A Content Marketing Funnel Explained

A content marketing funnel helps potential customers learn more about your company, solve their problems and feel comfortable buying from you. Different types of content are more effective at each stage of the funnel.

At the top of the funnel, infographics, videos, and checklists attract attention, generate leads, and keep the readers interested. Templates and guides that are gated work well in this stage.

Awareness

At this stage, consumers are aware of the existence of your brand and the solutions you provide. At this point the content you create is intended to give answers and educate potential customers on the problems your solution addresses and the ways it differs from competitors.

To identify your content gaps at this point, think about the kinds of keywords your audience uses to search on the internet. You can use keyword research to find out what is content marketing terms your customers use when they search online. This will help you determine if your product or service is in demand. These data can be used to create an editorial calendar and determine the content pieces that are designed to target these keywords.

As a bonus, creating content for this phase of the funnel will help you build your brand affinity with your customers. If your customers are more informed about your brand, they'll have more faith in your ability to solve their problems. This translates into greater conversion rates, be it newsletter signups, purchases or click-throughs to your website.

A well-planned strategy for content can aid in closing this gap in conversion. For example, if you discover that the majority of your content is targeted at gaining awareness, but not enough is influencing buyers towards a purchase decision, you could increase the amount of money you spend on advertising campaigns to focus on middle-funnel keywords.

Social media is another way to increase your bottom-of funnel conversion. Social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook enable you to engage with your customers directly giving you the opportunity to show your customer care. This could include anything from retweeting reviews to promoting special deals.

You can also use existing content to lure buyers into the bottom-of-funnel like blog posts or case studies. For instance, if write a post about the advantages of your product than one from a competitor then you can post it on social networks and invite readers to subscribe to your email list for more details. You can also encourage conversions at this point by asking users to tag you on their social media posts once they've used your product. This will motivate other people to follow suit and spread the word about the brand.

Inquiry

A successful content strategy will consist of a variety types that attract customers at each stage of the funnel. For example the brand awareness campaigns could include ads but they should also include blog posts and infographics that address common concerns and objections. These pieces of content can be distributed via email and social media to boost organic traffic.

As consumers progress through the consideration phase, they begin looking for specific product features that can help them make an informed purchase decision. Frequently asked questions (FAQ) pages are a great content type for this stage. Use tools for keyword research such as Ubersuggest or search popular hashtags in your industry to discover the questions your readers are asking. Then, craft answers to these questions and place them on your content funnel map.

At this point, it's important to provide an unambiguous value proposition that demonstrates to prospective customers the way your product or service will solve their problems and earn them more money. This content should also highlight your brand's uniqueness when compared to your competition.

This is a relatively simple stage to measure, as consumers are making a decision whether or not to purchase. Look at metrics like conversion rates, payment numbers and click-through rates to see if your efforts are working.

As they move into the advocacy phase and become loyal customers of your brand and share your content because they feel strongly about it. This is a great 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 focus on engagement metrics. Use Sprout Social, for example to track the number of shares on social media that are a result of your content marketing efforts. This will give you a more accurate picture of your influence.

Decision

At the point of making a decision, people are looking for information that proves the purchase and explains how to utilize the product. At this stage they want to make certain that your product will solve their issue and justify the purchase. Quality content is essential at this point, including product guides video, case studies and customer success stories. Your customers should also be capable of asking questions and receive answers from your support team. It's a great method to delight your customers and inspire them to share their experiences.

At this stage you're hoping that the customer will become a brand advocate and will recommend your product to their friends and colleagues. To convert these advocates into enthusiastic customers, you'll need to provide them valuable content that helps them make the most of your product or service. This can be done by creating customized newsletters, tutorial videos, free trial offers and loyalty programs.

After your audience has changed from leads into 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, but it is important to keep in mind that customers will continue to engage with brands after they've made a purchase. It is crucial to redefine the funnel as a dynamic model that incorporates revenue, not a static model.

The traditional funnels for account based content marketing marketing are helpful in planning your strategy, but they do not consider the complexity of the buyer's journey. Instead thinking of the funnel in a loop model will aid in creating an effective and holistic content marketing strategy. You can create content that captivates your audience and boosts conversions by planning for each phase of the process. Then, you can utilize the information from these conversions to improve your strategy and ensure that it is working effectively. Are you interested in learning how this strategy can benefit your business? Contact us today and request a complimentary playbook for content marketing.

Retention

A funnel for marketing content is a helpful tool that can help brands develop their strategy, execute it and evaluate its success. It also gives them insight into the gaps in their strategy for content that need to be filled. If a brand has a lot of content targeted at generating awareness and interest but very few pieces aimed at the middle of funnel, it must develop content for this stage.

One of the best ways to gauge how on-target your content is to use tools such as Ahrefs to determine the average time spent on page and bounce rate of each piece. The higher these numbers are, the better performing your content.

Once you've written content that will be at the top of your funnel for marketing content, it's important to keep it fresh and relevant. This will ensure that your audience remains engaged and interested in your brand and the products or services it offers. This can be achieved by creating new content which focuses on keywords, answers questions your audience is likely to search for, and provides the latest information regarding your business or product.

When your target audience enters MOFU and MOFU, they'll be looking for more details about your products or services, as well as solutions to their problems. It's also crucial to establish trust by giving honest reviews and demonstrating your worth.

The final step of the content marketing funnel is when your target audience will make a purchasing decision. This is typically accomplished through gated content that requires an email address or some other method of registration to access. This content is meant to turn the engagement and awareness you've built at the top of your content marketing funnel into leads that are qualified for your sales team to follow up with.

While customer retention largely falls in the hands of your support and sales 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 could include helpful sources, behind-the-scenes details and special offers that only your audience has access to. If you can build trust to your customers, they will become your most loyal advocates and will help reduce the time to sell.