Getting into the Mind of a Growth Marketer
When it comes to growth marketing, testing and experimenting with new ideas is how these marketers help identify successful strategies that drive results for businesses. Growth marketers take deep dives into analyzing data on a regular basis to verify growth opportunities. As marketers walk the fine line between long-term strategies and short-term gains, there may be some indications that in today’s climate, leadership seems to have shifted towards the former. Alaina Thompson, Head of Growth at The Juice, spoke with StudioPod founder TJ Bonaventura about what marketing looks like from her perspective, and how she balances the need for quick results and long-term gains.
Growth marketing vs. brand awareness
For the last several years, marketing strategies have been focused on brand awareness and relationship development. However, as economic fears now plague many companies, the need to quickly bring in more customers has taken priority. “Where previously we saw flexibility and forward-thinking focused on brand awareness,” explained Alaina, “and with the economy being what it is, I think a lot of marketers have been forced to think a little more short term and focus on leads, signups, and traffic.”
Although short-term gains may appease leadership, those wins might not always be as substantial compared to the wins stemming from long-term brand awareness campaigns. “I don’t think it’s the right approach all of the time,” said Alaina. “You definitely need to remember that you’re marketing to people and not robots.”
Balancing the slow-build strategy while improving ROI
How can marketers keep pushing their long-term initiatives while still delivering the right numbers? It can seem overwhelming, but by taking a strategic approach, marketers can meet with leadership in the middle. Here are three things marketers can focus on:
Track what you can: “Make sure that you have some sort of measurement for your content, even if it’s not leads,” said Alaina. “Sometimes that means measuring impressions or the replies to a Tweet.”
Distribute your content: Far too often, companies churn out an excess of content, but fail to get it in front of audiences. “Don’t just create and leave content on your website,” said Alaina.”You definitely have to chase after some of those metrics.”
Leverage existing audio and visual content: Repurposing content has become an incredibly efficient way to make more from less, without sacrificing quality. Recorded interviews with industry experts or one of your company’s executives can provide real value. “What I’m seeing successful companies do is take all of that content, chop it up, and then distribute it across social media,” said Alaina. “Social media is trackable.”
Podcasting as a growth strategy
Although podcasting as a marketing strategy has proven successful for many B2B companies, not everyone is eager to do it. Now with the current focus on short-term wins, companies may opt for marketing strategies with immediate measurable results. However, with the ability to repurpose podcasting content into measurable social media content, podcasting can provide tremendous value.
“In terms of distribution, what we are hearing is that it's time consuming to do it,” said Alaina. “You really need to consider every channel that you’re distributing on. You need to think about it differently from the others. LinkedIn is not Twitter, and people don’t want to interact with your ideas and thoughts in the same way.” In order to develop content from an audio and video podcast recording, you have to:
Sort through every conversation to identify the most valuable clips
Determine what platforms you’d like to distribute those clips
Create the clips with help of an editor and writer
Ensure that the format of each piece (copy, video, audio, etc.) is appropriate for its platform destination (video size, length of copy, copy style)
Getting it done right does take time, but the return is worth it. Outsourcing podcast production initiatives can save companies that time. StudioPod can create a wide variety of marketing collateral from a single recording. That content is distributed on LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, and more. Each platform requires different video and copy formats, so brands might feel hesitant about the time commitment. “That’s one of the reasons why [organizations] fail,” said TJ. “[Podcasting] is more than just grabbing two mics and recording. Let’s put some content there because there is value to doing that. There needs to be a tailored approach.”
Takeaways
One
Relationship-building content marketing strategies and short-term gains don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Alaina Thompson, Head of Content at The Juice, explains how thoughtful strategizing can do both
Make sure you’re always measuring something, “even if it’s just replies to Tweets,” she explains. You’ll be able to leverage a long-term strategy and provide quantitative proof of positive traction.
Don’t just create an abundance of content and let it sit on your website. Distribute it across social media platforms. ”You definitely have to chase after some of those metrics,” Alaina reminds us. You can embrace brand awareness content and still quickly turn around results.
Start repurposing audio and video podcast content. “You can create multiple pieces of content from that one 30 or 35 minute episode,” explains StudioPod founder TJ Bonaventura. Podcasts build meaningful relationships with audiences, but results aren’t immediate. Creating video and audio clips from your podcast can provide the numbers you’re looking for.
Two
An uncertain economy shaken up by mass layoffs has left many executives looking for signs of positive growth within their companies. In marketing, long-term growth strategies aren’t meant to provide quick wins, and this might leave leadership feeling wary.
Alaina Thompson, Head of Content at The Juice, acknowledges the impact the current climate has had on the marketing industry. “Where previously we saw flexibility and forward thinking focused on brand awareness, and with the economy being what it is, I think a lot of marketers have been forced to think a little more short term and focus on leads, signups, and traffic.”
She describes how marketers can still continue to develop brand awareness while giving their higher-ups the numbers they need. Do this by:
Tracking what you can; identify all measurable activity
Distributing content across relevant social media platforms
Repurposing brand-awareness audio and video content into short clips for social media and trackable results.
Three
Merge short and long-term growth marketing strategies into one by repurposing your podcast audio and video content. Marketers can drive quick wins while building relationships with audiences using the same content. TJ Bonaventura, founder at StudioPod, and Alaina Thompson, Head of Content at The Juice, discuss how marketers can leverage podcasting to make this happen:
Record your podcast interviews with industry experts and use a platform like Descript to capture audio and video and to transcribe your entire conversation.
Look for “snackable” clips that provide value on their own as standalone content.
Turn those clips into social media content. Video reels, shorts, copy, or audiograms are all potential content.
Use your podcast to support a long-term growth strategy. Over time, you’ll realize the impact it has on your brand.
Distribute your social media clips across different social media platforms and track user engagement for short-term gains.