Growth hacking. Some believe it’s the new inbound marketing, while others say it’s simply a new twist on an old story. Whatever your take, it’s difficult to deny that growth hacking gets results. Leveraging social metrics and audience analysis, marketers are learning to create scalable ideas that generate solid growth in online followers, and ultimately in sales. A great way to begin is by analysing your content strategy. Here are 5 quick tips to get started:
1. Create Memorable Headlines
Believe it or not, headlines are a huge contributor to lead generation. Advertising guru David Ogilvy claimed, “On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar,” (which is probably why he rewrote a Rolls Royce headline 104 times!). So make sure your title is specific, compelling – and most of all value-centric. The co-founder of Upworthy put Ogilvy’s theory to the test and discovered that great headlines made a 500% difference in traffic and shares.
2. Give a Little, Gain a Lot
It’s not the quantity but the quality that counts. Marketers often fall for the trap of focusing all their attention on customer acquisition, when it’s actually customer retention that’s key to building sustainable success.
Giving away free content to potential consumers through PDF reports, quick start guides and webinars is a cost-effective way to demonstrate your knowledge and professionalism, while encouraging audiences to commit a little more time to your site. This not only builds readership, but translates into improved sales as well. SEO blog Backlinko uses free EBooks, exclusive bonuses and downloadable checklists to lore potential customers. “One Day. Two Links. 785% Increase in Conversions” – it’s hard to argue with stats like that.
3. Make Your Content Shareable
With fierce competition between content marketers online, it’s getting more and more difficult to see the forest for the trees. So how can we ensure our content is reaching potential consumers? One way is to add share buttons - preferably at the top and bottom of your articles. Scattering your content with click-to-tweet messages using TweetDis also gives readers an easy way to share accessible calls-to-action – leveraging social media to instantly extend your reach.
Another great way to get noticed is to provide an incentive to share. “What’s in it for me?” is a classic marketing need that still needs to be addressed for online audiences. Dropbox increased began offering additional storage space in return for referral invitations and saw their user base jump from 100,000 to 4 million users in just 15 months.
4. Use Rich Snippets
Rich Snippets are the few lines of copy underneath every Google search link, providing marketers with an extra opportunity to increase their click-through rates. Google accepts microcopy that promotes relevant product descriptions, reviews, events, news articles and video scripts. Putting your HTML skills to the test may sound daunting, but modifying your data is easier than you’d think. Get started with Structured Data Markup Helper and write microcopy that converts.
5. Increase the Urgency
Recent research has discovered that word of mouth generates more than twice the sales of paid advertising. Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) is on the increase, with over 70% of millennials saying they experience it on a daily basis. Losing out on events, important updates and news on social media is becoming a source of anxiety - which marketers can use to their advantage. Developing content that focuses on exclusivity and limited-time contests allows you to create “buzz” around your brand, increase visibility and ultimately boost sales and profits. Pelago, a self-service event management app, is leading the way by teasing audiences and transforming the way we discover events.
While it may be the content marketing buzzword of 2016, growth hacking employs tried and tested marketing techniques to hook readers and break through the mould of bland, cookie-cutter content. Shift your content marketing program into high gear with a few growth hacking tricks, and watch your followers and conversions skyrocket.