How does Gushwork interpret content-led growth in a non-native market?

Summary

To succeed in today's world, having a content-led growth strategy is important. By understanding the evolving landscape of SEO, which is increasingly leveraging the power of AI and human expertise, founders can effectively reach international audiences and drive revenue. Gushwork's approach, which combines data-driven insights with expert guidance, empowers businesses to unlock their full potential in this competitive global market.

How does Gushwork interpret content-led growth in a non-native market?
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How long will people continue to use search? Are we not switching to AI and large language models (LLMs)? It’s the first two questions we asked Nayrhit Bhattacharya, co-founder at Gushwork. 

Nayrhit has heard these questions in the past and like every single seasoned founder before him, he knows how to tackle scepticism. 
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"Every day we see 15% searches involving entirely novel queries. This trend extends beyond Google and to platforms like Perplexity.ai and Meta, which offer alternative points of entry to the internet,” - Nayrhit

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In fact, Gartner predicts that by 2026, traditional search engine volume will drop by 25%, and search marketing will lose market share to AI chatbots and other virtual agents.

How does that help contzent-led growth? Nayhrit believes that as search becomes more conversational and AI-generated text gets commoditised, the truly well-written, researched and carefully articulated piece of content is what will be prioritised by the algorithms. The scope of content-led growth will only grow as time rolls on, he explains. 

He founded Gushwork in 2023, the company promises to “increase relevant eyeballs on your website with targeted, quality blogs written by human content writers” in conjunction with its advanced AI SEO platform. Its primary customer base are companies looking to grow their businesses outside their native markets. 

Gushwork’s journey can be a valuable learning opportunity for founders trying to adopt a content-led growth strategy. Nayrhit, in this candid conversation, discusses the evolving landscape of content delivery and how founders can experiment with different modes of engagement to reach the right audience. 

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‍Crafting a winning content strategy
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Content-led growth is an imperative to businesses today because it allows them to connect with their audience in a more meaningful and authentic way. In this era of reduced attention spans, high quality content is the way for businesses to drive organic growth. It goes beyond search rankings and website traffic, and if implemented well, can be the driving force to generate and maintain leads that result in revenue growth.

Nayrhit recommends these broad strategies to win at the content growth game:

• Data-driven approach: “Search is a reflection of the real world. If you're struggling to rank on search, you most likely struggle to get customers in the real world as well, unless you do something really novel," Nayrhit says. Utilise data analytics and search trends to understand your target audience and tailor your content.
• Channel-market fit: It is important to recognise how your business gets conversions. Evaluate which channels, such as SEO, social media, or email marketing, align best with your business goals and target audience.
• Distribution channels: The most effective content distribution channels depend on the business’ target audience and the stage of the funnel. For businesses seeking quick feedback, paid channels such as Google Ads can be effective. However, as the business matures, organic channels like SEO become valuable.

Leveraging AI with a human touch
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Even though it has a powerful AI-based platform, Gushwork views human intervention, especially for founders looking at cross-border growth, as crucial, especially in highly regulated areas such as healthcare and finance. "The first principles still hold across industries," emphasises Nayrhit.
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"You have to add value, whether it's pull content or push content." - Nayrhit.
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Push content is what businesses send out to a target customer base, such as advertising, newsletters, and emails. Pull content, on the other hand, is created to attract an audience to a website or social media page. 

AI, he explains, works best in "thick content universes" vs "thin content universes." Thick content universe is where abundant data exists. AI can be effectively leveraged to create content. Here content production is easier but ranking it is hard. 

In a thin content universe, data on a specific subject is sparse (such as niche areas or heavily regulated industries), it's easier to drive traffic. But with limited online information, human expertise and third-party data sources are necessary for producing high-quality content.

The challenge of a thin content universe though, is that AI can assist in content creation, but building authority and credibility in this case often requires a more human-centric approach.

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‍Cultural nuances and language barriers in non-native markets
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Navigating global markets requires an understanding of cultural nuances and language differences. Every founder venturing out of their native market will encounter these cross-border challenges at some point in their journey.

According to Nayrhit, for Gushwork, there are two aspects to consider: the first is getting cultural nuances right, especially for blogs or newsletters, which is already solved by existing generative AI solutions.
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“AI can effectively adapt content to regional contexts, ensuring it resonates with local audiences,” - Nayrhit.

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The second aspect is vernacular language.In non-English markets, AI solutions may struggle to capture local nuances and customer requirements. Engaging native language writers through freelancing platforms can help bridge this gap.

Beyond language, regulatory aspects present additional challenges in non-native markets, he adds. 

As an example, in the US, companies that operate in areas such as spend management, vendor procurement automation or compliance automation typically have a lot of governance centric articles in every state of the country. In order to produce relevant content in such a scenario, access to government databases for accurate information is crucial. This requires heavy human intervention, because AI training data is often not adequately trained on government information that is usually behind paywalls.
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Leveraging influencers for global reach
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"Influencer marketing is a powerful tool for entering non-native markets" - Nayrhit.

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It's a much better way to capitalise on the local language community opinion leader or an influencer marketer than relying on the founder brand," says Nayrhit. By partnering with influencers based in the target market, companies can create content that resonates with local audiences and effectively reach their target demographics.

He adds that influencer marketing is commonly used by B2C companies, but its potential for B2B businesses is not fully tapped yet.

However, influencer marketing requires careful planning and execution. Identifying relevant influencers, building relationships, and incentivising consistent content creation are essential for success.

It is clear that content-led growth is not a one-time activity, but a continuous process of consistently creating and distributing high-quality content. Businesses should aim to maintain their audience’s interest, stay relevant in their industries, and drive ongoing growth.