Content Strategy: Buying Cycles

 

Content Strategy: Buying Cycles

So now that you’ve come up with your buyer personas that represent the different segments of your ideal customer base, it’s time to come up with a content strategy that targets prospects and leads at different parts of the buying process. Relevancy is the name of the game here and people are asking different questions at each stage of the funnel. This means that an effective marketing campaign will address people according to where they are in the process. You will want to come up with a different strategy tailored to each persona. Your funnel will look different based on your industry and your specific business, however, a general funnel has the following stages; awareness, consideration, purchase.

The Awareness Stage

This stage is all about building awareness for your brand. At this point you’re interacting with a cold audience that has never heard of your company. It’s important to note that this stage is too early for overly promotional material as it will likely put off most consumers. Instead, you want to focus on producing content that is informative, helpful, educational or entertaining. This early in the buying cycle conversions are low, so the goal here is awareness and not conversions. Producing the right content here will position you and your company as experts in your field and put you on the map for potential customers down the line.

Good content to produce for this stage:

·         Blog posts – Blogs allow you to showcase your expertise to those interested in what you do. You provide value for free, building trust in potential customers that you are an authority on the subject. The blogs should be well done, people can tell when you are just going through the motions.

·         Ebooks – These allow you to provide value in much the same way as blogs, however, because they are more in-depth, you can often offer them in exchange for email addresses. This is a good way to accelerate people to the next stage of the funnel.

·         Video – Video has become one of the most popular ways that information is relayed on the internet. A good way to provide value and present yourself as an expert is to repurpose blogs into video.

·         Social Media – Posting on different social media platforms is a great way to connect with your ideal customers and provide them with bite-sized value, promote blogs, or provide entertainment.

·         Landing pages – Using landing pages as a way to push people further down the funnel is a widely used strategy. Send them to a page that offers some kind of valuable free offer in exchange for an email address.

The Consideration Stage

At this point the consumer is aware of the problem that they are trying to solve or the goal that they are trying to achieve. They are actively exploring which options will bring them the most value. This is a crucial stage on the way to conversion. Your potential customer is more focused on specifics and how your product or service will help them with their needs, and you will want to tailor your content to reflect that.

Good content to produce for this stage:

·         Video – The videos used in the consideration stage should be specific to how your product or service can fill the needs of your potential customers. Use your buyer personas to determine the most common problems or goals for each of your ideal segments.

·         White papers – These are comprehensive guides aimed at giving readers a solution to a single problem or challenge. These are great for showing how your product or service can be a good fit for your potential customer.

·         Case studies – These are a good way of showing that your product or service has already gotten results for other customers. Using real examples with statistics can help you land more conversions.

The Purchase Stage

In this stage, the consumer is now at the point of making a decision on which product or service to go with. If you’ve done well in the previous 2 stages, your product or service should be a contender, so now is the time to drive conversions and get your ideal customer to choose you. Your content should be highly personalized and answer any questions or concerns the potential customer may have.

Good content to produce for this stage:

·         Testimonials – Having feedback from people who have used your product or service is a great way to legitimize. Feedback, reviews and comments from real customers is a powerful way to show that what you’re offering works.

·         Demos and free trials – Depending on what you’re offering, demos and free trials are a great way for potential customers to get a hands-on approach to see if your product or service is a good fit for them.

·         Consultations – Having person to person interaction, especially if you sell high-ticket items, software as a service, or another kind of service, is a great way to address any concerns your potential customers may have.

·         Landing page – You can offer personalized landing pages that includes the person’s name, address their concerns and reinforce why your product or service is the one to choose.

Conclusion

Tailoring your content to both buyer personas and buying cycles is a great way to increase conversions. It also builds awareness of your company and positions you as an expert at what you do. Many businesses fail to take an in-depth approach like this, and are leaving money on the table.

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