People engage with content differently at each stage of the buyer’s journey. You need to create a mix of content types and post them on the right channels to guide prospects through your content funnel and turn them into leads, customers, and promoters.
Creating a knockout content marketing strategy doesn’t have to be complicated. In this article, we’ll take you through the 7 stages of the buyer’s journey and show you the types of content you need to create for each stage, as well as the channels you should be using to post your content. By the end, you’ll have everything you need to create a content marketing strategy that will help you generate leads, close deals, and keep your customers coming back for more.
The Research Stage
Before you can create a content marketing strategy, you need to do some research into the types of content your buyers want and the channels they use. Conduct surveys and interviews with your targeted customers to figure out what kind of content they’re interested in engaging with. You should also look at what type of content your competitors are creating and what channels they’re using. This will give you an idea of what’s working for them and what you should be doing differently. It’s also a good idea to set up Google Alerts for any topics related to your industry, as this will help you stay on top of the latest trends.
The Planning Stage
Once you’ve come up with some ideas, it’s time to create a plan. Start by creating a content calendar that outlines the topics and types of content you’ll be creating and posting on each channel. Make sure to research the best times to post on each channel and create content that resonates with your target audience. You should also decide who will be in charge of coming up with, developing, editing, scheduling, and posting the content. Lastly, make sure to set goals for each piece of content so you can measure your success.
The Creating Stage
Once you’ve got a plan in place, it’s time to start creating content. Think about the topics you want to focus on and create visuals, videos, blog posts, and other types of content that align with your goals. This can include marketing collaterals, webinars, white papers, ebooks, and more. Make sure to create content that caters to each stage of the buyer’s journey, from awareness to conversion.
The Testing Stage
Before you post your content, it’s important to make sure it’s as effective as possible. This means testing each piece of content with a small sample of your audience. If a piece of content isn’t resonating, make changes and test again until you get it right. You should also use A/B testing to figure out which type of content or post type performs best on each channel.
The Implementation Stage
Now that you have a plan and content in place, it’s time to put them into action. Make sure to post your content on the right channels at the right times and measure progress with analytics software to see how your content is performing. This will allow you to make adjustments and optimise your content as needed.
The Evaluation Stage
Now that you’ve implemented your content strategy, it’s time to evaluate how it’s performing. Start by looking at your analytics to figure out which pieces of content are resonating with your audience, and which ones are falling short. You should also use surveys, interviews, and focus groups to get feedback from your customers and prospects. This will help you understand the impact of your content and give you ideas for how to improve it in the future
Conclusion
Creating a knockout content marketing strategy doesn’t have to be complicated. By following the 7 stages outlined in this article, you’ll have everything you need to create a content marketing strategy that will help you generate leads, close deals, and keep your customers coming back for more. With the right research, planning, creation, testing, implementation, and evaluation, you can create content that resonates with your target audience and drives real results.
