Building A Content Marketing Strategy That Truly Converts In 2022

Content is an extremely important part of search engine optimization or SEO. Without content, search engines won’t have enough information to index webpages correctly and rank websites. But more than that, content is important in every aspect of your overall digital marketing strategy.

Users search for information online not just because they want to know how great your brand is or how awesome your products are. What they really want to find out when they search for information is how well you can solve their problem.

This is the number one reason why you need a powerful and effective content marketing strategy. You want to make sure that your audience finds valuable solutions whenever they click through your website, starting with your content and ending with the quality of your products or services.

Content marketing strategy in a gist

Content marketing strategy is the creation and distribution of content to add more value to your target audience’s life.

Needless to say, your audience’s needs must be at the core of every content you create and distribute. This involves providing a consistent flow of valuable information that addresses people’s challenges and questions to effectively entice prospects into clicking through your site. In short, your content should educate and generate demand.

But, does content marketing still work?

The Content Marketing Institute (CMI) says that content marketing has a conversion rate of six times higher than other marketing strategies. A survey shows that 90% of B2B businesses use content marketing, and 74% of them rate it from moderately to extremely effective.

What makes content marketing incredibly successful is that it plays a crucial role in targeting prospects.

While it can take some time and require a lot of work until you get the desired results, what’s important is that you do get the results you want and need in the end. Plus, content marketing connects with the digital marketing strategy that you already have in place.

Matching your content to your funnel

A content funnel is what leads users to knowing your brand and then your products through the buying phase. What you need is well-organized content to move prospects from the top of the funnel (TOFU), which introduces prospects to your brand and then products to the middle of the funnel (MOFU), the stage where people consider or contemplate going through with the purchase and then to the bottom of the funnel (BOFU), which is the purchase and post-purchase phase.

Content marketing is like the oil that makes every prospect’s journey into the funnel go as smoothly as possible until they reach the BOFU. In other words, it’s the process of using content to convert prospects into actual paying customers. Again, this is where carefully crafted content comes into play.

One of the challenges of creating great quality content though is identifying which content goes where and how you can connect all of them.

TOFU – Awareness

This part of the funnel focuses on brand awareness, addressing your target market’s pain points, and putting your products or services out there as a viable solution.

Some of the best content types for TOFU include:

• Blogs – your articles must showcase your expertise on your chosen niche and answer questions that most of your audience will have. In other words, blogs are an efficient medium to educate, offer advice, and point your audience in the right direction.
• Infographics – they are quite effective in drawing people’s attention because they are visually appealing and present data in an easy-to-digest way, which is more appropriate for people who don’t like to read lengthy articles.
• Social media posts – you can promote your content through your social accounts to drive more traffic to your site.
• Videos – at this point, video content have become more powerful than written content in attracting prospects and spreading brand awareness. Plus, they are more visually attractive, making people want to click through your link.

MOFU – Consideration

At this phase in the funnel, your audience already knows who you are and the value you provide. This is where you can persuade them more by educating them further about the benefits of the solutions you offer.

• Videos – this kind of content is quite useful in every stage of the funnel as it helps you address questions or concerns that your prospects may have in a more definitive, more understandable manner.
• Webinars – they allow prospects to know you better, get close to you without requiring them to personally engage with you. They also let you show your audience your strength without focusing a lot on your product or service. In short, webinars breed familiarity that’s easy to follow up.
• E-books – can help build your brand’s credibility. E-books and free guides can be useful in providing valuable guidance that will further educate people, helping them remember your brand for when it’s time for them to make a decision.
• Podcasts – what makes podcasts different is that they are easily digestible. People can listen to them while doing other things, like doing the dishes, cooking, driving, or jogging. You should take advantage of this type of content to discuss topics that address your buyer persona’s pain points, making them feel understood.

BOFU – Decision

When a prospect reaches this phase of the funnel, they are ready to make a decision, which is why you need to let them know why they need to choose your products or services over others. This is where you need personalized content.

