6 ways to run content experiments that drive growth

Do you want to give your content marketing an extra boost? Content experiments are a great way to do this.

Technology today allows us to experiment with content strategies in many ways. We can target different audiences and use different content types, channels, timing, etc. This will ensure that your performance results will reflect this practice over time.

This article will show you how to get started with content experimentation right away. This article will help you learn how to discover what works for your audience and make small adjustments to increase ROI. It also explains how to use low-risk experiments as a way to inform larger strategies.

Are you ready to dive in? Let's get started.

Quick Take-Aways

• Content experiments help you stay agile in your strategy and allow for continuous improvement.
• Experimenting with different audiences can help to minimize the risk of trying new ideas.
• It's a great way to find out what works and what doesn't.
• Brands have the ability to diversify their voices through partnerships and content types.
• Brands can use content experiments to help them maintain data-driven strategies, and make informed decisions.

What is content experimentation and what makes them valuable?

Content experiments are a way to try new strategies, tactics, or ideas to improve your content strategy.

Marketers know that the world is constantly changing. Many of the best practices we believed were good 10 years ago, such as keyword stuffing, are now considered bad. Marketers have to keep up with the latest technologies and Google ranking factors. There are many other factors that can affect consumers' preferences.

We don't always know what the best approach is.

Content experiments are essential to figure this out. You can learn what works and what doesn’t by performing content experiments on a regular schedule. This will allow you to make informed decisions that won’t affect your overall strategy.

It's possible to identify the best practices and increase their popularity, as well as find out what isn't working so that you can fix it or quit altogether.

Content experiments are the most important part of your content strategy. These content experiments help you identify problems, recognize opportunities, pivot as needed, and learn from your mistakes.

Eric Ries, author of The Lean Startup, states that the heart of any startup is its ability to transform new ideas into products. The product for us is content. It's easy to see how content experiments can help us improve our products when we view it through The Learn Startup's perspective of build-measure-learn.

Source: Twitter

When is the right time to do a content experiment? How do you go about it? We'll discuss 6 reasons why you should consider doing a content experiment, and give examples of how to do it.

Six Reasons (and Methods) to Conduct Content Experiments

Explore new ideas

Even if your content strategy works, it's a good idea to try new ideas. You don't have to try everything at once. And you shouldn't rush to adopt an idea before you're confident it will work.

Solution: A content experiment.

Consider the innovative ideas that your marketing team has developed over the years. Perhaps it was to create a new social media campaign or to change the look of your branding. Or maybe you wanted to integrate interactive content into your blogs and emails.

To experiment with new content ideas, it is important to start small and then grow as you experience success. Think about the interactive content idea. It's better to test the content with a small sample audience, such as your most engaged subscribers, than to add it to every email. You might then use it to create an A/B test to send a larger email blast.

If you see high engagement, it is a sign that this strategy should be part of your overall strategy. If not, no harm done.

Expand your audiences

Companies often expand their target audience as they grow. Maybe you see a way for your product's value to be added in a new market. Perhaps you offer new solutions that are more relevant to larger audiences. Perhaps your company is growing and is ready to serve a wider customer base.

You can conduct content experiments if any of these are applicable.

Niche content is a great way to do this. Your brand will be seen as an expert by new audiences if you can help them see how your solutions can benefit their lives.

Marketing Insider Group has had great success with SaaS agencies. SaaS companies were slow to adopt content marketing for a long time. MIG, like other content agencies, saw the importance of content marketing for SaaS and so we created a series blog posts.

We wrote about SEO and Content Marketing for SaaS and other topics to reach this audience and show how our services can benefit them.

Image source: Marketing Insider Group

This niche content can be used to test your ideas and reach new audiences. Monitor their responses and then dive deeper into what resonates with them.

Blogs are not the only way. Engaging new audiences can be done through videos, infographics and ebooks as well as social media posts.

Profit from your success

While it may seem obvious to do more of what is working, you need insights to help guide your decisions. Content experiments can provide objective data that will help you make the best content strategy decisions.

Content experiments allow you to drill down into specifics and optimize the performance of your content. Optimize the send time of emails and blog article posting days. To determine which factors are most effective for your brand, you can test subject lines and HTML formats.

Although each of these seemingly insignificant factors might not be significant on its own, they can have an impact on performance. However, you will see an increase in performance results if you optimize these content factors over time.

Eliminate unsuccessful content

Content experiments are another way to see when things are not working. Data can help you identify issues early on and quickly pivot to improve the performance of your content. It is possible to identify when something is not working and fix it quickly before it has a negative effect on your content.

For example, let's say you are launching an email newsletter. You might be uncertain about what content to include if you have never created one before. It might be necessary to determine how to segment your audience so each receives the newsletter that is most relevant to them.

You can rapidly and continuously improve your email newsletter by testing content and lists and tracking key KPIs such as open and click-through rate while running A/B tests. This will allow you to quickly and easily refine your email newsletter.

Diversify your brand voice

You can diversify your brand voice by creating varied content and featuring guest contributors. This will allow you to reach more people. These are great ways to increase brand awareness through content experiments.

You may already be doing some of these things, but it is important to treat them as an experiment.

Here are some ideas to diversify your brand voice:

• Extend your content beyond blogs. You can also try video, infographics and social media stories.
• Your blog should feature guest writers. You can either make them part of a series, or do occasional guest posts on different topics.
• Contribute to podcasts or blogs where you think your audience is interested. You may be asked to contribute if you have a strong brand. Reach out to potential partners for brands that you are interested in.
• Influencer marketing is a great option. Influencer marketing is a way to get consumers to trust you and make a purchase based on your recommendations.
• Co-branding opportunities with brands: Partner with us

Marketing Insider Group recently experimented with infographics. They have been used to summarize our most important articles.

This infographic will show you how to create the perfect blog post.

img alt=”A portion MIG's Perfect Blog Post infographic.” height=”763″ loading=”lazy” src=”https://marketinginsidergroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Perfect-Blog-Post-1.jpg” width=”515″/>

Image source: Marketing Insider Group

You can expand your reach, increase your shareability, and drive more traffic to the site by experimenting with different content types and partnerships.

Uncover valuable insights

It is important to remember that content experiments are a critical part of gaining data-driven insights into your performance.

Continuously and systematically collecting data and analysing it to inform your strategy will enable your team to make objective, informed decisions. This will increase your engagement and save you time and money.

Learn more about creating a data-driven strategy for content and how data can help you succeed with content.

We can help you run a year's worth of content experiments

Content experiments and larger content marketing campaigns require a solid content strategy, lots ideas, frequent, high-value, and measured results. Our SEO writers, editors, and client service managers will deliver optimized content that is ready to publish every week for a year or more. We also help you measure what works.

Are you ready to get started? Get more information about our SEO Blog Writing Service, or book a consultation right away.