Four Simple Tricks To Master Content Marketing
- Updated on: 2019-06-15
- Read original article here
For business owners, established content marketers and new-to-marketing marketers, it is always important to update, improve and beef up your content marketing plan. After all, content is one of the most effective tools in a marketer’s bag.
Content is a great way to educate the marketplace and identify those who are most interested in your product. By speaking to those who have shown interest, you convert them into customers and sustain that brand-to-customer relationship, creating loyalty and encouraging user-generated content.
Outlined below are four key steps to produce content that feeds your marketing machine, speaks to your audience and, in turn, adds value to your bottom line.
We’re all familiar with how the sales funnel works: the process of learning about a company, gaining understanding, purchasing and becoming a repeat customer.
Within the sales funnel, different audiences require different content at each step, whether it is focused on building interest, solving problems or creating relationships. To focus your efforts, this funnel can be organized into three general categories.
• Awareness: Those at the top of the funnel need basic information about a problem, solution and industry. They should be encouraged to share information like their name, email and phone number so you can continue the conversation with them. This content should create curiosity that encourages the customer to engage with your brand.
• Conversion: As customers enter this stage, they have shown interest in your product and shared information or hit certain benchmarks for engagement: clicks, website visits and form submissions. Now it is time to introduce them to the unique benefits of your product and get them to a point of decision making. “Should I buy brand X or brand Y?” is the question customers in this stage ask and your digital and print content should address it.
• Creating relationships: Customers who reach the bottom of the funnel are proof that you are doing content marketing right. Now it’s time to take those customers and inspire them to become advocates for your brand or product by submitting a quote or review, participating in a case study, being a customer reference and more. There is so much you can do to take the business of one happy customer and use it to create more customers.
Not all types of content are equal. Some, like video, can be suited to virtually any stage of the sales funnel, but others lend themselves to specific levels of engagement. Evaluating the best type of content for a message is the next step in producing something that will reach the right customer at the right time.
Building awareness at the top of the funnel? I focus my efforts on blog posts, infographics and two trendy 2018 content types: helpful and informative videos and long-form content. Engaging long-form pieces can provide a significant lift to your SEO marketing efforts and informational depth to benefit potential customers.
Lower in the funnel, demonstrate how your specific product can help potential customers. Content like e-books, product videos, white papers, webinars and side-by-side comparisons are great ways to get the customer to make a favorable decision when asking “should I buy brand X or brand Y?”
Customer advocacy content stems from continuing the conversation with the customer after their point of purchase. Most often, we turn to email marketing with calls to action for reviews, check in via email and phone to gauge their willingness to be an advocate and, overall, aim to let them know how much we appreciate their business and genuinely take into mind their thoughts about the product.
For business owners, established content marketers and new-to-marketing marketers, it is always important to update, improve and beef up your content marketing plan. After all, content is one of the most effective tools in a marketer’s bag.
Content is a great way to educate the marketplace and identify those who are most interested in your product. By speaking to those who have shown interest, you convert them into customers and sustain that brand-to-customer relationship, creating loyalty and encouraging user-generated content.
Outlined below are four key steps to produce content that feeds your marketing machine, speaks to your audience and, in turn, adds value to your bottom line.
We’re all familiar with how the sales funnel works: the process of learning about a company, gaining understanding, purchasing and becoming a repeat customer.
Within the sales funnel, different audiences require different content at each step, whether it is focused on building interest, solving problems or creating relationships. To focus your efforts, this funnel can be organized into three general categories.
• Awareness: Those at the top of the funnel need basic information about a problem, solution and industry. They should be encouraged to share information like their name, email and phone number so you can continue the conversation with them. This content should create curiosity that encourages the customer to engage with your brand.
• Conversion: As customers enter this stage, they have shown interest in your product and shared information or hit certain benchmarks for engagement: clicks, website visits and form submissions. Now it is time to introduce them to the unique benefits of your product and get them to a point of decision making. “Should I buy brand X or brand Y?” is the question customers in this stage ask and your digital and print content should address it.
• Creating relationships: Customers who reach the bottom of the funnel are proof that you are doing content marketing right. Now it’s time to take those customers and inspire them to become advocates for your brand or product by submitting a quote or review, participating in a case study, being a customer reference and more. There is so much you can do to take the business of one happy customer and use it to create more customers.
Not all types of content are equal. Some, like video, can be suited to virtually any stage of the sales funnel, but others lend themselves to specific levels of engagement. Evaluating the best type of content for a message is the next step in producing something that will reach the right customer at the right time.
Building awareness at the top of the funnel? I focus my efforts on blog posts, infographics and two trendy 2018 content types: helpful and informative videos and long-form content. Engaging long-form pieces can provide a significant lift to your SEO marketing efforts and informational depth to benefit potential customers.
Lower in the funnel, demonstrate how your specific product can help potential customers. Content like e-books, product videos, white papers, webinars and side-by-side comparisons are great ways to get the customer to make a favorable decision when asking “should I buy brand X or brand Y?”
Customer advocacy content stems from continuing the conversation with the customer after their point of purchase. Most often, we turn to email marketing with calls to action for reviews, check in via email and phone to gauge their willingness to be an advocate and, overall, aim to let them know how much we appreciate their business and genuinely take into mind their thoughts about the product.
