Case Study: How Kasasa Grew Organic Traffic by 92%

Financial Services company Kasasa wanted a partner to help them scale their content efforts with authority.

The team found themselves struggling with workflow efficiency. The hope was that with the right tool, the team could create more content, faster, and enable easier internal buy-in, shortening feedback loops.

So they brought MarketMuse onboard to centralize their content strategy, speed up processes and validate their content planning.

MarketMuse’s planning services helped support the org’s rapid growth, cutting time needs significantly. While content briefs simplified processes and helped make their content even more authoritative.

Now the content Kasasa publishes with MarketMuse increases the company’s recognition as an expert in both familiar and new spaces.

The Company

Kasasa is a financial services company that serves both consumers and community financial institutions through marketing, resources, and financial products including reward accounts, free checking, and the innovative “take-back” Kasasa Loan program.

While the company’s marketing strategy is vast, including everything from paid ads to community-building efforts, there is a dedicated focus on inbound marketing and driving organic traffic through tailored content experiences that meet their audiences’ needs and perform in the SERPs. Kirsten Longnecker, VP of Communications and Content, and Jill Fowler, Content and Social Media Manager, lead a team of content strategists, writers and designers tasked with doing just that.

Read on to learn how Kasasa leverages MarketMuse’s AI-led insights, workflows, and managed briefs to create meaningful content, helping them add value and build trust with existing partners and reach new audiences.

The Challenge

Because of the nature of the financial and fintech industries, the team at Kasasa cannot wing content, or look merely weeks ahead. The team goes all-in on content planning, creating an editorial calendar a year in advance based on industry forecasts and trends. They then drill down and refine the content on a quarterly basis.

Scaling content at that level requires many moving parts. Prior to working with MarketMuse, the team found themselves struggling with workflow efficiency and began the hunt for a dependable infrastructure that could provide third-party validation of their content plans, help them identify new topics to win — and how to win them. The hope was that with the right tool, the team could create more content, faster, and enable easier internal buy-in, shortening feedback loops.

They were looking for a partner, but struggled finding just the right fit.

“We were exploring AI and were ridiculously disappointed with some of the paid-for and free services available in the AI content space,” Kirsten explained. “And then when MarketMuse came up, I was very pleasantly surprised.”

Working with MarketMuse

Kirsten, Jill, and a dedicated content specialist and content experience manager on their team all utilize the MarketMuse platform to drive content planning and execution.

“The tool I use the most is the research app; I’m in there all the time,” said Jill of her time in the platform. “My next best friends are the frequently asked questions and the briefs, which our copywriters greatly appreciate.”

Perhaps most impactful is the utilization of Content Plans and partnering with their dedicated Account Manager to develop plans of all sizes.

“My only lift is to send a quick email to my partner and say, ‘here’s this new topic that we just want to blow out of the water; can you get me a plan?’ I’ve done 10 pieces; I’ve done a hundred pieces,” explains Jill. “With MarketMuse doing the heavy lifting, this is an incredible time and energy saving option.”

As the content manager, Jill can hop between Plans, Research, and Questions to find topic ideas and build out strategies, while a content specialist manages content brief creation for their writers.

With MarketMuse, the team at Kasasa has been able to create a more robust and effective funnel. MarketMuse also makes difficult decisions less complicated. As with most content teams, there is a lot Kasasa could do. Likewise, as with most businesses, there are time and resource constraints in play. The team wants to make the best decisions that will make the most meaningful impact for their customers and their business. MarketMuse helps them refine their efforts, making it clear which topics to go after and why.

“Kasasa has a vast suite of relevant topics to explore,” says Jill. “MarketMuse gives us focus so we can drown out the noise and hone in on areas that will deliver the greatest impact.”

The result? Better content. Better experiences. Better planning.

Results

“I was pleasantly surprised with the results that were delivered in the first quarterly business review. We measured legitimate organic lifts in our areas of interest. It was the kind of excitement that you just can’t wait to share with everyone in your organization,” said Kirsten Longnecker, VP of Communications & Content at Kasasa.

Kasasa is focused on organic traffic and conversions. Specifically, they look at first-click conversion, a metric recommended to them by their dedicated account manager, Katy.

Beyond numbers and metrics, the team says it’s the trust built, and relationships formed that add additional value.

“I’ve worked with countless vendor partners over the years and have rarely been as impressed,” said Jill of her experience working with her account manager, Katy. “She is such a true partner. She is thoughtful. She is responsive. She’s willing to just dive in and find solutions for you on the spot. The qualities she exhibits are what we look for when hiring internally.”

But numbers and metrics are important, too.

In the team’s first quarterly business review after onboarding with MarketMuse, their blog experienced 92% YoY organic growth in entrances and 83% growth in keywords ranking in positions 1-3.

As Kirsten sees it, “our partnership made our content more authoritative, and the results speak for themselves. In addition to increasing our recognition as an expert in familiar spaces, we’ve staked claim in new arenas as well.”

That increase in content authority is reflected in user behavior metrics like page views, entrances, and time on page. On average, Kasasa visitors spend 28% more time on page with content the team produced using MarketMuse tools.

“I absolutely recommend MarketMuse,” said Jill. “Not to over embellish the point, but to see the staggering results we have, you need to go all-in. This is how you’ll get the most out of your partnership.”