Crafting success

Acomprehensive approach to content and traffic expansion

Nikita Mitrofanov Client

Economist and financial analyst at the largest "Yellow" bank in Russia.

Formerly an auditor at one of the Big Four firms.

Recognizing Client Struggles and Setting Clear Objectives

Increase brand awareness and create a loyal community

The client approached us with a request for holistic project management. Our studio identified key metrics as top priorities, specifically focusing on reach, subscriber engagement, and the acquisition of new followers while adhering to a targeted budget.

I’m looking for expert support to revamp my strategy, improve content outreach, and bring in a larger, more active audience.

If your team could help with optimizing content, social media strategy, or digital advertising, I’d love to discuss how we could collaborate.

The Downside of Clickbait

The audience was drawn in by clickbait and bait posts, but over time, as expected, it began to decline sharply.

Content Optimization and Editorial Policy Enhancement

We completely restructured the project’s content, brought in an experienced editor and proofreader, and developed a content plan based on new principles.

Formatting and structuring

Instead of bulky texts, the materials have been transformed into easily readable and well-structured pieces with formatting.

Interlinking between posts

Utilizing hashtags, captions, and links to previous posts to engage the audience with the content and enhance metrics.

Implementing a thoughtful approach to posts

Now they cover the most relevant topics that attract a larger audience and are actively reposted by niche communities. We’ve also introduced several new sections, including one focused on investments.

🔥 15
🥰 27
😏 4
❤️ 5

The audience has started to engage more actively with the content, resulting in improved metrics!

Fresh design creates content that sticks in your mind

A bold and unconventional color in this theme helped stand out against the competition.

#D3FF00
#FFFFFF
#161616

Font: Inter

I feel like my content is getting lost among competitors. Many of my readers don't even recognize me as the author, which is frustrating.

Before

After

A vibrant new avatar featuring the author is expected to boost and maintain audience reach.

Designing a YouTube channel and creating a template for weekly news digest thumbnails.

Logotype

Creating a unique logo that reflects the brand's personality and leaves a lasting impression.

Pattern

Developing a custom pattern that enhances the brand’s visual identity and is used across various materials.

3D visual

Creating 3D objects that add modernity and depth to the visual representation of your brand.

Little by little, a little becomes a lot

To attract a new audience, we leveraged various traffic channels, both paid and free (not counting content creation). Below, we will highlight the sources that have performed the best.

Conditionally free audience from Pikabu

One interesting aspect of Pikabu is that when a post makes it to the "hot" section, it can attract a large amount of conditionally free audience. In a month, we managed to promote three posts to the "hot" section with the help of our editorial team. The most popular post garnered 190K views.

P.S. As of the time of writing this case, all campaigns are in an active stage.

View Pikabu

💬 350
👀️ 190K
💾 202

Paid subscriber acquisition source through Yandex.Direct

At the time of writing this case, two weeks into testing, the most successful method of attracting subscribers so far is Yandex.Direct. We created two landing pages for the campaign: nikitamitrofanov.ru and a second landing page with a lead magnet at chinathreat.ru. You can view the lead magnet here.

Expanding Horizons: New Platforms and Content Types

To attract a new audience, we leveraged various traffic channels, both paid and free (not counting content creation). Below, we will highlight the sources that have performed the best.

YouTube Shorts

We started recording and publishing short videos for quick audience engagement.

Instagram Reels

Despite Instagram being "Designated as an extremist organization and banned in Russia," a portion of our audience continues to engage with us from outside the country.

Online Stream

We implemented a practice of regular streams with the audience to engage and maintain the community.

VK Group

In addition to our main Telegram channel, we began cross-posting in our VK group.

RuTube Channel

Following the slowdown of YouTube in Russia, a portion of the traffic shifted to the RuTube platform.

Insights on Spend and Leads Across Multiple Platforms

The client's task was to attract the most engaged audience that would regularly be interested in the content.

Yandex.Direct

The preliminary result is an average of 190 rubles per subscriber after two weeks of testing. We expect to reach the target cost of 150 rubles within the next two weeks.

It’s also important to note that the ads are running on an open channel without the use of triggers, bait, or other gray-hat methods of attracting subscribers.

Lead cost

190₽

Target cost

150₽

VK Ads

In the first weeks of testing the ads on VK, we successfully established audience acquisition at a cost of 50 rubles per subscriber.

The campaign is also currently in the testing and optimization phase.

Date	Spent	Coverage	Clicks	Leads	Lead cost
September 25	959	12 073	8	1	959
September 26	369	5 473	3	1	369
September 27	100	1 631	2	1	100
September 28	573	7 462	42	8	72
September 29	548	6 833	36	12	46
September 30	598	5 489	23	11	45
October 1	500	5 496	32	6	83
October 2	499	4 817	32	3	166
October 3	1338	15 189	113	12	112
October 4	1610	17 100	207	37	44
October 5	2488	19 538	200	48	52
October 6	2550	23 379	312	51	50

Unique visitors

74 per day 1133%

Average number of unique users over 7 days

New subscribers

76 1800%

Users who subscribed to the page in 7 days

Views

624 995%

Page views in 7 days

Comments

6 100%

Users who left comments within 7 days

I’m very pleased with my experience working with the studio. They quickly got to work, and I noticed results from the very first days. The active audience has grown significantly, leading to increased engagement in the comments!
— Nikita Mitrofanov