Curiosity and Marketing: 3 quick case studies with results

This article was originally published in the MarketingSherpa email newsletter.

“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious,” Albert Einstein said.

The heart and soul of marketing is communicating with other people. Which is why an eager desire to learn about others’ concerns and interests is a key attribute of the successful marketer, as we discuss in our latest podcast excerpt:

To help spark your curiosity about the people your brand serves, in this article we bring you three stories.

First, the Discover Long Island team’s curiosity led them to launch two new social media accounts. Then, a solopreneur’s curiosity leads to a new podcast that helps build his agency’s email list. And finally, fulfilling unmet needs helps a new website get to page 1 of a Google SERP (search engine results page).

Quick Case Study #1: Discover Long Island launches two TikTok accounts, gains more than 80,000 followers

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when people all over the globe were sheltering in place, Discover Long Island decided to join what has become a national pastime of creating and sharing TikTok videos.

The team believed it would be a great way to reach an engaged audience and promote the destination marketing and leadership organization’s partners during a time when the travel and tourism industry was devastated by COVID-19 and advertising and marketing budgets were suspended. The organization knew it had to be creative in how it was promoting the region’s destinations, so it decided to launch two separate TikTok accounts: one that faced consumers (@LongIslandNewYork) and another that focused on B2B promotion (@DiscoverLongIsland). The team’s goal was to make this destination marketing organization (DMO) the ultimate influencer.

Creative Sample #1: Discover Long Island video on Tik Tok

When these accounts first launched, the organization was unsure of how successful they would be. “However, due to our strategy, Discover Long Island has grown a tremendous following (74,200 followers on Long Island New York and over 6,200 on Discover Long Island), was named the winner of U.S. Travel Association’s 2021 ESTO Award for Best Social Media Campaign, and we now consider the platform to be an integral part of our marketing strategy,” said Kristen Reynolds, President and CEO, Discover Long Island.

How the DMO uses the app has also evolved. In the beginning, its biggest priority was developing a marketing plan that would lead to high engagement. Now that the team has established a loyal following, the spotlight has shifted towards utilizing the app for paid promotion.

“Because TikTok allows us to highlight all the aspects of what we love about our destination as well as shine a spotlight on our small businesses, our partners have reported an increase in their own social following as well as an increase in their businesses after the release of one of our posts,” Reynolds said.

This additional exposure comes at a time when small businesses are still recovering from the impact of the pandemic, so the team’s curiosity not only helped achieve a marketing result, but it also impacted the lives of small business owners and employees across the region.

Case Study #2: Law firm marketing agency adds more than 1,000 subscribers to its email list by launching a podcast

In 2020, Brendan Kelso of Legalsites was considering a new content marketing strategy. The law graduate from the University of Newcastle wanted to share his expertise and attract new work.

“There’s a lot of mistrust in this industry. It’s understandable. Too many people are doing the wrong thing. So, I wanted to find a way to break down those walls,” said Kelso, Founder, Legalsites.

Kelso was curious about podcasting and video and decided to create the Better Law Firm Marketing podcast.

Creative Sample #2: Webpage for Australian law firm marketing agency’s podcast

At first, it was an audio and video podcast. “I uploaded to podcast platforms and YouTube,” he said.

But the video format was too-time consuming. So, he stuck with the audio format after a few episodes.

Since launching in 2020, the podcast has helped build rapport with prospects, generated new clients and created many other opportunities.

The podcast helped build his email list. “I promote a free PDF download on every podcast,” Kelso said. Since starting, the list has grown by more than 1,000 subscribers. This might not sound like much, but it is a very niche audience.

“Better Law Firm Marketing is the #1-ranked legal marketing podcast on Apple Podcasts, has been featured on the popular blog ‘Feedspot,’ reaches over 70 countries and has over 50 episodes,” Kelso said.

When I asked Kelso why he thought the podcast strategy was effective for his agency, he cited these reasons:

• Appealed to a niche audience (law firm marketing)
• Optimized the podcast for SEO (e.g., included a keyword in the title, made episodes based off keyword research, created a page on his website for the podcast, etc.)
• Offered a free law firm marketing plan in the episodes to help build his email list
• Interviewed a variety of influential guests to help him tap into their audience.
• Provided high-quality information. “I regularly get emails from my listeners thanking me for helping them with something. They also say they usually have a pen and paper when listening to an episode! The information is very specific and actionable,” he said.

Thinking of starting a podcast for your brand? Kelso advises you try making a few episodes before buying fancy equipment. He also says you don’t need to spend a lot of money on production – just get a decent microphone and get started.

He does offer one production tip though. “Compress your audio. This means the audio will be a consistent volume. Sometimes you’ll speak soft, sometimes you’ll speak loud. Compression flattens the dynamic range. It will make it easier for people to listen in gyms, the car, and other noisy environments. Most audio programs have compression (e.g., GarageBand).”

Case Study #3: Curiosity for a topic helps identify an unmet need, gets a brand-new website to page 1 of a Google SERP

Bowling had long been a hobby for Kris Grey, but it wasn't until late last year that he started to find time to get back into it after a long hiatus. To shortcut his learning, he scoured the internet for tools to help improve his game.

He discovered a lack of tools and most content that he did find was behind a paywall. So, he built his own website and began putting in the time to research topics by talking to experienced bowlers and local pro shops.

A particular topic he found from his research that wasn’t discussed online was bowling ball surface maintenance. As bowling balls get used, their surface changes. To maintain the desired ball reaction on the lanes, bowlers need to scuff or polish the ball back to the desired surface grit.

Grey wrote an article with a decent amount of detail describing this process and what kind of results different surface treatments provided.

“BOOM! My article landed on page 1 of Google within its first month of life,” said Grey, CEO, Friendly Bowler. The article consistently brings in around 200 to 300 visitors every month.

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