With more than 700 locations in the continental US, this department store (similar to JCPenney, Nordstrom, and Walmart) is known for its niche in popular culture and the diversity of its merchandise.
Without a content team or budget to commission content, they were challenged to find a way they could leverage existing assets into creative pieces of online content that could reach new audiences.
So, how did they end up with more than $3.5m worth of purchases in revenue and an 8:1 return on advertising spend from content promotion?
Setting proper content KPIs
The fundamental part of any content campaign is to set goals that can be measured against.
This women’s apparel company knew they were interested in the following:
- Traffic
- Conversions
- Sales
From there, they were able to put a plan in motion to help build awareness, drive traffic to their eCommerce site and increase unit sales at a positive ROI using content.
Designing a smart content strategy
Creating content doesn’t require an entire editorial team.
This retailer knew they didn’t need a complementary blog with expert editorial contributors, as long as they could strategically repurpose content that already existed.
Through the creative repackaging of existing digital assets, shopping guides were developed for seven key merchandise categories: makeup, bedding, jewellery, shoes, home, swimwear and seasonal apparel (Summer/Fall).
With consumers always on the lookout for fashion round-ups (eg top lists), tips and recommendations, it was an efficient and effective short-term alternative to paying for new content to be created.
Their goal was to drive traffic to these guides on their website and test new ways of generating sales.
Executing on the content strategy
With the powerful content diversification of their shopping guides handy, they turned to amplification across premium publisher sites in the Outbrain network.
Supported by headline testing and optimisation, they were able to focus in on what resonated with their targeted audience.
They determined that three primary keywords and phrases were to be used to increase the click-through rate on their content headlines:
- “Trends you must try”
- “Every woman should have these 10 [shoes]”
- “Best brands”
Out of which came 46% of the campaign’s estimated revenue.
In the Outbrain network, headlines that have specificity, contain strong adjectives and numbers work well. The key is to give readers enough information that they want to click to read more.
Results that reflect campaign goals
The shopping guides quickly gained traction.
- 71% of all conversions occurred after seven days
- Cost-per-actions decreased 30% quarter over quarter
- Conversions increased by 40%
Additionally:
In the end, the smart content creation of these shopping guides combined with Outbrain amplification not only helped reach new audiences at scale, but it also achieved impressive revenue results.
For more content marketing tips & insights visit the Outbrain Blog
Wendy Bernal is the director of global brand and sales marketing at Outbrain
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