We at Single Grain Marketing understand that increasing brand awareness is a significant part of building revenue. The key is to target leads from social media and drive them down the sales funnel.
We did this with Schumacher Homes. They struggled to build brand awareness on Google, so we invested in a TOFU Meta video campaign. This led to increased brand awareness, more qualified leads, and a decreased CPL.
Still, many brands make the mistake of measuring their success with new followers and social media engagements. Here’s why attention and revenue don’t always align and what to do instead.
Key Highlights
- Going viral doesn’t always lead to more buyers.
- Marketers must approach “going viral” and “increased sales” as two separate goals.
- Single Grain Marketing’s CEO, Eric Siu, posted videos that gained millions of views but didn’t increase revenue.
- This also leads to companies using bad marketing practices, such as parasite SEO and parasitic partnerships.
- Other practices, such as linkable assets, may lead to more backlinks and better domain authority but don’t impact your revenue.
- The key to increasing sales from SEO is to balance visibility with conversion-boosting CTAs.
- Building a brand also takes time, so companies must be consistent when creating content.
- An effective way for brands to build attention that converts to revenue is by focusing on the global economy.
- Businesses can use AI to communicate with customers in another language and target content to individual regions.
- There are still issues to consider, such as international logistics and distribution.
- Since Eric’s viral video content wasn’t leading to sales, he targeted a niche audience that was likely to convert.
- In addition to increasing visibility with content marketing, brands must also optimize for conversions and track sales metrics.
The Misconception: More Views = More Sales
Many entrepreneurs and marketers believe that going viral or amassing a large following will lead to more buyers and increased sales. As data shows, this is often not the case. A study in Ad Age found that while attention can boost brand awareness, it does not guarantee conversions or sales.
Many businesses also make this mistake with their SEO campaigns. Some companies release extensive reports and gather thousands of backlinks, skyrocketing their website traffic. While this increases visibility, it does not necessarily lead to increased revenue.
Why Going Viral Doesn’t Equal Conversions
Many content creators lump “going viral” and “more conversions and sales” together. The truth is that marketers approach both differently. There’s one main reason: no one knows why some posts go viral and others don’t. However, there are measurable tactics to increase sales and conversions; therefore, brands have more control over the latter.
Here are other reasons a viral post doesn’t always result in more sales.
- Unqualified audience: Many viral videos attract a broad audience that is not necessarily interested in your product or service.
- Lack of CTAs: If your viral content doesn’t guide viewers toward a purchasing decision, they won’t take action.
- Mismatched content: Even if a video gets millions of views, it won’t drive sales if it’s not related to your core business offering.
- Engagements are not conversions: Likes, shares, and comments are great for visibility but don’t equate to revenue. The audience may enjoy the content but not be in the market to purchase anything.
Real-Life Cases of Viral Video Content With No Revenue Impact
Single Grain Marketing’s CEO, Eric Siu, posted several videos that hit millions of views. Despite these impressive figures, none of them resulted in direct revenue.
For example, Eric and Neil Patel posted a video about Shake Shack’s free chicken sandwich on Sunday promotion, where they competed with Chick-fil-A. The video gained millions of views but did not contribute to business growth or financial gain.
The Problems When Using SEO to Boost Revenue
To increase traffic and revenue, many businesses make the mistake of using parasite SEO. This strategy leverages high-authority websites to rank content quickly.
Companies partner with authoritative domains to publish content that ranks well on search engines. For example, Forbes has partnered with businesses to create affiliate content that ranks for high-value keywords like “best credit cards” and “top insurance plans.”
A variation of this, known as parasite partnerships, takes this concept a step further. Instead of waiting for organic partnerships, businesses actively seek collaborations with high-domain authority sites to publish their content on subdomains or dedicated pages.
While this can be an effective short-term strategy, search engines often crack down on such tactics, such as when Google penalized Forbes for its affiliate-heavy content.
The Role of Linkable Assets in SEO Growth
Another powerful SEO strategy involves creating linkable assets like statistics-based articles and trend reports.
