A Content Marketing Funnel Explained

A content marketing funnel is a method to assist potential customers to learn about your brand, find solutions to their problems, and become confident in purchasing from you. Different types of content are more effective at every phase of the funnel.

Checklists, videos and infographics are effective at getting attention, creating leads and keeping readers interested. Templates and guides that are gated work very well at this point.

Awareness

At this stage, consumers know that your brand exists. They are also aware of the solutions you provide. This is where the content is created to educate potential customers and inform them about the issues your solution addresses and its distinct features from competitors.

Consider the keywords that your audience uses when searching online. You can conduct keyword research to determine what terms your target audience is using when searching 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 the types of content that target those terms.

Creating content for this stage of the funnel can aid in building brand loyalty among your customers. The more consumers learn about your brand, the more confidence they'll have in your ability to solve their issues. This translates into higher conversion rates, whether that's newsletter signups, purchases or click-throughs to your website.

A well-executed strategy for content can also assist in closing the gap in conversion. For example, if you find that the vast majority of your content is targeted at gaining awareness, but not enough is helping buyers make a purchase decision, you can increase your advertising budget to target middle-funnel keywords.

Another method to increase your bottom-of-the-funnel conversion is to use social media. Social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook allow you to interact directly with your customers and give you an opportunity to showcase your customer service. This can include posting positive reviews on Twitter to promoting special deals.

You can also leverage existing content to push buyers into the bottom-of-funnel like blog posts or case studies. For instance, if write a post about how your product is superior than one from a competitor, you can share it on social media and ask readers to subscribe to your mailing list to receive more information. You can also encourage conversion in this stage by asking your customers to tag you on their social media posts after having used your product. This will inspire other users to do the same, and spread the word about the brand.

Consideration

A well-planned content marketing strategy incorporates a mix of content types to engage customers at every stage of the funnel. Brand awareness campaigns, for example could include ad copy, but also blog posts and infographics addressing common objections and concerns. These content pieces can be distributed via email and social media to increase organic traffic.

As buyers move through the consideration stage when they are considering their options, they begin looking for specific characteristics of products that can help them make a buying decision. This is the perfect time to use FAQ pages. Use tools for keyword research such as Ubersuggest, or search popular hashtags in your industry to find questions that your customers are asking. Develop answers to these questions and then put them on your content funnel map.

In this phase it is essential to present an unambiguous proposition that shows how your product or services will solve their problems and earn them more money. This content should also highlight the uniqueness of your brand when compared to the brands of your competition.

This is a relatively easy stage to measure, since consumers are making a choice whether they want to buy. Look at metrics like conversion rate, payment figures and click-through rates to determine if your efforts are working.

As consumers move into the advocacy phase and become loyal customers of your brand and share your content because they feel so strongly about it. This is an effective method of increasing your reach. You'll need to create content that encourages people to share it, rather than just focusing 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 your influence.

Decision Making

The majority of people are looking for information during the decision-making phase that substantiates the purchase and explains how to use the product. At this point, they want to be certain that your product will solve their issue and justify the investment. At this stage it is essential to provide high-quality content, such as product guides as well as case study videos and customer success stories, is essential. Your customers also want to be in a position to ask questions and get answers from your support team. It is a great way to impress your customers and encourage them share their experiences.

You hope that at this stage the customer will turn into an advocate for your brand and spread the word about it to their coworkers and friends. To turn these advocates into raving fans you'll need to provide them with useful content that can help them make the most of your product or service. Personalized newsletters, tutorial videos, free trial offers, and loyalty programs are all great methods to achieve this.

It's time to begin focusing on retention after your audience has transformed from leads to paying clients. Content marketing funnels usually focus on revenue as their final goal. However, consumers will continue to interact and interact with brands after making a purchase. For this reason, it's essential to redefine the funnel as a loop model rather than a static structure that ends with revenue.

While traditional funnels for content marketing can help you plan your strategy however, they do not take into account based content marketing the complexity of the buyer journey. Reimagining the content marketing funnel as a circular model can help you develop an integrated strategy. By planning for every stage of the journey you'll be able create content that will engage your audience and increase conversions. Then, you can utilize the data from these conversions to enhance your strategy and ensure that it's working. Ready to see the difference that this approach can make to your business? Contact us today to request a free content marketing agency uk marketing playbook.

Retention

A funnel for content marketing is a helpful tool that helps companies plan their strategy, implement it and evaluate its success. It can also provide visibility into the gaps in their strategy for content that need to be filled. For example the case where a brand has a large amount of content geared toward increasing awareness and generating interest, but a small amount targeted towards the middle of the funnel, they should be focusing on creating content that is targeted at this stage.

A great way to see how targeted your content is to utilize tools such as Ahrefs to determine the average time on the page and bounce rate of each piece. The higher the number, the more efficient your content.

It's crucial to regularly keep up-to-date the content you create to ensure that you are at the top of your funnel. This will keep your customers engaged in your brand, its products and services. This can be done by creating content that focuses on keywords, answers questions your audience is likely to look for, and provides current information about your product or industry.

As your audience enters the MOFU stage, they'll be looking for more details about your product or service, as well as solutions to their problems. It's also crucial to establish confidence by providing honest reviews and demonstrating your worth.

In the final stage of your content marketing funnel your customers will decide whether or not to purchase. This is usually done through restricted content that requires an email address or another method of registration to gain access. This content is designed to turn 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 journeys of your customers through your brand, even if the support and sales teams are primarily responsible for retention of customers. Create content that is enjoyable for your customers throughout the entire process of content marketing. This could include helpful sources, information behind-the-scenes and special promotions that only your audience will have access to. If you can build trust with your audience, then they will become your best advocates and will help you reduce the time to sell.