A 90-day B2B marketing roadmap, SEO advice, and a surprising way to improve content marketing...
7 tweets to move the needle on your marketing strategy:
When it comes to social media, the incentives for creators are clear:
Make native content for our platform. Don’t you dare link out.
Or we’ll crush your reach. 🧵
Tired: Trying to outrun your competition
Wired: Co-marketing with brands with shared audiences
Here's a marketing cheat sheet with 5 ideas you can steal...
We just had our best-ever webinar attendance: 1,367 people.
But we didn't get to answer all your marketing questions. Here they are.
Thread: How to instantly upgrade your content marketing strategy.
You wrote an amazing thread or article.
But the response? Crickets.
Here are 3 reasons influential people aren't sharing your content — and what you can do to change that:
The 2024 Zero-Click Search Study is here.
Highlights:
• 59% of Google searches end without a click.
• Almost 30% of clicks go to a Google-owned property.
• Google is sending less traffic to the open web.
Read more:
We're sorry* to say that the worst marketers start their content strategy with "SEO keywords."
*We're not that sorry. 🙃 But please, hear out
@randfish
in this week's 5-Minute Whiteboard...
I am Quote Tweeting this to be supportive to my colleague, Amanda, who is definitely not the one typing this.
Follow me for more advice on Twitter and audience research.
Brands trying to be like Wendy's is cringe.
So, question: Can a brand's social media strategy just be absurd conversations with one's self?
Answer: Um... sure?
If you're not changing anything about how you do SEO following the Google Leak... You're not paying attention.
I'm not even in search, and I'm changing a whole heap of tactics and strategy! New post & video on SparkToro with details.
Howdy friends!
This'll be our first (& only) tweet for a while.
- 2-min video on our upcoming tool:
- Get notified when we launch:
- Need help/have questions? Email support
@sparktoro
.com or tweet
@randfish
If there's one piece of advice we can give you for your social media strategy, it's this:
Consider user intent. Think of how you can align your value with a user’s intent on that specific social platform.
More on the blog.
We've updated our post on Twitter's fake/spam analysis to answer some of the most-asked questions since publication.
We also included a link to Twitter's API offering. We encourage people to replicate our methodology and improve.
What's an influence map?
A framework that answers questions about what people’s behaviors are and how they can be influenced.
❌ Think less: Which keywords should I bid on?
✅ Think more: How and where should we do marketing? And to whom?
What the best marketers have in common...
They optimize their content before they even start creating.
How to do this? Rand Fishkin will teach you in our last
#SparkToroHours
of 2021 — next Thursday, Dec. 9 at 11am PT.
RSVP:
UPDATE:
After 1 hour, this thread got 20+ likes and 6 RTs.
When we posted a link to just our blog post (which says the same thing), we only got 5 likes.
Anyway, much more on this topic on the SparkToro blog.
Content marketing has changed. Social media has changed.
"They’ve changed because the platforms moved the goalposts, or rather, replaced how 'goals' could be scored.
It’s not just the crowding of creator opportunities, it’s the systems and incentives."
Like it or not, Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is happening on July 1.
But fear not! We'll take you through it in this interactive crash course.
Save your seat or sign up for the replay!
Almost 30% of all clicks go to platforms Google owns.
And two-thirds of clicks from Google Searches in the US make it to a non-Google-owned, non-Google-ad-paying property.
Lots more in the study.
You ran a SparkToro search in a popular niche.
The top results were predictable. What next?
How to find hidden gem opportunities — and get more bang for your marketing buck:
And to some degree... ignore the platforms. Keep writing. Keep creating.
Don't stress about making everything amazing. Be ok with "good enough."
Let email, word of mouth, earned media, and bits of social media amplification do the work.
From our last SparkToro Office Hours of the year:
Our very best advice on what it takes to win at content marketing.
We should probably gate this. Consider it our holiday gift to you.
3/ Focus on email instead.
Turn your energy to highly-engaged email subscribers, even if it means less reach.
@randfish
often says, "I’d rather have 1 new email subscriber than 1k more followers on Facebook."
We're all using the same marketing tools. So how do you stay ahead of your competitors?
Apply use-cases for that data they've never thought of.
Learn how in Wednesday's
#SparkToroHours
.
At Thursday's
#SparkToroHours
we're talking about cold outreach. We'll show you how to:
• Curate high-quality lead lists
• Write effective messages
• Hone the skill of "warm" outreach
RSVP to join live, or get the replay!
Get greater ROI from smaller channels.
Example: Sponsor niche newsletters.
If a list has ~10K subs, open rate can be 50%+.
Which means: High affinity and lower price tag than a mainstream newsletter.
Hint: Find these by way of hidden gem social accounts in SparkToro.
