A Content Marketing Funnel Explained
A funnel for content marketing helps potential customers learn more about your brand help them solve their problems and feel comfortable buying from you. Different kinds of content work best in each phase of the funnel.
At the top of the funnel informational videos, infographics and checklists attract attention, create leads, and keep readers entertained. Guides and templates that are gated work very well at this point.
Awareness
At this point, customers know 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 potential customers about the issues your solution solves and also the differences from competitors.
Take note of the keywords your customers use when searching online. You can conduct keyword research to find out what terms your target audience is using when they search online. This will assist you in determining whether your product or service is needed. This information can then be used to develop an editorial calendar and decide which content pieces will target those terms.
The creation of content for this phase of the funnel will also aid in building brand loyalty among consumers. If your customers are aware about your brand, they will have more faith in your ability to solve their issues. This leads to higher conversion rates for newsletter signups and purchases and click-throughs on your website.
A well-executed strategy for content will assist in closing this conversion gap. For instance, if you discover that the majority of your content is aimed at educating, but not enough of it is pushing buyers toward the purchase decision, you can increase your advertising budget to target middle-funnel keywords.
Another method to increase your bottom-of-funnel conversion is through social media. Social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook allow you to interact with your customers directly, giving you the opportunity to showcase your commitment to customer service. This can include everything from retweeting good reviews to promoting special offers.
You can also use content that is already available to help buyers move through the funnel, like blog posts or case studies. For instance, if you write a post about how your product is superior than the competition’s, you can post it on social media and invite readers to subscribe to your mailing list for more information. You can also encourage conversions at this stage by asking users to tag you on their social media posts after they have used your product. This will inspire others to follow suit and spread the word about your company.
Consideration
A successful content strategy will comprise a variety of content types that draw customers in every stage of the funnel. For example, 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 shared via social media or email to drive organic traffic.
As consumers move through the decision-making process when they are considering their options, they begin looking for specific features of products that can help them make a purchase decision. This phase is a great time to create FAQ pages. Use keyword research tools like Ubersuggest or search for popular industry hashtags to find the people who are asking. Develop answers to these questions, and then add them to your content funnel map.
At this point, it’s important to provide a clear value proposition that shows potential customers how 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 straightforward stage to gauge since the consumer is making a purchase. Consider metrics like conversion rate, payment numbers and click-through rates to see whether your efforts are achieving.
As they move into the advocacy stage they become loyal fans of your brand and are more likely to share your content because they feel strongly about it. This is a highly effective method to increase the number of people who follow your brand. But you’ll need to concentrate on creating content that encourages people to share, instead of focusing solely on engagement metrics. You might want to consider using a tool such as 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
At the point of making a decision, people are looking for documents that support their purchase and provides instructions on how to utilize the product. At this point, they want to be confident that the solution will solve their issue and make the investment worthwhile. Quality content is essential at this point, including product guides videos, case studies and customer stories of success. Your customers want to have questions answered and get answers from your support team. It’s a great way to delight your customers and to encourage them to share their experiences.
At this stage you’re hoping that your customer will become a brand ambassador and promote your product to their friends and colleagues. In order to convert these advocates into raving supporters, you’ll have to provide them with relevant information that will allow them to get the most out of your product or service. Personalized newsletters tutorial videos, free trial offers, and loyalty programs are all great methods to achieve this.
Once your audience has transformed from leads to paying customers, it’s time to focus on retention. Content marketing funnels tend to focus on revenue as the end goal. However, consumers will remain in contact and interact with brands after they make a purchase. It’s crucial to reimagine a funnel as a dynamic structure that incorporates revenue, rather than static models.
While traditional funnels for content marketing can help you plan your strategy, they don’t account for the complexity of the buyer journey. Instead reinventing the funnel as a loop model will assist you in developing an effective and more holistic content marketing strategy. By planning for each stage of the process, you’ll be able to create content that is engaging your audience and generate conversions. Then, you can utilize the data from these conversions to optimize your strategy and ensure that it’s working. Are you interested in learning how this approach will benefit your company? Contact us today to request a no-cost content marketing guidebook!
Retention
A funnel for content marketing can be a valuable tool to help brands plan and implement their strategy. It can also give them visibility into the gaps in their strategy for content that need to be filled. If a company has a lot of content geared towards the public’s attention but only few pieces aimed at middle of funnel, it should create content for this stage.
A great way to see how on-target your b2b content marketing is is to use tools like Ahrefs to analyze the average time spent on page and bounce rate of each piece. The higher these numbers are, the better your content is performing.
After you’ve put together content that will be at the top of your content marketing funnel, it’s important to keep it up-to-date and relevant. This will ensure that your audience remains engaged and interested in your brand and its products or services. The best way to do this is to create new content that is focused on specific keywords, answers questions that are likely being asked by your customers and provides the most current information regarding your business or product.
As your audience enters the MOFU stage, they’ll be looking for more details about your product or service, as and ways to resolve their issues. It’s also important to build confidence by giving honest reviews and demonstrating your value.
The final step of the funnel for content marketing strategy content is when your target audience will make a purchase. This is typically accomplished through gated content that requires an email address or some other type of registration to access. The 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 then follow up.
You can still influence the customer journeys through your brand, even though your support and sales teams are responsible for retention of customers. Create content that delights your customers throughout the entire funnel of content marketing. This can include useful information, behind-the-scenes details and special deals that only your audience has access to. If you can build trust to your customers, they will become your best advocates and will help you reduce your sales cycle.