3 Ways to Build a Sustainable Growth Marketing Strategy

In times of economic uncertainty, many businesses are continuing to cut budgets and save where they can — particularly limiting their investment in paid media. For growth marketers, this can be a scary time as declining brand investment can lead to diminishing returns. Plus, the money you do put into ad spend may not go as far, leading to little incremental growth and faster pipeline decline. 

But all hope is not lost. 2023 is the year of sustainable growth. Instead of eliminating your budget altogether or blindly investing in channels that don’t work, redistribute your spend towards these 3 key strategies that will help you achieve paid media efficiency and recession-proof your brand. 

1. Build strategic partnerships.

For performance marketers, influencer marketing is often an overlooked growth channel. But as an industry worth $21.1 billion in 2023, influencer marketing is no longer just a top-of-funnel strategy. Today, creators are actively driving bottom-of-funnel actions for brands, allowing brands to generate an average of $5.78 in revenue for each $1 invested in influencer marketing — with some seeing as much as $18! 

As you adjust paid media efficiency, build strategic partnerships with creators to reach your brand’s unique goals in a sustainable way. But remember, not all creators serve the same purpose. Some creators are excellent content creators, some are powerhouse salespeople, and others are extremely helpful in your advertising push. Segment creators by their superpower to play to their strengths. And because influencer marketing is scalable, you’ll be able to reach your goals in an efficient, profitable way. 

Even if you’re working with a shoestring budget, there are still many impactful ways to work with creators without breaking the bank. 

For example, influencer-affiliate campaigns can be a cost-effective way to drive sales at a greater scale. Brands typically pay affiliates only for the conversions that they drive, but by setting up fair incentives, such as a 10-30% commission, influencers are motivated to continue creating quality content and generating sales for you. For a deeper dive into affiliate marketing, check out A Performance Marketer’s Guide to Affiliate Marketing. 

2. Leverage high-converting influencer content. 

The benefits of influencer marketing reach far beyond your initial campaign. A byproduct of your influencer marketing campaign, influencer-generated content (IGC) achieves 2x the engagement of brand-directed content, because it is authentic, eye-catching, and diverse. Plus, IGC provides you with the volume and variance of content needed to boost your ad channels and stretch your budget. 

By repurposing IGC in your ads, you can personalize your ad creative with content that resonates with each of your target segments. It’s no surprise that IGC-based ads gain 4x higher click-through rates. This means that by fueling your performance channels with IGC, you can optimize ad spend and maximize conversions. 

Take Ruggable, for example. When running their influencer campaign, the brand closely monitored organic impressions and engagements on their initial influencer posts to identify top-performing content that could be repurposed into paid ads. Because these assets have already proven to be a great media type for that platform and for that audience segment, Ruggable knew it would achieve success as paid ads. So, leveraging Aspire’s built-in allowlisting tool, Ruggable seamlessly turned their high-performing influencer content into allowlisted ads on Instagram and Facebook. 

As a result of repurposing IGC in their ads, Ruggable saw: 

• 32% higher ROAS
• 25% lower CPA
• 63K clicks

3. Cultivate a strong brand community.

At a time when consumers are pulling back on non-essential purchases and prioritizing necessities, brand loyalty and customer validation are crucial to keep your business afloat. The good news is that you likely already have the solution in your arsenal. Enter: your brand community.  

Building a strong, customer-focused brand community can provide you with longevity in terms of value and impact. Customers provide far more than their purchases, as they have the ability to provide social proof for your brand and inspire purchases in others. Not to mention, customers are constantly talking about the brands they love — whether it’s on social media or just in-person to their group of friends. By fostering a meaningful community, you can expect more chatter about your brand both on and offline. This type of advocacy is priceless, particularly in these unprecedented times. While consumers are less trusting of branded messages, 92% of people trust recommendations from friends and family over any other type of advertising. 

So, instead of targeting consumers with ads and other less personal touchpoints, actively engage your community through activations like loyalty programs, in-person events, and more intimate conversations. For more tips on building your brand community, read our article, How to Activate Your Brand Community. 

Re-invest in high-growth strategies.

While we’re navigating a challenging macro-economic environment, there are still several ways to achieve sustainable growth. Invest in strategic partnerships, high-converting content, and your brand community to weather this storm and perhaps even achieve your best results yet. 

Need more actionable tips? Download The Secret to Efficient Growth to learn exactly how brands like Hero Bread, Icon Fitness, and Mountain Rose Herbs supercharge ROI and minimize CAC.