Jon Toohey asked 3 months ago
A Content Marketing Funnel Explained
A content marketing funnel is a method to assist potential customers to learn about your company, find solutions to their issues, and then feel comfortable buying from you. Content is best suited for each stage of the funnel.
At the top of the funnel informational videos, infographics and checklists attract attention, generate leads, and keep the readers interested. Content that is gated, such as guides and templates, also is effective at this point.
Awareness
At this stage, consumers are aware that your brand exists. They are also aware of the solutions you offer. This is the stage where content is designed to educate and inform prospects about the challenges your solution addresses as well as its differences from competitors.
Take note of the keywords your target audience is using to search online. Keyword research can be used to determine the terms your customers use when they search online. This will aid you in determining if your product or service is needed. These information can be used to create a content calendar and decide which content pieces are designed to target these keywords.
Additionally creating content for this stage of the funnel will help you build your brand’s affinity with customers. The more people are aware of your brand, the more trust they’ll have in your capability to solve their issues. This results in higher conversion rates for newsletter signups and purchases, as well as clickthroughs on your website.
A well-planned strategy for content can help you close this gap in conversion. For instance, if you discover that the majority of your content is aimed at educating, but not enough of it is influencing buyers towards a purchase decision, you could increase spending on advertising campaigns to target keywords in the middle of the funnel.
Social media is yet another method to increase your bottom-of funnel conversion. Social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook let you interact directly with your customers, providing you an opportunity to showcase your customer service. This can range from retweeting positive reviews to promoting special deals.
You can also utilize content that is already available to push buyers down the funnel, like blog posts or case studies. If you write a blog post that explains the reasons why your product is superior to the competition’s you can share it on social media and ask your customers to join your email list to receive more information. You can also encourage conversions at this point by asking users to tag you on their social media posts after they have used your product. This will motivate others to do the same and spread the word about your brand.
Consideration
A good content strategy will include a variety of content types that draw customers in every stage of the funnel. Brand awareness campaigns, for example, might include ad copy, but also blog posts and infographics that address the most common issues and objections. These pieces of content can be distributed via email and social media platforms to increase organic traffic.
As consumers progress through the consideration stage and begin to look for specific characteristics of products that can help them make a buying decision. Frequently asked questions (FAQ) pages are a great content type to use in this phase. Use keyword research tools like Ubersuggest or search popular hashtags for your industry to find people who are asking. Then, you can write answers to these questions and place them on your content funnel map.
In this phase, it’s important to provide an unambiguous value proposition that shows potential customers the way your product or service can solve their problem and make them more money. This content should also highlight your brand’s distinctiveness in comparison to your competition.
This is a relatively easy stage to measure, as consumers are making a choice whether or not to purchase. To see whether you’re getting it completed, check out indicators like conversion rates as well as the number of transactions and click-through rates.
As they move into the advocacy stage and become loyal customers of your brand. They also share your content because they feel so strongly about it. This is a highly effective method of growing your audience. You’ll need to create content that inspires people share it instead of simply focusing on engagement metrics. Use 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 more precise picture of your impact.
Decision
In the final phase consumers are seeking documents that support the purchase and explains how to use the product. At this point they want to make certain that your product will solve their problem and justify the investment. At this point the need for high-quality content such as product guides and case study videos and customer success tales, is essential. Your customers want to ask questions and get answers from your support team. It’s a great method to impress your customers and to encourage them to share their experiences.
At this stage you’re hoping that your customer will become a brand advocate and recommend your product to their friends and colleagues. To turn these advocates into raving customers, you will be required to provide them with relevant information that will help them make the most of your product or service. Personalized newsletters tutorial videos free trial offers and loyalty programs are excellent ways to do this.
After your audience has converted from leads to paying customers and paying customers, it’s time to concentrate on retention. The traditional funnel for content marketing models tend to see revenue as the end of the journey, however it’s important to keep in mind that consumers continue to interact with brands after they have purchased. It’s crucial to reimagine the funnel as a dynamic model that incorporates revenue, rather than a static model.
The traditional funnels for content marketing are useful for planning your strategy however, they don’t take into account the complexity of the buyer’s journey. Reimagining the funnel of saas content marketing company marketing as a circular model can assist you in creating an integrated strategy. By planning for every stage of the process you’ll be able create content that will engage your audience and increase conversions. You can then utilize the data from conversions to optimize and test your strategy. Ready to see the difference this approach can make for your company? Contact us today to request a free content marketing guidebook!
Retention
A content marketing funnel is a useful tool that can help brands develop their strategy, implement it and measure its success. It can also assist them in identifying the weaknesses in their strategy. For instance when a company has a significant amount of content targeted at generating awareness and interest, but a small amount that are geared towards the middle of the funnel, they should be focusing on creating content geared towards this stage.
One of the best ways to gauge how on-target your content is to utilize tools such as Ahrefs to determine the average time spent on page and bounce rate of each piece. The more high these numbers are, the more effective your content is.
Once you’ve created content that will be at the top of your content marketing funnel (geisler-costello.blogbright.net) It’s crucial to keep it fresh and relevant. This will keep your audience interested in your brand and its products and services. The best method to accomplish this is by creating new content that focuses on specific keywords, answers questions that are likely to be sought by your target audience, and highlights the most recent information on your industry or product.
As your audience enters the MOFU stage they’ll be seeking more information on your product or service, as and ways to resolve their problems. It’s also crucial to establish trust by giving honest reviews and demonstrating your value.
The final phase of the funnel for content marketing is when your target audience will make a purchase decision. This is achieved through gated content, which requires an email or other form of registration to gain access. The content is designed to turn the awareness and engagement you’ve created at the top of your funnel into qualified leads. Your sales team can then follow to follow up.
You can still influence the customer journeys through your brand, even though your sales and support teams are primarily responsible for customer retention. Create content that is enjoyable for your customers throughout the entire process of content marketing. This could include helpful resources, behind the scenes details and special offers that only your customers have access to. If you can build loyalty with your audience, then they will become your most loyal advocates and will help you reduce the time to sell.