See you on Thursday (Aug. 19) at 11am PT for
#SparkToroHours
?
We'll dig into PR strategy:
• How to find influential media in your niche
• How to create outreach lists
• How to develop an effective pitch
Register to join/receive the recording ⬇
1/ Play to the platforms' incentives.
Publish content that is native to the social media platform (threads on Twitter; posts on LinkedIn) without linking out.
You'll earn engagement and build awareness.
We'll see you Aug. 5 at 11am PT for Office Hours, right?
It's basically having
@randfish
and
@amandanat
as your personal marketing advisors for an hour.
On Thursday's agenda: helping agencies and consultants kick butt for their clients.
Oh, hello!
If you're looking for ways to step up your marketing game, sign up for our 2x monthly newsletter.
No fluff, just actionable advice you can read in 8 minutes or less.
Next issue goes out Thursday (Dec. 16)!
There's lots more to learn about creating share-worthy content.
@randfish
will walk you through it during Office Hours on Thursday, Sept. 30, 11am PDT.
RSVP to save your spot or get the recording & slides!
We're going live in ~90 minutes!
At 11am PT, Amanda and Rand (but mostly, Amanda) will present on cold outreach to help you:
• Pitch to media
• Pitch your product
• Pitch yourself for career opportunities
• ... and lots more!
👇👇👇
Something we haven't seen many marketers talking about: the (upcoming) end of marketing attribution.
Sign up for our next Office Hours and learn how
@randfish
is thinking through all this.
It's free! 👇
New camera, mic, Camlink, OBS, lights... I think I've got this thing working finally.
Whatcha think of these short little demo videos? Useful? Any suggestions?
PR and Content teams work in silos too often. Let's fix that.
@PRisUs
will show us how PR and Content can most effectively team up.
Join us for
#SparkToroHours
on Thursday, 11am PT. If you can't join live, sign up to get the replay!
The algorithms optimize for engagement. They train creators how to behave, what to produce, and how to share it.
Content marketing has changed. Social media marketing has changed. SEO has changed.
You're joining us for
#SparkToroHours
tomorrow (Sept. 30) at 11am PT, right?
Rand Fishkin will help you level up your content marketing and distribution strategy.
🎟️ Sign-up link is below. Registering saves your seat and ensures you get the recording.
Big thank you to everyone who tuned in for our Office Hours today!
Recording and slides will be sent to attendees soon. And you can check out the hashtag
#SparkToroHours
to see what you missed.
Meantime, you can watch the replay here:
When you start thinking in terms of who will amplify you and why...
You start creating things more likely to get shared.
You start promoting your work in amplification-earning ways.
And you start to turn your own marketing flywheel.
"If you’ve got a product people want and expect to customize, or one that benefits from showing off the store, adding friction might actually increase conversion."
New blog post: counterintuitive marketing to get greater ROI.
2/ Use the "lots for you, a little for me" approach.
Optimize for engagement. Post content that's optimized for likes and comments.
Then draw traffic with an occasional link.
What you don't know about your audience is killing your marketing.
And what you don't know stems from 6 common marketing mistakes.
Tune into Thursday's Office Hours to find out what they are.
Hosted by
@randfish
and
@amandanat
.
When it comes to distributing content, there are just 4 categories that every technique fits under.
What are they? Which one should you use? Find out in this week's 5-Minute Whiteboard:
Did you miss out on our GA4 crash course?
No worries. We recapped that episode of SparkToro Office Hours for you. Watch the show and learn from our most-upvoted questions.
1 year later, we have the full story on this. Join us for next Wednesday's Office Hours to hear it.
@TheCoolestCool
takes the virtual stage to give his content distribution advice that sets Foundation apart from the competition.
Get your free ticket:
Podcast Marketing Strategy:
- List topics your customers love
- Find 15 podcasts your audience loves w/ SparkToro
- Reach out / get intro’d to the host
- Make your pitch different from past guests
- Get accepted
- Listen to the best guests
- Aim to be better than them
- Repeat
💡One of our favorite moments from yesterday's
@sparktoro
office hours with
@amandanat
&
@PRisUs
: When PR, content & social media collaborate, the stories we tell have significantly more impact.
Content Marketing Process:
- What should I create?
- How should I research & position it?
- Where should I amplify it?
- Which publications & people can help me reach the audience I'm after?
Fastest way I know to answer these questions 👇
Market research hack:
Stop listening to what customers say in surveys.
Start looking at what they do instead.
“Consumers don’t think how they feel, say what they think or do as they say.”- David Ogilvy
Announcing: SparkTogether!
The original story-focused marketing event is back.
- 1 day
- 10 speakers
- Real stories they've never told before
- Told in a safe space because this event will not be recorded
Grab your early bird ticket!
