource, it will put you where the algorithm thinks you are “safe.”
Last year I was in the content marketing world, and a woman I met hired one of the best website companies. She was pissed that her organic growth had taken a hit and started thinking she was being scammed. However, her basic assumption was that if she had an amazing website, that would be enough to increase organic growth.
Perhaps, in the long run, this might be true.
However, we had done enough testing to know that if she followed up the relaunch with a six-month campaign, the keywords she had previously would rank immediately. She can easily start running to get more ground because her website is great. Just a simple adjustment can help her on the road to industry leadership more quickly.
3. Create a system to collect data and then make strategic decisions based on that data.
You have to start tracking certain metrics in order to make informed decisions about your growth strategy. Start tracking these common marketing data points ASAP. They include common marketing data such as unique visitors, time on site, social metrics, qualified leads, conversion rates, and opportunities. Afterward, once you have a solid system, it will grow from there.
As technology advances at breakneck speed, data collection will only get better. Once you shut down these systems, you can use them to project advanced strategies.
For example, there are a lot of great SEO and marketing tools out there. These tools can tell you the difficulty of a particular keyword or the number of links you need to start gaining credibility. Recently, I’m using a newer version of MarketMuse. Not only does it show me how difficult it is to rank for a certain keyword, but it also shows how difficult it is for me compared to other keywords.
It is quite common for MarketMuse tools to take into account industry data. However, the extra factor is to take into account that my company already has a certain level of authority. This affects data and allows us to make more informed decisions when pursuing more difficult things. In this case, we are uniquely positioned to make it happen.
Here’s a great example of what I came across in a previous tip. You can do what everyone else does and use tools to see general search traffic or how difficult it is to rank for a keyword. But when you think more about your particular niche or how your company has a unique advantage in something, it can help you grow faster in that space.
4. Your content strategy should reflect your growth.
An insightful test you can run to see where your content strategy stands is to ask a neutral third party to view your business online.
Ask them what they think your income looks like, where you seem to stack up in the industry, what are you best at, etc. Make sure you give them the freedom to be completely transparent about their answers. If the report comes back and it doesn’t match where you are – or better yet – then you probably have a problem.
For example, a friend of mine recently asked me to invest in a company called Tradefull. My initial assessment was, well…the digital presence of this company does not reflect what my friend said. However, after speaking with the owner/operator, I am impressed with the company’s numbers, progress, team, and just about everything else.
I offer this example only to point out that online presence creates a natural barrier to trust. You don’t want your company to do this, especially if online impressions aren’t necessarily accurate. The more you remove these barriers, the more you will be able to put your best foot forward on your desired growth path. Today, Tradefull is reflecting this success through its content strategy.
It’s important to note that this is the most common thing I see in successful growth companies. Sometimes the digital landscape is not representative of the actual landscape.
Years ago, you could get away with this sort of thing, at least for a while. Today, however, technology allows your competitors to catch up. It’s critical to set yourself apart and stay ahead. This means your digital narrative should realistically align with your physical narrative.
epilogue
In general, consider looking at it this way: You’re trying to help a company grow. So at least a fraction of the time should ensure that the stories people see are consistent with the hard work. Perception of your brand can finally become a reality.
Have a process in your board or leadership meeting to measure perceptions of market share, similar to how you calculate sales market share. The tests above may help, but also make sure you set actionable goals. Investigate how your competitors show up at conferences, conduct media monitoring, and track how mentioned you are in industry conversations compared to your competitors. You’ll find that you can now set goals to gain more market share in that conversation.
As you look at your company‘s growth strategy, consider the ideas presented above when deciding where your budget should go. The above tips will not only help you on the path to faster growth but also help you gain buy-in from your company’s leadership and other key players.
Aligning your content strategy can benefit other departments, niche ownership can inspire leadership bent on industry dominance, and looking at data on your current competitive advantage can all lead to a better path to growth. The result will be an accurate perception of your brand and a catalyst for your company’s growth.
