The challenge of creating engaging content is not unique. In fact, 54% of small businesses report that they struggle in this area.
Whether you find it easy or not, producing great content is a task you cannot ignore.
At Gbox, we realized early on that our content is the key to driving traffic, nurturing leads and converting them into customers. If you fail to use content effectively, you are losing sales.
Choosing YOUR Most Effective Content
So how do you figure out which content will convert your target audience? How can you allocate your budget to different types of content effectively?
Traditionally, marketing professionals would begin by spending a lot of time doing keyword research. Next, they would simply produce the content they found to be effective through such research.
That era is over. Gbox wanted to follow a more effective, forward-moving approach. We conducted qualitative research by talking to customers to understand their needs. We then shaped our blogs, articles and videos to answer their concerns and/or fill their needs.
When There Just Isn’t Time For That
Sometimes you don’t have the time to go asking questions of your target audience before you make a decision. You have a deadline to meet, and you really need to come up with a blog idea, redo some copy or some similar task.
This is where A/B testing comes in. Your top-of-the-funnel A/B tests are your “everyday” tool for maximizing the content you produce.
You are probably already using A/B testing to optimize click-through rates on social media posts, ads and/or email campaigns. That feedback is key to understanding what messages are resonating with visitors!
Gbox uses the information from top of the funnel A/B testing to fuel our video, blog and website copy. Below are some examples of how you can quickly do so for your business, as well!
Using Facebook and Google Ads
While 8 out of 10 people will read headline copy, only 2 out of 10 will read the rest. The better your headline, the better your odds are that people will keep reading. We know you want to get the most out of your advertising budget, so choose your headlines wisely. Be creative, spark curiosity and make sure the headline speaks to the needs of your target market.
In order to find the most effective headline, perform some A/B testing. Test different ad messages and see which one gets a higher click-through rate.
Both Google Ads and Facebook Ads have built in A/B testing tools, but you can also use AdEspresso if you want the results faster.
If one message is outperforming others, use that “winning headline” to create your landing page headline. You can also use the ad text in your landing page subtitle. This is called a message match.
Powerful Email Lists
Your current customers and hot leads are already in your email list. These people are the best representation of your target audience. Use them to test copy for your other content.
Gbox uses Aweber to test email copy. We test the use of videos, different headlines and different copy. The results are then used to write effective copy for landing pages, articles or videos.
Gbox recently released an Amazon best selling book, Video Profits. We used A/B Testing and found that by adding a link to the purchase page for the book in our email “P.S.” section, we were able to boost sales as opposed to adding the information in main text of the email.
Social Network Management
Everything we know about the power of the “almighty headline” is also true for your blog post titles. Effective titles are key to earning readership.
The fastest way to optimize your blog post titles is by using Social Media.
Use a social media tool like Sprout or Hootsuite to schedule posts to Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and any other relevant sites. Throughout the course of a few days, send out several posts with different titles (linking to the same page). Track which ones get the most engagement by comparing the number of clicks per 100 views for each title.
This concept works for figuring out new content ideas, as well. Check out what is already working in your posts when you’re thinking about what to write next!
Conclusion
There is no doubt that you should be consistently gathering qualitative data via feedback from your visitors and customers and running A/B tests on your site. However, when you need quick results, don’t hesitate to use the same concept by using data from ads, emails and social media.
Let us know what your “go-to” A/B tests are in the comments below, and don’t forget to keep in touch on Facebook and Twitter!