@randfish
I ran a comparison query for people who talk about "doors" and "frogs," and I found that these are their most listened-to podcasts.
Proceeding to pitch you for Wine Enthusiast podcast and CNET Top 5 to discuss this topic specifcally.
Who's sending traffic to the open web?
Google? Social media? And are the major platforms sending less traffic than they did a year ago?
These are frustrating questions. But thanks to our partnership with Datos, we can finally dive in.
Content marketing has changed. Social media has changed.
"They’ve changed because the platforms moved the goalposts, or rather, replaced how 'goals' could be scored.
It’s not just the crowding of creator opportunities, it’s the systems and incentives."
4/ Invest in other digital channels.
... with high relative engagement. Guest on others' well-followed platforms like:
• Podcasts
• YouTube channels
• Industry publications
⭐️ And an even better answer:
• Communities like
@FosterCoWriting
and Write of Passage, where creators are learning to promote their work online
• People who use hashtags:
#Ship30for30
and
#tweet100
• Creators who are frustrated when their content doesn't get traction.
NEW post:
Our 2-year retrospective is now live, with lots of detail about how we're growing, what's worked, and what's up next. Also included: answers to your Qs on the Twitter thread from last week!
Lots of value in
@sparktoro
office hours today with
@amandanat
and
@randfish
. I have some great ideas on how to use SparkToro to create personas, and find pain points for messaging. Keep'em coming!
Try this template:
"I've been a longtime reader and I noticed that you haven't yet covered <topics>, which your audience is interested in. Here's the data to prove it.
I'm writing to pitch you on <how your product/solution fits in>.
Let me know if you'd like to learn more!"
Identifying cohorts is an effective way to reach your high-value customers.
And when you add SparkToro to the mix, it's even better.
Join our Office Hours on Thursday, Sept. 2, at 11am PT to learn how.
If you can't join, sign up to get the replay!
What's the response rate on your cold outreach?
For our
@amandanat
, it's at least 80%.
In our latest blog post, she breaks down her technique.
Lots of insight on curating your list, and why you should Google yourself before you send cold messages.
Learn what triggers the buyer's journey, and how to use it to your marketing advantage.
@KateBour
joins us for next week's Office Hours to lead a mini masterclass.
Save your seat!
Then look at the results: Your audience's "Frequently Used Phrases."
Here's an example using NYT Health. You'd see that people who follow them online also tend to publicly talk about "blood pressure," "older adults," and "physical activity."
PRO Tip: Before you pitch your story/editorial/coverage piece to a publication... Research their audience!
Quick 90 seconds on how a very smart friend in PR did this for a client's pitch and had it picked up by their dream outlet. 👇
Psst — there's still time to join today's Office Hours with
@randfish
and
@amandanat
!
Grab a cup of coffee and join us at 11am PT to geek out on event/webinar strategy.
600+ of you are tuning into Office Hours today. 🤯
If you haven't registered yet, don't miss out! We start in 1 hour (11am PT).
Bring your curiosity and questions about cohort marketing. Everyone's welcome, whether or not you're a SparkToro user.
I emailed 2 TikTok influencers with a combined 500k+ following and they BOTH responded within 8 minutes.
Each influencer agreed to give us free features.
Here’s what I did 🤷♀️
When should you prune content?
- If it's not worth updating.
- If it hasn't gotten traffic in a year or more.
Follow people like
@CyrusShepard
,
@aleyda
,
@FoundationIncCo
, and more for SEO insights like content pruning.
(From Kate T.)
1) What topics are growing in popularity?
2) Which social accounts are rising — and falling — in engagement in my audience?
3) Which websites, podcasts, Subreddits, and YouTube channels are gaining traction within my audience?
How do you prioritize content marketing goals for business impact?
Prioritize content that's most likely to drive revenue: sales goals (case studies) and customer goals (help-oriented articles)
More from
@amandanat
(From
@Moonstormer
)
Going live with
@TheCoolestCool
in just over an hour, at 11am PT.
We'll talk content distribution, finding hidden gem marketing opportunities, and more.
There's still time to join! 👇
Let's say you knew without a doubt that 2 customers converted because of a tweet.
Or that a tweet didn't convert any customers at all.
Is there anything you would actually do differently?
More in the latest post from
@randfish
:
Let's say you're a coffee brand.
Try a SparkToro search for:
My audience frequently talks about: pour over
Why "pour over?" It's a brewing method that's popular among coffee lovers.
💡 Insight: People who talk about this also enjoy beer and wine!
48 million Reddit users
200 million Twitter users
740 million LinkedIn users
Your marketing doesn’t need to reach all of them.
In fact, it shouldn’t.
THREAD: How to find the right customers, readers, listeners, and social followers...