You don’t need me to explain to you the importance of content marketing. Great content gets you good search rankings, you get more eyeballs, more authority, blah, blah, blah. We all get it. This million-dollar question, however, is a little different. The one thing that every content marketer would love a straight answer to is, “What is great content?”
This question gains even more importance given the volume of content that we’re churning out by the minute. Data from eMarketer shows that 60% of marketers create at least one piece of content every, single day! That’s a lot of content to put out there, without really knowing if it hits the mark or not.
I’ve found that a good way to approach any problem is to break it down into easily digestible parts and then analyze further. We know that the needs of a customer evolve as they move along the sales funnel. What matters to a first-time visitor exploring their options is very different from the content that will convince a sales qualified lead (SQL) who’s about to write a check out to your company.
So why not look at every stage of the typical sales funnel or buyer’s journey as you may want to call it and understand what content would produce the best results?
Awareness – Hook Them Right
Stop blaming everyone else for not getting enough traffic, inquiries or conversions. Your customers don’t know what they don’t know. It’s your job to get your brand out in front of your target audience, in a way that appeals to them.
Blog posts rank as one of the most effective types of content I’ve seen for spreading the word about your brand and making users aware of all the different things you have to offer. And these blog posts don’t even have to be artfully worded to be effective. This eye-catching blog post on the Etsy blog, capitalizes on beautiful product shots to make a statement and showcases Etsy’s wares in all their glory.
Another spin on effective blog posts that can bring in the eyeballs is offering expert analysis on the latest industry news. I can attest to the effectiveness of this approach with posts like this one – I wrote about the launch of HomePod, Apple’s smart speaker on my own website, iGeeksBlog.com.
This type of content not only satisfies your audience’s need to keep up with the goings-on in the industry, but it also gives them insights on how new developments can impact their day-to-day lives – something that attracts eyeballs and creates value at the same time.
Consideration – Reel Them In
Once you’ve spread the word, it’s time to rise above the clutter and get your audience seriously interested in your brand. This is where you summon all your powers of persuasion to tell a curious user why they should bet on your business.
E-commerce SaaS platform ChannelAdvisor does a fabulous job of driving home their expertise in e-commerce enablement with regular informative webinars that answer questions that truly matter to their clients.
With webinars being a live, once and done kind of content type, it makes sense to upload a copy of the webinar recording and any slides you may have used on the webinar page, so you can reap the benefits of this content even after the webinar is done and dusted.
Another great way to convince an undecided buyer about your product is by sharing case studies of how you were able to help existing clients tackle very specific business problems. Case studies have the benefit of being verifiable directly with the client in question and therefore bring tremendous credibility to your claims.
Email marketing platform MailChimp shows how it does more than just deliver emails to customers in this insightful case study. This client decided to use Mailchimp’s unique product recommendations feature in their Order Notification emails. This simple move helped the client earn an average of $31. 95 additional revenue per order notification email sent out. That’s easy money with no extra effort!
Purchase – You Made It!
So you’ve won over your audience and they’ve now become brand new customers for your business. Before you sit back and congratulate yourself, you need to ensure your new customers are completely happy with their purchase and don’t suffer a shred of buyer’s remorse.
One of the most common next steps after a sale is helping your customer set up and use your product effectively. Training and onboarding is often done in classroom sessions with round the clock support offered via phone, chat, email and more. So why not leverage this wealth of information that you’re sharing about your product and turn it into content that will serve you in more ways than one? This in-depth customer onboarding video by DropBox for Business does exactly that.
Retention – Keep Them for Life
A customer who’s been with you for a while is an asset you need to safeguard and nurture. Remind your customers of different ways in which your product can enhance their business, assist them in solving real issues with your product using detailed guides and help take their engagement with your company to the next level by upselling them newer products and solutions.
Loyalty and membership programs are great ways to keep your customers hooked and keep getting them to buy more from you. Amazon’s Prime program is a perfect example of a membership program that has become a significant driver of profitability and engagement for the company over the years.
Prime members get frequent emails like this one from Amazon that showcase membership benefits like free books and movies that come with the Prime program. These regular reminders of the value users get out of your products to help cement their loyalty to you and assure you of recurring revenues with little to no acquisition costs.
In Closing
With the wide array of options available to content marketers, it’s no wonder that developing a strategy that works is often a complex process. The trick often lies in not overthinking it and keeping it simple. What types of content have you seen the most success with? Tell us more in the comments below!