• Whitepapers – these will help you inform your audience about the benefits of your products and services using facts that will further convince people and remove their doubts.
• Emails – these need to be segmented and personalized for your brand to successfully address each of your prospect’s individual concerns. One way to take advantage of the power of emails is to distribute long-form content in a call-to-action (CTA) and link them back to your site.
• Testimonials – feedback from satisfied customers can help add to your credibility and reinforce your status as an authority in your niche. These will also help persuade indecisive prospects more easily.
• Case studies – these are helpful in presenting facts that your products or services are proven to provide solutions. This is because case studies provide a fact-based account of how you identify certain challenges and solve them with your products or services.
• Success stories – these are similar to case studies but with a more emotional, more personal approach as they encourage readers to identify with the issues at hand and to believe that you are the best choice to offer them the solutions.

Crafting a content marketing strategy that truly converts

Now that you are fully aware of how a content marketing strategy works and why it’s crucial for your success, it’s time to craft your own strategy.

1. Create different buyer personas

Buyer personas are created to help you understand your ideal buyers’ needs so that you can effectively address them. You will need to draw a detailed image of the kind of people who will benefit most from your product or service. Then, identify their pain points, concerns, habits, etc. By doing so, you’ll be to offer them the best solutions.

You can come up with different personas with different characteristics and then tailor-fit your content to appeal to each of the segments you created.

2. Map out all existing content

List down every piece of content you have and include as many details about each topic, type of content, message, and target audience. By mapping out your content you’ll be able to allocate each type of content to the right phase in the funnel. It will also help you identify gaps in the funnel, which lets you determine whether your products solve your prospects’ concerns or issues, as well as decide what to remove, repurpose, or add. Plus, you’ll be able to ensure that the information you provide to your prospects actually helps them, is relevant to them, and moves them to the next phase of the funnel.

3. Look for new opportunities for content

In content marketing, you need to constantly be on the lookout for new opportunities to produce new ideas, new topics to educate your audience and attract new customers. While you can use inspiration to create new content, you need to also have a method that will help you come up with unique valuable content all the time. What’s more, you need to make it a point to cover all funnel phases and reach and connect to all your buyer personas.

Some of the best ways to find out what your audience is interested in and what they actually want to discover from you include groups and forums, your competition, social listening, sales and customer support, and your own content performance.

4. Draft your content brief

Each piece of content you put out there must present something that not only highlights major key points but is also unique with recurring recognizable marks. If you use videos, for example, they should have the same introduction, outro, and end to ensure that viewers will be able to instantly recognize your brand from all the rest.

Here are the main points you need to cover in your content brief.

• Type of content
• Primary purpose/intent
• Target audience
• Funnel phase
• Keywords
• Internal and external links
• CTA
• Resource suggestions
• Estimated length
• Key points to address or questions to answer

5. Incorporate SEO into your content marketing strategy

SEO is a crucial part of your content marketing strategy. But to successfully drive traffic to your site, you need to have well-thought-out and well-written content that ranks well on search engines. This is where you need to conduct focused keyword research to identify and meet search intent on organic searches. You will also need internal links to strengthen your SEO strategy.

6. Use the best content distribution channels

To be able to get your content out in front of your audience and in the right funnel stage, you need detailed planning to be able to choose the right distribution channels. While you get maximum control over your owned media channels, i.e., your website and social media accounts, the reach is limited.

Aside from defining its purpose and your buyer personas, you also need to focus on the distribution of your content, which should meet your business goals. Keep in mind that great content and successful content do not always mean the same thing. The difference there is your distribution of your content and the marketing campaigns that surround your chosen channels.

The best way to go about it is to use paid channels where you can be sure of a high ROI. But first, you need to test the waters with your own channels. Find out what your audience thinks about it or how they react to it. Also, don’t forget to use influencers and partners for the most read assets.

7. Track the data

It’s also important to set quantifiable goals for your content strategy. Monitor traffic, conversion, and engagement metrics of each piece of content you produce to ensure that you’re able to expand your reach and increase ROI.

8. Analyze and optimize content performance

After monitoring traffic and engagement, the next step you need to take is to analyze your content’s performance so you will know how you can optimize it to get the conversions you want.  You will also need to compare and benchmark engagement and traffic against your competitors. Aside from that, you will also have to analyze your conversion funnel for you to be able to optimize your keyword strategy. By systematically analyzing data, you’ll be able to decide your next steps, whether it’s repurposing high-performing content or adapting content to new keyword trends.

Conclusion

To have an effective content marketing strategy in your arsenal, you need to have a strong content production process in place. You will also need to monitor the results to ensure that you’re getting your money’s worth.