A Content Marketing Funnel Explained
A funnel for marketing content is a method to help potential customers learn about your brand, discover solutions to their issues, and become confident in purchasing from you. Content is best suited for every stage of the funnel.
At the top of the funnel informational videos, infographics and checklists grab attention, bring in leads, and keep the readers engaged. Guides and templates that are gated perform very well at this point.
Awareness
At this point, customers are aware of the existence of your brand. They are also aware of the solutions you offer. In this stage, content is meant to provide answers and educate prospects on the problems your solution solves and how it differs from competitors.
To identify your content gaps at this stage, you must consider the different types of keywords that your customers use to browse on the internet. Using keyword research, you will find out what terms your audience is searching for that suggest a need for your product or service. This data can then be used to develop an editorial calendar and determine the content pieces that will focus on those keywords.
In addition producing content for this stage of the funnel will help to build brand loyalty with customers. The more people learn about your brand, the more confidence they'll have in your capability to solve their problems. This leads to higher conversion rates, whether it's newsletter signups, purchases or click-throughs to your website.
A well-planned content strategy can help you close the conversion gap in this stage. If, for example, you discover that the majority of your content is aimed at generating awareness, but nothing influence consumers to make a buying decision, then you can increase the spending on advertising campaigns targeting middle-funnel keywords.
Another method to increase your bottom-of-funnel conversion is through social media. Social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook permit you to communicate directly with your customers, providing you the chance to show your customer service. This can include everything from retweeting reviews to promoting special offers.
You can also use existing content to push buyers to the bottom of the funnel like blog posts or case studies. If you write a blog post explaining the reasons why your product is superior to the competition's you can share it on social media and invite your readers to sign up for your email list to receive more information. You can also encourage a conversion at this point by asking your customers to tag you in their social media posts after they have used your product. This will encourage other people to do the same, and will help spread the word about the brand.
Then there is the consideration
A successful content strategy will include a variety of content types that draw customers in every stage of the funnel. For instance campaigns to promote brand awareness could contain ads, but they should also include blogs and infographics that provide answers to common issues and objections. These pieces of content can be distributed via email and social media to boost organic traffic.
As buyers move through the process of considering and begin to look for specific features of the product that can help them make a purchase decision. Frequently asked questions (FAQ) pages are a great type of content for this stage. Use tools for keyword research such as Ubersuggest or search for popular hashtags in your industry to discover the questions your readers are asking. Create answers to these questions and then place them on your content funnel map.
During this phase it is essential to present an unambiguous proposition that demonstrates how your product or services will solve their problems and make them more cash. This content should also highlight your brand's distinctiveness in comparison to the competition.
This is a simple step to evaluate since the consumer is making a purchase decision. To see 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 advocacy stage, your brand grows increasingly important to them. They will share your content with friends because they are so passionate about it. This is a powerful way to grow your audience. You'll need to develop content that encourages people to share it, rather than only focus on engagement metrics. Consider using a tool like Sprout Social to track the social shares that result from your content marketing efforts. This will give you a clear picture of the impact you have.
Decision Making
At the decision stage the buyers are looking for content that confirms their purchase and outlines how to utilize the product. At this point, they want to be certain that your product will solve their issue and justify the cost. At this point, high-quality content, such as product guides as well as case study videos and customer success tales are essential. Your customers would like to have questions answered and get answers from your support staff. Offering them personalized emails and 24/7 customer support is a great way to delight customers and encourage them to share their experience with others.
You hope that at this point the customer will become an advocate for your brand and spread the word about it to their friends and co-workers. To convert these advocates into raving customers, you will need to provide them valuable content that helps them gain the most value from your product or service. Personalized newsletters, tutorial videos and free trial offers and loyalty programs are excellent ways to do this.
It's time to start focusing on the retention of your audience after it has transformed from leads to paying customers. Content marketing funnels usually focus on revenue as their end goal. However, consumers will continue to interact and interact with brands even after they have made purchases. For this reason, it's essential to redefine the funnel as a loop model rather than an unchanging structure that ends with revenue.
While traditional funnels for content marketing can help you plan your strategy but they don't take into account the complexities of the buyer journey. Reimagining the content marketing funnel as a circular model can assist you in creating a more holistic strategy. By planning for every step of the journey you'll be able create content that is engaging your audience and drive conversions. You can then use the information from conversions to enhance and test your strategy. Are you interested in learning how this strategy can benefit your business? Contact us today to request a free content marketing playbook.
Retention
A funnel for marketing content can be a powerful tool for helping brands plan and implement their strategy. It can also give them insight into the gaps in their content strategy that need to be filled. If a brand has a lot of content that is geared towards generating attention and interest, but only a few pieces targeted at the middle of funnel, it needs to create content for this stage.
Use tools like Ahrefs that analyze the average time spent on a page and bounce rates of each piece to determine how specific your content is. The higher these numbers are the more effective your content is.
Once you've written content that will be at the top of your funnel for marketing content It's essential to keep it up-to-date and relevant. This will keep your audience interested in your brand, its products and services. This can be achieved by creating new content which is focused on keywords, addresses questions that your target audience is likely to look for, and highlights current information about your product or industry.
As your audience enters MOFU the audience will be looking for more information about your product or services as well as solutions to their problems. In this stage it's crucial to build trust by offering honest reviews and demonstrating value.
In the final stage of your content marketing funnel your audience will decide whether they want to purchase. This is typically accomplished through gated content that requires an email address or some other form of registration in order to gain access. This content is designed to convert the awareness and engagement you've created at the top of your funnel into qualified leads. Your sales team will follow up.
You can still influence the journeys of your customers through your brand, even though your support and sales teams are responsible for customer retention. Create content that will delight your customers throughout the entire funnel of content marketing. This can include useful information, behind-the-scenes details and special offers that only your customers have access to. If content writing software tools for seo can create a sense of trust with your customers they'll become authentic advocates for your product and naturally help reduce your sales cycle time.