How to supercharge your growth with original research
Hey there! 👋
Stats show that original research is the top format in content marketing.
But how do you create research that your audience connects with?
I've put together 6 of the key steps to success.
So hold onto your hat and let's dive in!
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6 Steps to Creating Original Research that will Supercharge Your Growth
1. AGREE YOUR GOALS. Your research isn't a hobby project, or a tick-box on your to-do list. It's key to driving your business goals. The most successful marketers define these from day one.
So think about this: Do you want to be a thought leader? Or to get more backlinks? And do you need media mentions? Or new subscribers?
2. CHOOSE YOUR FORMAT. Your goals define your format. If you want to be a thought leader or to get more backlinks, go for an annual benchmark study. But if you're building media mentions, try polls or a survey. These can also bring in new subscribers if that's what you're aiming for.
3. FIND YOUR TOPIC. Your topic needs to support your product and brand messaging. Ask a question that no-one else has proven with data. Controversial topics work especially well.
Every industry has its problem subjects. Here are a few in marketing: Do companies who use MQLs really have less revenue? Is blogging a waste of time? Will SEO be replaced by influencer marketing?
4. COLLECT YOUR DATA. Make sure your questions provide insight. Think about how you will use the data. Then analyze your results. Maybe they are surprising, or they validate previously unproven assumptions. Don't just present your data. Tell a story.
5. OPTIMIZE YOUR RESEARCH. There is no point of a big bang annual report if it doesn't have an audience. So build in SEO, identify which piece of content you want your prospect to go to next, and mention influencers to boost social sharing.
6. REPURPOSE. This is where most companies fall flat. Why? They don't use their original research to build out their content calendar. One finding in your report could be three month's worth of content. That means slideshare presentations, blog posts, guest articles, webinars, infographics, videos, podcasts, guides, ebooks, and even additional reports.
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Here are 3 SaaS companies doing awesome original research:
👉 Semrush Original Research
In 2021 Semrush published 34 pieces of original research. They ranged from fast data collection to online surveys. All this research got repurposed into infographics for social media posts. The results speak for themselves: 859 likes and 46 comments. Those are engagement levels that most B2B companies can only dream about.
👉 Ahrefs runs a data and studies blog
Ahrefs uses original research to provide data and insights, but not in the same way that Semrush do. Differentiation is key. Ahrefs base their strategy almost entirely on data collection. For example, a mini-study of 15,000 keywords or an analysis of how long it takes to rank in Google.
The beauty of this approach is in its simplicity: their tool drives all the research to reinforce the use cases their prospects need. And they don't need to rely on outreach to create new research.
👉 Databox combines influencer marketing and original research
Databox uses interviews with marketers to create compelling original research that gives peer-to-peer insights. Most of the round-ups include 20+ respondents and pull in over 400 backlinks each month. The articles are shared with the interviewees to generate free promotion and brand awareness.
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Thank you for taking the time to read this.
I’ll see you in 2022!
Sarah