social media

Case Study: NEXT with TIGER 21: Launched a Top 25% Podcast, Drove 760% Increase in Brand Impressions

Launched TIGER 21 to Top 25% of Podcasts with Titans of Business and World-Changing Entrepreneurs

About: TIGER 21 is the premier peer membership organization for ultra successful entrepreneurs, investors, and executives.

Client: TIGER 21 (tiger21.com)

Industry: Mastermind, Business, Investing.
TIGER 21 is the world’s premier Ultra-High-Net-Worth Peer Membership Group

Service: Podcast Strategy, Production, and Marketing by Beetle Moment Marketing led by voice marketing expert Emily Binder

Objective: Launch and establish the 'NEXT with TIGER 21' podcast as a premier show featuring world-class guests and content tailored to ultra-high-net-worth investors. Ultimately this content marketing will drive impressions and brand awareness about TIGER 21 to attract new Members.

Ranked #7 Podcast for CEOs (Entrepreneur.com)

Introduction

TIGER 21 is an exclusive global community of ultra-high-net-worth entrepreneurs, investors, and executives who are focused on preserving wealth and creating meaningful legacies. As a peer-learning network, TIGER 21 facilitates deep, impactful discussions on wealth preservation (featuring portfolio defense), investment strategies, family dynamics, estate planning, and philanthropy.

Hear more about Founder Michael Sonnenfeldt’s story behind founding this flagship group for successful entrepreneurs in the 2-minute NEXT with TIGER 21 podcast trailer.

What is TIGER 21? Learn more in this video: Behind The Scenes Of The Billionaires' Mastermind (TIGER 21) | Michael Sonnenfeldt Interview

The project: In Q4-2023, TIGER 21 engaged Beetle Moment to create a strategy, podcast brand, and production and marketing plan to launch the NEXT with TIGER 21 podcast. This show is aimed at providing Members and the broader audience of investors and prospects with insights from some of the world’s most influential leaders in business and entrepreneurship — both famous moguls as well as more under-the-radar success stories (like Episode 3: “Libby Connolly Alexander: Taking a Family Business from Millions to Billions”.)

Challenge

NEXT with TIGER 21 podcast launched in May 2024, produced and marketed by Beetle Moment

TIGER 21 had never ventured into podcasting but has a strong and well-respected brand recognized in entrepreneurial and finance circles for decades from word of mouth, media / PR, and Founder Michael Sonnenfeldt’s television appearances on CNBC, and more.

As a famous brand TIGER 21 has healthy followings on social media, including 25,000 LinkedIn followers and 3.3k on X (numbers as of August 2024).

The TIGER marketing team wanted to create engaging social content to showcase their Members, featuring more video clips and Shorts with consistent sharing. They needed a partner to handle every aspect of podcast creation and marketing, from strategy and production to promotion and analysis. They also wanted fresh, compelling social media content including copywriting and effective techniques for LinkedIn and X to grow organically.

The goal was to build a show that not only attracted listeners but also established a strong brand presence across multiple platforms, including YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and importantly: social media (LinkedIn and X). The team wanted greater brand awareness, visibility online, and education about what makes TIGER 21 so special: their Members.

Solution

Beetle Moment Marketing stepped in to provide a full-service solution, leveraging our expertise in podcast production, digital marketing, social media marketing, and SEO. We designed and executed a content strategy that included:

1) Full Video Podcast Production: End-to-end management of recording, editing, and publishing audio and video clips from remote Riverside recordings with host Michael Sonnenfeldt and guests. This included tech checks and detailed guest equipment guides as well as recommended gear and guidance to ensure smooth recording experiences even for inexperienced guests joining remotely, thanks to our on-call producer.

Here are a couple screen grabs from the customized gear and recording guides we created, including links to the best user-friendly podcast mics and webcams (shop our Gear List here):

We mastered and optimized audio along with creating new sonic branding (theme music). For the video clips we follow Emily Binder’s Buffalo Marketing (use everything), featuring the best highlights from guests like Dylan Taylor, Howard Morgan, Perianne Boring, David Jaffe and more. All clips on YouTube here.