Brian Dean, founder of Backlinko, successfully implemented this approach with his platform, Exploding Topics. Both companies created content-rich pages with statistics and other valuable insights that naturally attracted backlinks from reputable sources. This established both companies as authoritative in the eyes of Google since
For instance, “AI statistics” generated over 760 referring domains, while “gen Z statistics” amassed over 220. These statistics-driven articles established Exploding Topics as a trusted authority, ultimately leading to its acquisition with SEMrush.
While increasing website traffic through linkable assets is beneficial, it doesn’t always translate to higher revenue. Businesses should focus on targeting keywords that drive conversions rather than just boosting page views. Metrics like engagement, lead generation, and conversion rates are more valuable than raw traffic numbers.
Understanding the Long-Term Value of SEO Strategies
While tactics like parasite SEO and linkable assets can drive short-term traffic, sustainable growth requires a well-rounded SEO approach. The key is to balance brand visibility with revenue-driving strategies.
For example, while statistics-based articles bring in backlinks, they may not convert readers into paying customers. Instead, companies should optimize their main product pages and core service offerings to rank higher for money keywords—terms directly related to their products and services.
Moreover, improving your domain authority can boost rankings for high-intent keywords, further strengthening a brand’s digital presence.
The best way to do this is by using tried-and-true SEO tactics: creating high-quality content that’s interesting and helpful to your audience. This dual brand-building approach and direct conversion optimization can create a robust SEO strategy to establish your brand as authoritative for the long term.
The Importance of Consistency and Niche Content
Neil emphasized that building a brand takes time. He and Eric compared content marketing to exercising: if you stop, you lose progress. Neil advises marketers to post content consistently, focusing on their target audience’s needs rather than chasing viral trends.
Why is this important? Consistently posting and appealing to your niche establishes authority. You’re seen as more knowledgeable in your industry and become a reliable information source. This results in higher engagement rates; since two-thirds of a brand’s profits come from effective consumer engagement, this boosts sales and customer loyalty.
The takeaway? Staying within your niche and creating valuable, targeted content is more effective than seeking viral fame.
Increasing Revenue in a Global Economy
Source: Statista
There are other ways that brands can use online attention to benefit their bottom line. One is using content to expand your consumer base outside your home country.
A crucial shift in modern marketing is the move from local to global outreach. Businesses today are not confined to their immediate geographic area. With advancements in digital marketing, companies can scale internationally from day one.
Still, brands must promote their products and services when appealing to a worldwide audience. Fortunately, that’s easier than you think. Platforms like Upwork and Fiverr have shown how talent and services can be sourced worldwide. Likewise, businesses can now acquire customers from any country, provided they optimize their marketing and sales strategies accordingly.
How can you promote your products and services in another country when you may not speak the language? AI is helping brands overcome this obstacle.
Breaking Language Barriers with AI Translation
Expanding a business into international markets requires more than a great product–it demands an understanding of language and culture.
While SEO is critical for global expansion, traditional SEO strategies may not work similarly in different regions. Some tactics are still important, such as ranking for local keywords, localizing content, and building regional links. However, businesses must adapt their approach to local search behaviors, keywords, and domain authority.
AI-powered tools like ChatGPT have revolutionized how businesses communicate across borders. These tools are revolutionary for multilingual communication and breaking down language barriers.
For example, AI-powered tools can help translate and transcribe content for different regions. Neil also recommends applying an hreflang to your website to target audiences in specific countries.
It’s important to note that while AI can provide a good foundation, human oversight is essential to ensure cultural relevance and accuracy. AI-generated translations can sometimes miss nuances, so it’s crucial to have a native speaker refine the text to fit the local audience. This hybrid approach enhances engagement and trust in new markets.
Eric was also able to use AI translation in Japan. He took ChatGPT and used it to translate between English and Japanese for real-time voice translation. While the translations weren’t instant, they were fast enough to facilitate a meaningful conversation, proving AI’s capabilities to break language barriers.
Navigating International Logistics: Manufacturing and Distribution
Source: Sumisho Global Logistics
Beyond language, businesses must consider where to manufacture their products when expanding globally.
