Content marketing, and content discovery specifically, has gained popularity in recent years because it allows brands to speak to a wide audience that may not have found them otherwise.
While a broad content strategy can bring in large amounts of users, it can work against companies that are prioritizing for conversion-related goals (e.g. purchase, subscriptions, downloads). When creating a content marketing campaign, sometimes it pays to choose quality over quantity.
At Taboola, one of our favorite phrases is “pre-qualifying the click.”
Focusing your content strategy to reach a more targeted audience can help boost performance and lead to a more effective campaign.
Below are a few examples of how our team helped marketers fine-tune their content strategy to pre-qualify the click, reach their target audience, and increase conversions.
College Offering Online MBAs
Situation: Our partner was promoting a series of articles around GRE test preparation and applying for MBA programs, encouraging users to download one of their course catalogues. Although the content was informative, most of the visitors were already in the process of applying for traditional college programs, and not necessarily online options.
Solution: Introduce several new articles that focused on assisting people with making educational decisions, particularly around online study options. These included: “5 Things to Consider When Looking for an MBA Program,” “Why Getting an MBA is Now Simpler Than Ever,” and “How to Choose the Online MBA Program That’s Right for You.”
Result: Users who reached these new pieces were much earlier in their decision-making process, and therefore interested in hearing about online course options. Catalogue downloads increased significantly.
Personal Investment Services Provider
Situation: Promoting an article about how the rich and famous invest, our partner was driving lead generation for its personal investment services. Though the article generated ample leads, those new prospects were not converting into sales.
Solution: Featuring stories about celebrities attracted an aspirational audience, and although these visitors were interested in investing, they were not able to afford the minimum deposits required by the service. The solution was to create a more “high-end” content piece that took a more advanced, educational approach, that would speak to a more affluent audience.
Result: The amount of leads decreased overall, but the leads received converted into sales well within the client’s goals.
E-commerce Site Selling Jewelry
Situation: Our partner was looking to drive necklace sales in the weeks before Valentine’s Day, and promoted an original article about why chocolate-related presents just aren’t enough anymore. Although the piece attracted engaged readers, the audience was too broad and not necessarily in a buying mindset.
Solution: Create a simple product showcase: “4 Jewelry Gift Ideas for Valentines Day.”
Result: Users arriving at the new article clicked on the link precisely because they were looking for gift ideas, and knew the piece would provide a showcase of different product ideas. This led to a higher conversion rate, and more on-site jewelry purchases.
Online Fantasy Sports Service
Situation: Our partner was driving traffic to an article about the company’s origins in a small town, including very personal stories about the founder. However, nobody was signing up to play fantasy sports.
Solution: Create two articles: the first, an “About Us” piece that discussed why the service was the most innovative fantasy sports hub on the market; the second piece around “5 Reasons You Should Start Playing Fantasy Sports.”
Result: Users arriving at these articles were actively interested in fantasy sports, and therefore more likely to sign up for the service. The conversion rate increased significantly.
As you can see from these examples, being straightforward and direct with your audience when driving towards a performance goal will help ensure ROI. As long as you’re giving the user information that they find helpful, they will click, engage, and have a better chance of converting.
Do you need a hand with your content strategy? Contact us today!