NEXT with TIGER 21 podcast home page (voice content hub): https://tiger21.com/podcast/

2) SEO and Content Marketing: Optimized the podcast for discoverability using targeted keywords like 'Howard Morgan investor,' 'TIGER 21,' and 'best podcast company.' We created a YouTube Playlist for NEXT with TIGER 21 Clips, geared for YouTube SEO featuring all the horizontal and vertical clips (Shorts). We provided copywriting, layout, and widgets to optimize and create the podcast home page: tiger21.com/podcast.

3) Multi-Platform Distribution: Ensured the podcast was available on all major platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube with cilps shared on YouTube Shorts, X, and LinkedIn along with compelling custom-written captions and post text.

4) Storytelling: We scripted intros and a Trailer to tell the story of TIGER 21 and Founder / Host Michael Sonnenfeldt. Play the Season 1 Trailer:

5) Social Media Promotion: Launched a strong podcast presence on LinkedIn, X, and Instagram, engaging the target audience with clips, quotes, and highlights from each episode as well as guest tagging and engagement.

Check out clips on TIGER 21’s YouTube playlist:

How we optimize podcast videos and Shorts on YouTube:

YouTube description tip: add links to related videos or playlists. Helps SEO and UX.

  1. Write a compelling AND search-friendly video title. Example YouTube Shorts titles with names and hashtags:

    1. "Washington bet against me." -Perianne Boring #femalefounders #entrepreneur #cryptocurrency

    2. “David Jaffe: How my dad prepared me for CEO: Dressbarn / Ascena Retail. #fortune500 #familybusiness”

  2. Write user-friendly SEO descriptions including: keyword-rich text (such as “family business” or “generational wealth” or “Howard Morgan”, add clickable timestamps / chapters, and always finish with boilerplate website, podcast subscribe, and social media follow links).

    1. Example: "After My Exit, I Became the Wrong Kind of Investor" - David Jaffe, Ascena Retail Group

  3. Bonus: we add links to related videos or playlists - see image to the right/above (example)

  4. Graphics: create custom thumbnails on horizontal videos (mid-length clips) optimized for mobile view and scrolling

  5. SEO playlist setup:

YouTube Content and Results:

Before NEXT with TIGER 21, the channel published videos periodically but was not consistently active or strategic. We dropped the audio podcast bi-weekly on Wednesdays and published six videos to YouTube at the same time (with six episodes airing over twelve weeks).

Video Content:

  • 36 video clips plus one bonus clip = 37 total videos (from six one-hour audio podcasts)

  • Published the channel’s first Shorts, opening for discovery from a much larger audience

  • Created a podcast Playlist for handy marketing, listener nav, and easy embedding on tiger21.com/podcast

Results on YouTube:

  • 760% increase in brand impressions the first week following 5/15/2024 launch

Three months after podcast launch: during 5/15/2024-8/15/2024:

  • Drove 16,618 views (a 744% increase over prior period)

  • Drove 172.4 watch hours

  • Added 167 new subscribers to total over 1,123 channel subs

audio podcast Results

These downloads/plays put “NEXT With TIGER 21” in the top 25% of podcasts (Descript and Buzzsprout benchmark source below).

Spotify Performance (since 5/15/2024 launch, as of August 13, 2024 after 6 episodes, full season 1):

  • All-Time Starts: 1,259

  • Impressions (Last 30 Days): 3,839

Apple Podcasts Performance:

  • Plays: 3.8k

  • Hours Listened: 382

  • Subscription Rate: 80% of listeners follow the show (this is very high)

We published a Trailer and six 1-hour episodes in Season 1, on a bi-weekly cadence. Compared to weekly drops, bi-weekly is a more challenging schedule to establish a new following since the episodes are more spread out. However we chose more spacing for strategic reasons, such as giving breathing room for the six video clips to have max reach without being overshadowed, and without over-posting along with TIGER 21’s other marketing content.

