A Content Marketing Funnel Explained
A funnel for content marketing helps potential customers discover more about your brand, solve their problems and feel confident to buy from you. Content is more appropriate for each stage of the funnel.
Checklists, videos and infographics are effective in drawing attention, generating leads and keeping readers engaged. Content that is gated, such as guides and templates, also performs well at this stage.
Awareness
At this point, customers are only aware of the existence of your brand and the services you offer. In this stage the content should give answers and educate potential customers on the problems your solution solves, as well as what makes it different from competitors.
To identify your content gaps at this stage, you must consider the kinds of keywords that your customers use to search online. By conducting keyword research, you will find the terms your target customers are searching for that suggest an interest in your product or service. This information can then be used to develop an editorial calendar and decide which content pieces will focus on those keywords.
In addition producing content for this phase of the funnel can help you build your brand affinity with customers. The more your consumers know about your brand, they will have more faith in your ability solve their issues. This translates into greater conversion rates, whether it's subscriptions to newsletters, purchases or clickthroughs to your site.
A well-planned and executed content strategy can aid in closing the gap between conversion and purchase at this stage. If, for instance you observe that the majority of your content is aimed at increasing awareness, but not enough influences buyers to make a purchase decision, you may increase your spending on marketing campaigns that target middle-funnel keywords.
Social media is another way to boost your bottom-of-the-funnel conversion. Social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook permit you to communicate directly with your customers and give you an opportunity to showcase your customer service. This can include posting positive reviews on Twitter to promoting special deals.
You can also use existing content to push buyers down the funnel, such as case studies or blog posts. If you write a blog article explaining why your product is superior to a competitor's you can share it on social media and invite your readers to join your email list to receive more details. You can also encourage conversions in this stage by asking users to tag you on their social media posts once they have used your product. This will motivate others to do the same and spread the word about your company.
Inquiry
A good content marketing strategy incorporates a mix of content types to attract customers at every stage of the funnel. For instance, brand awareness campaigns might contain ads but they should also include blog posts and infographics that provide answers to common issues and objections. This content can be further distributed via social media and email to drive organic traffic.
As consumers progress through the process of considering, they begin looking for specific product features that can help them make the purchase decision. This is the perfect time to use FAQ pages. Utilize keyword research tools such as Ubersuggest or search popular industry hashtags to find the people who are asking. Create answers to these questions and include them on your content funnel map.
During this stage, it's crucial to provide an unambiguous proposition that demonstrates the way your product or service can solve their problems and generate more revenue. The content should also emphasize the uniqueness of your brand when compared to the brands of your competition.
This is a relatively easy step to measure, as consumers are making a decision whether or not to purchase. Look at metrics like conversion rate, payment figures and click-through rates to see if your efforts are working.
As consumers move into the advocacy stage and become loyal customers of your brand and share your content because they feel so strongly about it. This is a highly effective method to increase the number of people who follow your brand. You'll need to create content that is inspiring people to share it, instead of simply focusing on engagement metrics. Utilize Sprout Social, for example to track the number of shares on social media as a result of your marketing efforts with content. This will give you a much more accurate view of your influence.
Decision Making
The majority of people are looking for information in the decision-making process that substantiates the purchase and describes how to make use of the product. At this point, they want to know that your product will resolve their problem and will make their investment worthwhile. At this stage, high-quality content, like product guides, case study videos, and customer success tales are essential. Your customers should also be able to ask questions and get answers from your support team. It's a great way to please your customers and encourage them share their experiences.
At this stage you're hoping that the customer will become a brand advocate and recommend your product to their friends and colleagues. To turn these advocates into raving fans, you'll be required to provide them with useful content that can help them get the most out of your product or service. Personalized newsletters videos, tutorials free trial offers and loyalty programs are excellent methods to achieve this.
It's time to begin focusing on the retention of your audience after it has turned from leads into paying customers. Content marketing funnels tend to focus on revenue as the end goal. However, customers will continue to interact and engage with brands even after they have made an purchase. It's essential to think of funnels as a dynamic structure that includes revenue, instead of a static model.
While conventional content marketing funnels can help you develop your strategy but they don't take into account the complexity of the buyer's journey. Reimagining the funnel of content marketing as a circular model can help you develop an overall strategy. You can create content that engages your target audience and increases conversions by planning for each phase of the journey. You can then use the data from conversions to improve and test your strategy. Ready to see the difference that this approach can make for your business? Contact us today to request a no-cost Content marketing playbook!
Retention
A content marketing funnel is a helpful tool that helps companies plan their strategy, implement it and measure its success. It can also give them an understanding of the gaps in their content strategy that need to be filled. If a company has a lot of content targeted at generating awareness and interest but very few pieces aimed at middle of funnel, it should create content for this stage.
Utilize tools such as Ahrefs that examine the average time on a page and bounce rates of each piece to determine how specific your content is. ai content generator online SICK SEO are, the more efficient your content.
It's crucial to regularly update and keep relevant the content you create for the top of your funnel. This will ensure that your audience stays engaged and interested in your brand and its products or services. The best method to accomplish this is by creating new content that is focused on specific keywords, provides answers to questions that are likely being asked by your customers and includes the most up-to-date information about your business or product.
As your audience steps onto the MOFU stage, they'll be looking for more information on your product or service as well as solutions to their issues. At this stage it's crucial to build trust by offering honest reviews and demonstrating value.
The final stage of the content marketing funnel is when your target audience will make a purchase. This is done by gated content, which requires an email address or other form of registration to access. The content is designed to turn the interest and awareness you've created at the top of your funnel into qualified leads. Your sales team can follow up.
While customer retention falls mainly to your sales and support teams, you can still have an impact on your customers' journeys with your brand by creating content that delights them throughout the entire marketing funnel. This can include helpful resources, behind-the scenes information and special offers that only your audience will be able to access. When you can foster trust with your customers they'll be able to serve as genuine advocates for your brand and help reduce your sales cycle time.