The Biggest Issue With Content Marketing Funnel, And How You Can Solve It

A Content Marketing Funnel Explained

A funnel for marketing content is a method to help potential customers learn about your brand, find solutions to their issues, and then feel comfortable buying from you. Content is more appropriate for each stage of the funnel.

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

Awareness

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

Think about the keywords your target audience is using to search 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 in demand. This information can be used to create an editorial calendar and determine which content pieces are designed to target these keywords.

Creating content for this stage of the funnel will also help you build brand affinity among your customers. The more people learn about your brand, the more confidence they'll have in your ability to solve their issues. This results in higher conversion rates, whether it's newsletter signups, purchases or clickthroughs to your site.

A well-executed content strategy can assist in closing the gap between conversion and purchase at this stage. If, for example, you observe that the majority of your content is targeted at increasing awareness, but not enough is influencing consumers to make a buying decision, then you can increase the amount you spend on ads that target middle-funnel keyword phrases.

Another method to increase your bottom-of-funnel conversion is through social media. Social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook permit you to communicate directly with your customers, providing you the opportunity to show off your customer service. This can range from tweeting good reviews to promoting special offers.

You can also leverage existing content to lure customers to the bottom of the funnel like blog posts or case studies. For instance, if you write a blog post explaining how your product is superior than a competitor's and you want to share it on social media and ask readers to subscribe to your mailing list to receive more information. You can also encourage conversions at this point 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 brand.

Consideration

A well-planned content strategy should include a variety of content types that draw customers in each stage of the funnel. For example campaigns to promote brand awareness could include ads however, they should also feature blogs and infographics that address common objections and concerns. These content pieces can be distributed via email and social media to boost organic traffic.

As buyers move through the decision-making process, they begin looking for specific features of the product which will assist them in making a purchase decision. This phase is a great time to create FAQ pages. Use keyword research tools like Ubersuggest or search popular industry hashtags to find the people who are asking. Then, you can write answers to these questions and place them on your content funnel map.

In this phase, it's crucial to provide an enticing and compelling argument that shows how your product or service can solve their issues and earn them more money. The content should also emphasize your brand's uniqueness when compared to the competition.

This is a straightforward stage to gauge because the consumer is making a purchase decision. Consider metrics like conversion rate, payment figures and click-through rate to determine whether your efforts are achieving.

When consumers reach the advocacy stage and become loyal customers of your brand. They also share your content because they feel so strongly about it. This is an effective way to increase your audience. You'll need to develop content that is inspiring people to share it instead of just focusing on engagement metrics. You might want to consider using a tool like Sprout Social to track the social shares that result from your content marketing efforts. This will give you an accurate picture of the impact you have.

Decision Making

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

At this stage you're hoping that the customer will become a brand advocate and promote your product to their friends and colleagues. To convert these advocates into raving customers, you will need to provide them valuable content that helps them make the most of your product or service. Personalized newsletters, tutorial videos, free trial offers, and loyalty programs are great methods to achieve this.

Once your audience has transformed from leads into paying customers, it's time to focus on retention. Content marketing funnels typically concentrate on revenue as the final goal. However, customers will continue to interact and engage with brands after they make purchases. It's crucial to reimagine a funnel as a dynamic model that includes revenue, not a static model.

While  content marketing what is  marketing funnels can aid in planning your strategy but they don't take into account the complexities of the buyer's journey. Instead thinking of the funnel in loops will help you create an effective and holistic content marketing strategy. By planning for each stage of the journey you'll be able develop content that will engage your audience and drive conversions. Then, you can utilize the data from these conversions to improve your strategy and make sure that it's working. Are you ready to discover how this strategy will benefit your company? Contact us today to request a complimentary content marketing guidebook.

Retention

A funnel for marketing content can be a valuable instrument to aid brands in planning and execute their strategy. It can also give them visibility into the gaps in their content strategy that need to be filled. For example the case where a brand has a significant amount of content that is geared towards awareness and interest, but a small amount that are geared towards the middle of the funnel, they should prioritize creating content that is targeted at this stage.

Use tools like Ahrefs which look at the average time on page and bounce rates of each piece to determine how specialized your content is. The higher these numbers, the better performing your content.

It is essential to keep up-to-date the content you create for the top of your funnel. This will keep your audience engaged in your brand, its products and services. The best way to do this is by creating new content that focuses on certain keywords, provides answers to questions that are likely being sought by your target audience and includes the most up-to-date information about your business or product.

As your audience enters the MOFU stage they'll want more details about your product or service, as and ways to resolve their problems. In this moment, it's important to build trust by providing honest reviews and demonstrating value.

In the final phase of your content marketing funnel your audience will decide whether they want to purchase. This is achieved through gated content, which requires an email or other form registration to access. This content is designed to transform the engagement and awareness you've cultivated at the top of your content marketing funnel into leads that are qualified for your sales team to follow up on.

While customer retention is largely to your sales and support teams, you can still be a part of your customers' journeys with your brand by creating content that entices them throughout the entire content marketing funnel. This could include helpful sources, behind-the-scenes information and special offers that only your customers have access to. If you can build trust with your audience, then they will become your most loyal advocates and help to reduce the time to sell.