Every S1 episode of NEXT with TIGER 21 surpassed the Top 25% of Podcasts benchmark for downloads within its first week. Podcast stats are notoriously nuanced, but here’s the source data:

If you want hard numbers about podcast downloads, current Buzzsprout data suggests that a top 25% podcast will have 120 downloads in the first seven days after the episode is published, whereas a top 5% podcast will have 1,120 and a top 1% will have just under 5,000 downloads in that timeframe. -Descript

Most Popular Audio Podcast Episode: Howard Morgan’s episode #1 achieved over 1,400 plays on Apple Podcasts in its first few weeks, making it the standout performer of Season 1. For a brand new podcast this is a great result.

Conclusion

The NEXT with TIGER 21 podcast, under Beetle Moment Marketing’s guidance, has quickly established itself as a must-listen show for entrepreneurs and ultra-high-net-worth individuals, as the topics that Michael Sonnenfeldt tackled with guests cover the key aspects of growing and selling a business, managing dynamics of a successful family business, and living a meaningful life after an exit or liquidity event.

By combining top-tier guest selection with expert production and marketing, we have positioned TIGER 21 as a leading voice in the world of entrepreneurship and investment.

To explore how Beetle Moment Marketing can elevate your podcast or digital marketing strategy, contact us today.

Featured social media video clips we created for TIGER 21:

LinkedIn copywriting and video clips:

Samples of X post copywriting and video clips:

Summary: TIGER 21 wanted to launch a podcast to showcase the extraordinary business stories of their Members. We produced and marketed, edited, and guided the show from soup to nuts. In episode 1 Howard Morgan revealed his inimitable career. In episode 2 the world’s leading solar developer Martin Hermann shared his story from a German apprenticeship to a software exit to Intel then founding BrightNight that can power 20 million buildings with clean energy. Episode 3 guest Libby Connolly Alexander shared her story of her father’s startup in retail audit recovery growning to a retail and health tech auditing firm recovering $2 billion annually and recently valued at $11 billion after a private equity sale. Plus much more.

We were thrilled to work with TIGER 21 and host Michael Sonnenfeldt to launch this limited podcast series showcasing TIGER Members’ as the impressive titans of entrepreneurship and business they are.

Case Study: California Retirement Advisors (CRA) - Social Media and Video Content Strategy Success

Client Background:

California Retirement Advisors (CRA), also known as CRA Advisors, is a leading financial advisory firm based in California, committed to providing personalized retirement planning services to its clients.

Client's Challenge:

When CRA engaged with Beetle Moment Marketing approximately two years ago, they faced several challenges in their marketing efforts:

needing a Marketing leader and a plan:

Without a clear marketing strategy or priorities, CRA struggled to stand out in the competitive financial advisory space. Webinars and campaigns were happening in a one-off nature and they wanted to plan ahead on a quarterly basis targeting both evergreen and seasonal topics, e.g. year-end tax tips in Q1 or tax preparation in Q1.

Inefficient Resource Allocation:

CRA was overspending on redundant tools, software-as-a-service (SaaS) products, and underutilized resources, impacting their marketing budget and ROI. The list of tools and subscriptions needed to be trimmed in order to be efficient and cost-effective. Various vendors were running SEM and SEO campaigns but not reporting on results; there was too much unmonitored activity across contractors without a dedicated resource to hold all accountable and track progress.

Lacking social media Presence and optimized blog content:

CRA had a blog but it was not optimized for search and keywords. Its publishing schedule lacked a strategic approach and schedule. In fact, the blog had too much wide-ranging content without writing for their target avatar (ideal client). This bulk posting approach hurt their SERP rankings for subject matter expertise from a Google search perspective. They wanted to rank for terms related to California taxes and estate planning for successful people nearing or in retirement.

