Are you interested in taking your content marketing strategy to the next level? If so, keep reading!
There’s no question that content marketing is one of the best ways to enhance brand awareness, build rapport with prospects, and secure sales. In fact, 72% of marketers say focusing on their content strategy resulted in more engagement.
The thing is, you have to create different types of content depending on where someone is in your sales funnel.
Generally speaking, there are 4 levels of a marketing funnel. They include the following:
- Top of the funnel - Goal: enhance brand awareness and discoverability
- Middle of the funnel - Goal: inform and educate prospects, build interest
- Bottom of the funnel - Goal: convince interested consumers to place an order
- Beyond the bottom - Goal: improve retention
If your goal is to drive users through your sales funnel with content marketing, you should understand the type of content that works well at each level.
Today, I will share several strategies you can use to attract users to your business and improve sales across all stages of your sales funnel.
Publish Relevant Blog Posts
Did you know that 70% of business leaders say that content marketing, like blog posts, helps to improve brand awareness and streamline customer education?
Blogging is effective because you can connect with your target audience regardless of where they are in your sales funnel.
For example, a business leader could create a post that tells their brand story. This type of post is great for users at the top of the funnel who are just discovering the company for the first time.
It’s worth mentioning that over 51% of all new website traffic comes from organic search. Sharing content on your website can improve discoverability and help people discover your business for the first time.
Blogging can also help users who are thinking about buying your product but need more details. A post that explains how specific features work – and, more importantly – how these additions add value, is an excellent way to convert users in the middle to bottom sections of your funnel.
If you want to improve your sales funnel through blogging, the most important thing to remember is your content should always resonate with your readers. I recommend reviewing buyer personas and your customer journey map. The more you know about your audience and where they are in the funnel, the more opportunities you’ll have to connect with your blog.
Create More Video Content
Now, let’s move on to video content. Video has quickly become one of the best ways to reach your target audience, regardless of where they spend their time or how aware they are of your brand.
Many of the best marketers in the world agree. On average, brands that focus on creating video content generate 66% more leads each year.
Think about how much more engagement and sales you would see if almost 70% more people decided to engage with your business.
When it comes to creating videos, you have quite a few options. The most common strategy is to share content on social media channels like YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram. Over 1.9 billion people alone use YouTube each month, so you can bet that your target audience is out there and interested in your content.
You should also consider the benefits of adding videos to existing blog posts. Marketers often take their most popular posts and turn them into engaging videos. When users find the article for the first time, they can choose whether to read the blog post or watch the video version.
Not only will this method improve engagement, but it can also help you draw more users toward the top of your funnel. Research shows that blog posts with videos are 53x more likely to make it to the first page of Google!
Invest in Value-Packed Lead Magnets
Lead magnets are a great way to move visitors from the top to the middle of your sales funnel. Simply put, a lead magnet is an exclusive offer or piece of content that visitors can access if they join your email list.
For instance, an online pet store may offer 20% off to first-time customers. Visitors can get their coupon code by submitting their name and email address.
Promotions are self-explanatory, so let’s look at a few content-based lead magnet examples:
- Infographics
- Step-by-step guides
- Online courses
- Case studies
- Free tools (calculators, calendars)
It’s also vital to choose lead magnets that resonate with the needs of your audience. The only pet store we mentioned earlier may create a lead magnet called “20 Things You Should Do When Buying a Puppy.”
Since pet owners likely have cats or dogs, there’s a good chance this type of magnet will help the business grow its lead list.
I suggest creating multiple lead magnets and placing them strategically on your site. Good locations for this type of content include product landing pages and blog posts. You’ll skyrocket conversions and move users through your funnel if you match on-site content to the content upgrade.
Reach Out via Email Marketing
We can’t talk about improving your sales funnel without mentioning email marketing. Email is one of the oldest and most powerful ways to build rapport with your audience.
Generally speaking, email marketing is most effective when used to move users through the middle/bottom phases of your funnel.
You could create an email series that discusses helpful industry-specific strategies and information. People wondering if they should buy your product may decide to take action if you continuously deliver value, even if they don’t immediately pull out their debit card.
You could send an exclusive, personalized offer if you want to convert someone at the bottom of the funnel into a customer. We found that personalizing email headlines and offers can boost your engagement rate by an impressive 15%.
Personalization is the key to building an effective email marketing strategy. Over 80% of people say they want brands they like to send them personalized content and offers. Research your audience and understand their goals, pain points, and needs. Next, use what you learned to craft value-packed, compelling campaigns.
Invest in a Customer Success Team
Finally, let’s talk about what happens after a customer purchases a product. Many business leaders mistakenly think there’s nothing left to do in this situation. The truth is, you should continue to engage with customers if you want to improve your retention rate and build brand loyalty.
Here’s something to think about; 93% of people say their experience after the first order determines if they will become a repeat customer.
In other words, if you don’t have an outreach strategy for the loyalty phase of your funnel, you will likely see an abnormally high churn rate.
You can solve this problem by investing in a customer success team. Success teams are not the same as customer support. Support is designed to help customers before and after their purchase if they have a question. A success team is tasked with reaching out to customers preemptively to find out if they need anything.
Success teams can guide users to the right resources, give them a live presentation, and help customers find more value in your product or service.
Here are some questions you could ask:
- What can we do to improve your experience?
- Are there any features you’d like to see in action?
- How can we make our product more accessible?
- What would you like to see in future updates?
- How would you rate our onboarding program?
These seemingly simple questions can provide a wealth of information. At the same time, you get the chance to deliver a well-rounded customer experience.
Final Thoughts
Improving your sales funnel will take time, as well as plenty of trial and error. The tips presented today will help you capture visitors at the top of the funnel and guide them toward products and services that match their needs. I suggest developing an actionable plan and tracking your results. Along the way, you’ll find plenty of creative ways to maximize the value of your content marketing sales funnel.
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