A Content Marketing Funnel Explained A content marketing funnel helps potential customers learn more about your company help them solve their problems and be confident about buying from you. Content is more appropriate for every stage of the funnel. Checklists, videos and infographics are effective at drawing attention, generating leads and keeping readers involved. Gated content, such as templates and guides works well at this stage. Awareness At this stage, consumers are aware that your brand exists. They are also aware of the solutions you provide. This is the stage where content is created to educate and inform potential customers about the problems that your solution solves and also the differences from competitors. To understand your content gaps for this stage, consider the types of keywords your audience uses to search on the internet. By conducting keyword research, you can figure out what terms your customers are searching for that indicate the need for your product or service. This information can be used to develop an editorial calendar and determine which content pieces will be targeted at those specific terms. Producing content for this stage of the funnel can help you build brand affinity with your customers. If your customers are more informed about your brand, they'll have greater confidence in your ability solve their issues. This leads to greater conversion rates, whether it's purchase orders, newsletter sign-ups or click-throughs to your website. A well-planned strategy for content will assist in closing this conversion gap. For example, if you discover that the majority of your content is aimed at awareness but not enough is pushing buyers toward the purchase decision, you can increase the amount of money you spend on advertising campaigns to focus on middle-funnel keywords. Social media is a different way to boost your bottom-of-the-funnel conversion. Social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook allow you to interact with your customers directly giving you the opportunity to showcase your dedication to customer service. This can range from retweeting positive reviews to promoting special offers. You can also make use of existing content to help buyers move through the funnel, such as case studies or blog posts. If you write a blog post that explains why your product is superior to a competitor's you can share it via social media and encourage your readers to sign up for your email list to get more information. You can also encourage conversions in this stage by asking users to include your name on their social media posts once they have tried your product. This will encourage other people to follow suit and help spread the word about your brand. Inquiry A successful content marketing strategy incorporates the use of a variety of types of content to attract customers at every stage of the funnel. For instance campaigns to promote brand awareness could include ads however, they should also feature blog posts and infographics which provide answers to common issues and objections. This content could be further shared via social media and email to increase organic traffic. As consumers progress through the decision-making process they begin to search for specific features of the product that will help them make an informed purchase decision. Frequently asked questions (FAQ) pages are an excellent content type for this stage. Use tools for keyword research, such as Ubersuggest, or search popular hashtags in your industry to discover questions that your customers are asking. Find answers to these questions and then add them to your content funnel map. During this stage it is essential to present a clear value proposition that shows potential customers the way your product or service will solve their issue and make them more money. This content should also highlight your brand's uniqueness compared to your competition. This is an easy stage to measure since the consumer is making a purchase decision. To determine whether you're getting the job completed, check out metrics such as conversion rate as well as the number of transactions and click-through rates. When consumers reach the stage of advocacy and become advocates for your brand, it is becoming increasingly important to them. They will share your content with others because they are so enthusiastic about it. This is a powerful method of growing your audience. You'll need to develop content that encourages people to share it, rather than just focus on engagement metrics. Utilize Sprout Social, for example, to track social shares that result from your marketing efforts with content. This will give you a more precise picture of your influence. Decision People are looking for content in the decision-making process that substantiates the purchase and describes how to make use of the product. At this point, they need to be confident that the solution will solve their issue and make the investment worth it. At this point it is essential to provide high-quality content, such as product guides and case study videos and customer success stories, is essential. Your customers also want to be capable of asking questions and get answers from your support team. Offering them personalized emails and round-the-clock customer support is a great method to please customers and encourage them to share their experiences with others. You're hoping that by this point, the customer will become an advocate for your brand and will promote it to their friends and co-workers. To convert these advocates to enthusiastic customers, you'll need to provide them valuable information that will help them get the most from your product or service. You can accomplish this by creating customized newsletters, tutorial videos free trial offers, and loyalty programs. It's time to begin focusing on retention after your audience has transformed from leads to paying customers. Content marketing funnels typically concentrate on revenue as the final goal. However, customers will continue to interact and engage with brands after they make a purchase. This is why it's important to reimagine the funnel as a loop model rather than an unchanging structure that ends with revenue. While traditional funnels for marketing content can help you develop your strategy, they don't account for the complexities of the buyer journey. Reimagining the content marketing funnel as a circular model will assist you in creating an overall strategy. By planning for each stage of the process, you'll be able to develop content that will engage your audience and generate conversions. You can then use the information from conversions to enhance and test your strategy. Are you ready to see how this approach will benefit your business? Contact us today to request a free Content marketing playbook! Retention A content marketing funnel is a useful tool that can assist brands plan their strategy, execute it and measure its success. It can also help them identify the gaps in their approach. For instance the case where a brand has a lot of content that is geared towards the public's attention and interest, but few pieces aimed at the middle of the funnel, they should prioritize creating content geared towards this stage. A great way to see how targeted your content is is to use tools such as Ahrefs to look at the average time on the page and bounce rate of each piece. The higher these numbers are the more effective your content is. Once you've created content for the top of your funnel for marketing content It's essential to keep it up-to-date and relevant. This will keep your customers engaged in your brand, its products and services. This can be done by creating new content that is focused on key words, addresses questions that your target audience is likely to look for, and provides current information about your industry or product. As your audience enters the MOFU stage, they'll be looking for more information on your product or service, as well as solutions to their problems. It's also crucial to establish trust by providing honest reviews and demonstrating the value of your product. In the last stage of your funnel for marketing content, your audience will decide if or not to buy. This is typically done via restricted content that requires an email address or some other type of registration to access. This content is designed to convert the interest and awareness you've built at the top of your funnel for content marketing into leads that are qualified for your sales team to follow up with. While account based content marketing is largely to your support and sales teams, you can have an impact on the customer's experience with your brand by creating content that entices them throughout the entire content marketing funnel. This could include helpful information, behind-the-scenes details and special deals that only your customers have access to. If you can create a sense of trust among your audience they'll become authentic advocates for your product and naturally aid in reducing your sales cycle times.
account based content marketing