Their minimal social media presence was missing the opportunity to grow their audience and brand awareness, and to showcase the friendly, intelligent advisors on their team. The blog, email, and social content read as somewhat canned and not personalized or reflective of the high-touch thoughtful nature of their team and the financial planning experience that delights their clients.

Our Approach:

Beetle Moment Marketing initiated a comprehensive marketing engagement and we created a strategy to address CRA's challenges and elevate their marketing efforts. The process began with our signature Brand Strategy and Messaging - Discovery Phase, which included stakeholder interviews to gain insights into CRA's business goals, existing marketing strategies, and areas for improvement.

We charted out all marketing expenditures and results in a single dashboard (a source of truth) and found areas to save CRA money without impacting results. Through this phase, we identified cost-saving opportunities, resulting in a 20% reduction in CRA's marketing spend by eliminating redundant tools and optimizing resources. Within three months engagement had increased 64% and spend was down.

Most importantly, we applied the branding and messaging creative to an operationalized approach to streamline and organize sharing content on social media, email, blog, and YouTube.

Our team operationalized content marketing with a strategic milestone-based timeline resulting in efficient batch delivery of content to the compliance team.


Key Actions:

1. Strategic Resource Allocation:

Beetle Moment Marketing sourced and managed two freelance marketing hires—one specializing in social media content creation and the other in SEO and website updates. This strategic allocation of resources ensured that CRA's marketing needs were efficiently met while optimizing their budget. The new social media resource was more expensive but created more engaging and effective content, driving over a 300% increase in engagement the first year.

We planned, produced, and recorded YouTube and social media videos about topics the target audience of pre-retirees would search for, e.g. HSA (Health Savings Account) and healthcare costs

2. Content Strategy Enhancement:

We devised seasonal financial content themes for CRA's social media platforms, focusing on engaging and informative content. This included guiding the content writer on optimizing YouTube and social media short-form videos to maximize audience engagement.

Off-site SEO strategy for CRA included Google Maps / Google My Business listing hygiene

3. Personalized Video Content Production:

We produced Riverside video recordings featuring CRA team members, highlighting their financial advice expertise. These recordings were edited into engaging social media videos, enriching CRA's brand presence and fostering audience connection.

4. Introducing Content Themes:

Beetle Moment Marketing introduced distinct content themes, such as "Core Definitions," to simplify complex financial concepts like Stretch IRA and See-Through Trust, making them more accessible to CRA's audience. We also grouped their YouTube videos into SEO-friendly YouTube Playlists.

5. Thematic and Topical Posts:

Beetle Moment Marketing created thematic and topical posts addressing important financial topics such as HSAs and healthcare costs in retirement, further establishing CRA as a trusted source of information.

Instagram grid for California Retirement Advisors mixes IG Reels and engaging graphics. We showcase their advisors and tax tips.

Results:

Significant Increase in Engagement:

In October 2023, CRA experienced a remarkable 204% increase in social media engagements compared to October 2022, showcasing the effectiveness of Beetle Moment Marketing's strategies.

optimized Video Format:

A/B testing of various video formats, including long-form widescreen for YouTube, square videos for social media, and one-minute vertical Reels and YouTube shorts, helped optimize content delivery and enhance audience interaction.

Boosted Overall Social Media Engagement Rate:

In November 2023, CRA achieved a 6.3% overall social media engagement rate, marking a significant 146% increase over the previous year.

Consistent Growth:

Throughout 2023, CRA witnessed consistent growth in engagements on YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and X, reaping the benefits of the organic work and efforts invested in both 2022 and 2023 content.

Their email marketing open rate and click rates each increased by over 14% YoY thanks to our updated email template design and content guidance.

See our work (multimedia showcase):

Samples of the content we created for California Retirement Advisors:

See Maili's YouTube Playlist on Financial Education

Conclusion:

Beetle Moment Marketing's collaboration with California Retirement Advisors exemplifies the transformative power of a strategic social media and video content approach. By implementing tailored strategies, optimizing resources, and fostering engaging content creation, CRA witnessed substantial growth in brand presence and audience engagement, positioning them as a prominent player in the competitive financial advisory landscape.