Global business is nothing new, especially regarding manufacturing and distribution. However, a common mistake is producing everything in one country and shipping internationally, which can lead to excessive costs. Instead, businesses should explore local production options to reduce shipping expenses and comply with regional regulations.
Neil discussed Legion Athletics, a company his friend owns that sells protein powder. This company faced challenges when expanding into Australia and Japan. Shipping protein powder internationally can be prohibitively expensive, and a more cost-effective approach would be to manufacture the product locally. This cuts down expenses and ensures compliance with local food safety standards.
Similarly, businesses must account for currency exchange rates, which can impact profitability. Understanding local economic conditions can significantly affect pricing strategies and overall revenue.
Pivoting to a Revenue-Driven Strategy
After realizing his viral video content wasn’t giving him a return, Eric adjusted his strategy. Instead of focusing on general-interest topics, he shifted his content toward business and marketing insights.
Eric no longer interviews celebrities or influencers unrelated to his industry. He now prioritizes discussions with entrepreneurs and marketers who can add direct value to his audience. This benefitted Eric and his brands in different ways. He strengthened his relationships with these industry figures and converted more viewers.
Although this change led to fewer views, it attracted the right audience—potential clients and partners. Engagement shifted from vanity metrics (likes and shares) to meaningful interactions that led to business opportunities. Since these clients enjoy his content, they have a greater chance of being loyal customers.
Actionable Steps for Marketers
Increasing brand visibility is the first step in the revenue-boosting roadmap. However, brands must also implement these marketing best practices to remain competitive.
- Define your target audience: Understand who you are trying to reach and create content that resonates with them.
- Optimize your content for conversions: Include CTAs that guide viewers toward purchasing decisions.
- Focus on long-term growth: Avoid chasing viral status. Build consistent, valuable content that attracts the right audience.
- Leverage global markets: Target international customers and optimize your digital presence in other regions.
- Track metrics that matter: Instead of just looking at views, measure engagement, lead generation, and conversion rates.
Build Attention That Leads to Revenue
An agency can only increase revenue by building brand awareness and visibility. But going viral doesn’t always lead to increased sales. Instead, brands should focus on marketing and SEO strategies that boost conversions.
What if your content gets millions of views, but you’re still not seeing a revenue boost? This is where we can help. With our conversion rate optimization service, we can implement an AI-driven campaign that will boost your ROI while improving your ROAS.
Click here to learn more.
If you’re ready to level up your marketing with AI workflows, Single Grain’s marketing experts can help!👇
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FAQs About Attention and Revenue
What is the attention economy?
The attention economy is a trend in which content creators treat engagements as profit. With this method, marketers have only one end goal: to capture as much attention as possible.
What are examples of attention economy in marketing?
There are right and wrong ways that companies use the attention economy in their marketing campaigns. Many companies make the mistake of creating content, such as a YouTube video, and only focus on vanity metrics like views and how many minutes they watch a video. While these metrics are helpful, they don’t impact your revenue.
Here’s the right way to use the attention economy to boost revenue:
- Gating content behind a paywall as “priority access.”
- Using personalization to target a niche customer (as what’s commonly done in ABM).
- Creating post-conversion content to maximize support and guidance, boosting customer retention rates.
How can I use attention marketing while staying competitive?
Since consumers have limited attention, it can feel like agencies are fighting with each other to gain the most visibility. Instead of only focusing on going viral, focus on profits and what you must do to convert your audience. And the way to do that is simple: offer high-quality and valuable products and services.
Why is it essential to create content that boosts revenue?
Content marketing offers many benefits, such as building authority, increasing brand awareness, driving traffic, and establishing credibility. This can lead to increased revenue, but only if you know how to target a customer’s pain points and give them actionable steps to convert.
How can I create an advertising strategy that boosts revenue?
An excellent advertising strategy can improve brand awareness and impressions, but the key is to include a powerful CTA that will inspire a viewer to take action.
If you were unable to find the answer you’ve been looking for, do not hesitate to get in touch and ask us directly.
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