Content marketing is a popular marketing strategy. Many marketers spend a significant amount of time developing content to generate interest from their customers. But how do you use this content to generate a direct response? When you do, how do you ensure that you get the most response from the content you have created? As one company recently discovered, it isn’t as simple as just putting a piece of content on your website. In fact, you could have valuable content to offer (as they did), but if you are unable to communicate this content in an effective way, then you are likely wasting much of the effort put into creating that content. In a recent experiment with one of the largest industrial product distributers in the world, we were able to generate a 96% increase in the total number of leads by simply making a few tweaks to the way a piece of content was presented to the customer. We didn’t change, alter or rewrite the content. We simply ensured the expression of its value was felt at its fullest force. In this 35-minute Web clinic, the MECLABS research team explained three simple tactics that you can employ on your own content marketing campaigns.

1. Leveraging Content to Generate Leads
3 simple tactics one company used to generate a 96%
increase in leads

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#WebClinic

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Today’s speakers
Jon Powell
Senior Manager,
Research and Strategy
MECLABS
Selena Blue
Manager,
Editorial Content
MECLABS

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Experiment: Background
Background: A B2B company selling thermal image cameras.
Goal: To generate more leads.
Research Question: Which landing page will generate the most leads?
Test Design: A/B variable cluster, radical redesign split test
Experiment ID: TP 1877
Record Location: MECLABS Research Library
Research Partner: (Protected)

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Experiment: Control

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Experiment: Treatment 1

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Experiment: Side-by-side comparison
Control Treatment 1

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Experiment: Results
Relative increase in leads generated96%Treatment 1 resulted in a 95.8% increase in leads generated.
Design Clickthrough Rate Relative Difference
Control 2.7% --
Treatment 1 6.0% 95.8%

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Why did Treatment 1 win?
Control
Treatment 1
96%In Leads Generated

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Today’s focus
Today, we will look at three simple tactics the treatment
utilized in leveraging content (downloadable guide) to
generate more leads.

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Key observations
Key Observations
1. The treatment features an image that illustrates the essential
problem to the customer.

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Control
Treatment 1
• In the control, we observe
a technician in action.
• In the treatment, we can
see what the technician
sees: a bright red image
when looking at the
machine.
Observation #1. Illustrative images

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Observation #1. Illustrative images
What are some potential stories you can create by
looking at this image?

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Observation #1. Illustrative images
What are some potential stories you can create by
looking at this image?
Peoples’ thoughts arrange themselves in a story.
Therefore, effective content is tightly synchronized
to the internal and external story of the customer.

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Key Observations
1. The treatment features an image that illustrates the essential problem to
the customer.
2. The treatment also shifts the focus from what the company offers to how
the customer experience will be improved.
Key observations

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Observation #2. Customer-centric copy
• The text in the
control is focused
primarily on the
company and
doesn’t make the
immediate
connection to the
customer
experience.

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• The treatment shifts
the focus to what the
customer wants:
finding the right
infrared camera.
• The tone of the copy
has also shifted to an
angle of “enabling the
customer” to find the
solution.
Observation #2. Customer-centric copy

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• The treatment shifts
the focus to what the
customer wants:
finding the right
infrared camera.
• The tone of the copy
has also shifted to an
angle of “enabling the
customer” to find the
solution.
Observation #2. Customer-centric copy
Beware of company logic; beware of succumbing to
the illusion that the prospect sees your company
the way you see it. We must test all content
marketing through the eyes of the customer.

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Key Observations
1. The treatment features an image that illustrates the essential problem to
the customer.
2. The treatment also shifts the focus from what the company offers to how
the customer experience will be improved.
3. The treatment reduces as much of the mental cost associated with
downloading the content as possible.
Key observations

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How much does
this piece of
content cost?
Observation #3. Reduced cost

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Mental Costs:
1. Effort – First, it takes
psychological effort to
give up personal
information.
2. Anxiety – There is also
psychological concern
associated with the
action of providing
information online.
Observation #3. Reduced cost

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• In the treatment, we
reduced the number of
form fields to the least
amount needed.
• We also reworded the
messaging around the
privacy policy from “By
submitting your
information, you are
agreeing to our privacy
policy” to “Your personal
information is protected by
our Privacy Policy.”
Observation #3. Reduced cost

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• In the treatment, we
reduced the number of
form fields to the least
amount needed.
• We also reworded the
messaging around the
privacy policy from “By
submitting your
information, you are
agreeing to our privacy
policy” to “Your personal
information is protected by
our Privacy Policy.”
Observation #3. Reduced cost
Free content is not without cost. For every action
that you ask the customer to take, the customer
performs a mental, often subconscious, operation:
Is the value equal to or greater than the cost?

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Are the images connecting to the story of the customer?
Do your images illustrate the problem or the solution you are offering?
Is your copy customer-centric? Is it focused on what the customer is getting?
Does the copy talk about your company in such a way that it is connected to the
resulting customer experience?
Do you have any unnecessary form fields? Can you remove any?
Have you addressed the anxiety around giving up personal information?
Checklist for leveraging content

26. Live optimization

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