For more information on how Beetle Moment can elevate your marketing efforts, see our services or send us a message.

Case Study: Content Marketing + Alexa Voice Strategy for UX Design Agency - Nine Labs

Nine Labs is an Atlanta-based user experience and product design firm with clients including major airlines, hotels, and startups.

The problem:

With years of blog posts, podcasts, videos, white papers, and ebooks there was plenty of content but no strategic method to effectively share it on social media. Potential traffic and leads were left on the table. Nine Labs wanted to organize and share all their content to increase engagement, brand recognition, and ultimately leads.

Nine Labs: Made with ❤️in Atlanta, GA


Nine Labs: Made with ❤️in Atlanta, GA

The solution:

We created a robust social media marketing strategy and guide to help Nine Labs with content marketing. We also launched an Alexa Flash Briefing to establish a voice presence in the UX design category. Then we provided ongoing guidance in implementing, empowering their in-house team to manage it.

Custom Content Marketing Strategy

Goals:

  1. Increase blog traffic

  2. Increase leads

  3. Increase social engagement

  4. Establish voice presence on Alexa

Strategy characteristics:

  • Content buckets and monthly themes based on Nine Labs’ driving principles from 4 Steps to a Human Centered Business Model

  • Specific guidelines to create social posts (text, graphics, video, and audiograms) for different social channels including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn - each with different goals and slightly different audiences

  • Introduction of audiograms

    • Guidelines on creating effective, short audiograms for Instagram and Twitter by repurposing past podcast and YouTube video content

Audiogram for Instagram (static image with 1-minute audio and captions)

Audiogram for Instagram (static image with 1-minute audio and captions)

Alexa Skills search ranking in app for “UX design” keywords - Nine Labs Flash Briefing

Alexa Skills search ranking in app for “UX design” keywords - Nine Labs Flash Briefing

  • Brand separation from executive profile: Clarity and direction on content strategy for CEO (and helluva smart guy) J Cornelius’s personal brand and the Nine Labs brand

  • Strategy and launch of Design Driven, an Alexa Flash Briefing about UX and product

    Fact: Design-driven companies outperform the S&P by 228%.

    Interested in the intersection of business, design, UX, and product development? Enable this daily briefing about using design to build great products and lasting companies.

  • Repurposing and repackaging high quality content instead of starting from scratch, saving the client time

  • Optimize lead magnet forms on blog and website

  • Strategically drive traffic to lead magnets, downloadable PDFs, and blog

  • Optimized Alexa Flash Briefing keywords, description, and daily content. Hear past briefings below:

Results of 8-week marketing engagement:

Obsess over your customers. #uxdesign

Obsess over your customers. #uxdesign

  • Increase in social engagements:

    • Facebook up 21%

    • Instagram up 893% (from 312 to 3,100)

    • Twitter up 178%

    • LinkedIn from 0 to 48 average weekly engagements

  • Increased blog traffic and leads from social

  • VOICE SEARCH OPTIMIZATION: Within two weeks, ranked on page 1 , top three results of Alexa Skills search results for terms including “ux”, “product design,” and “ux design”

  • Empowered marketing team to efficiently run with this strategy on their own

“Emily has an incisive mind about marketing and how voice is rapidly changing the landscape. She worked hard to find the right use of the technology without compromising quality or our brand message.”
— J Cornelius, Founder and President, Nine Labs

Why We Love Nine Labs

If you need guidance on designing a digital product, we recommend J Cornelius and his ace team at Nine Labs. Hands down, they’re the best. Nine Labs understands design and how it fits into business as a whole. They also run killer workshops and training.

Get the best thinking from startups and enterprise to give your projects the support to succeed. https://ninelabs.com/

Case Study: Fintech - Social Media Strategy for Global Payments Provider (Remittance)

The problem:

Screen Shot 2019-04-22 at 4.49.36 PM.png

A successful fintech company with a monopoly on maritime payments had little to no brand presence on social media. As part of a brand overhaul and website update, we began a strategic effort to build the professional brand and thought leadership presence. As an award-winning fintech, this client wanted their LinkedIn and Twitter presence to reflect their commitment to democratizing global payments with innovative technology. Also important to convey: healthy culture and a great place to work with people who care.

beetle-moment-case-study-linkedin-fintech-social-media-growth-chart.png

The solution:

We focused on three audiences: local business and fintech, job seekers and candidates, and current employees. Through content marketing, hands-on daily management, and community building, after six months we had great results:

Objectives:

  • Post consistently on LinkedIn and Twitter (@BrightwellApp)

  • Increase overall social engagement rate

  • Grow followers

  • Establish a presence as subject matter experts and a source of industry updates

Organic growth - fintech brand Twitter account

Organic growth - fintech brand Twitter account

July-December 2018 Organic Follower Growth:

  • 4x increase - Twitter

  • 57% increase - LinkedIn

Tactics - content we shared and promoted:

  • Variety of topical articles from quality industry publications and users

    • Add commentary and insights for original viewpoint

  • Tag engaged users and authors

  • Behind the scenes photos (conferences, events, office culture)

  • Relief campaigns for disaster relief in users’ home countries such as Indonesia

  • Job posts

  • Twitter: Built original Lists to curate quality content faster

LinkedIn Followers (Organic)

Brightwell began with 1,085 followers. After our work, they had about 5,000 followers and a 201% increase in monthly page views.
Relief campaign for natural disaster: went viral organically on Twitter

Relief campaign for natural disaster: went viral organically on Twitter

LinkedIn and Twitter:

  • We established consistent brand presence beginning in July 2018

  • We created steady organic follower growth

  • What happened?

    • LinkedIn post engagement:

      • Before our work: 2%

      • After two months: 19%

Case Study: Fintech App Adoption: Facebook Advertising for Brightwell Payments

We launched an organic and paid social media strategy from ground zero, resulting in over a 110% increase in app MAU (monthly active users) in 2018.

About Brightwell:

Brightwell is an Atlanta-based fintech company offering end-to-end payment solutions through cutting edge technology and unparalleled support, serving cruise lines such as Carnival Cruise Lines, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Costa, Princess, and AIDA.

End Users (Audience for Ads):

Cruise crew members and seafarers who live all over the world, concentrated in Indonesia, Philippines, and India. Many of these seafarers are unbanked or underbanked. They work on ship for months at a time and travel to their home countries in between.

Carnival Cruise employees are paid through Brightwell.

Carnival Cruise employees are paid through Brightwell.

Our Goal:

Educate and increase app adoption among a user base largely unfamiliar with digital payments, credit cards, and banking. Change habits from mainly cash and ATM use to online transfers within the Brightwell Navigator app.

Challenges:

  • Language barriers

  • Technology barriers (many crew lack experience with online banking)

  • Spotty and slow Wi-Fi onboard ship

  • High turnover of active crew

  • Crew’s mistrust of payments providers due to past negative experiences

  • Cash-centric cultures such as Philippines

Strategy:

Facebook and Instagram advertising targeting crew members, encouraging app install and adoption through features and benefits as well as persona-based messaging.

We created customer personas (AKA avatars) for each nationality on ship because culture plays a key role in relationships with money, both emotionally and logistically when it comes to banking.

Year 1 of Facebook Advertising:

launch, test, iterate, optimize, repeat

Results:

  • Over 110% increase in MAU (monthly active users)

  • Decreased CPI (cost per app install) to one-tenth that of the benchmark / goal

  • Optimized CPC and CTR with over 60% and 35% improvement, respectively

Brightwell remains a client as they continue to establish themselves as a major player in the payments space and one of the fastest growing companies in Transaction Alley (Atlanta’s fintech ecosystem).

Details available upon request.