Content is king, coin, blood that runs in the veins of digital marketing. But you must be tired of reading about it, right? The truth is that constant content production, combined with your goals and strategy, ensures search engine positioning, loyal and engaged audience, and recurrent and growing lead generation, which translates to more and better results for your brand. That is, it is not possible to talk about strategy, growth and results without talking about what is going to fuel your actions. There are several cases in which the sale does not happen in the online environment, but in which it ends up influencing the purchase, as in strategies of constructors and educational networks, for example.
But why content is so important?
Quality content is able to establish a trust relationship between company and customer. To make its importance clearer, we cannot fail to talk about who it is for, its customer. And it’s no use continuing to do what you’ve always done a thousand years ago because it worked: the customer who buys your product / solution / service today is not the same one you bought 10, 5 or maybe a year ago. And this is because the way it consumes products, knowledge and ideas has changed.
If before, you-company decided what to disclose (and did so in an intrusive way), today, it is who decides what, when and where to consume content.
No matter where he is in the world, at his fingertips is what he needs to access an infinite number of other people’s reviews, blog posts and competing websites. The customer today is no longer passive, to be the empowered consumer who takes control of his purchase and only consumes what adds his life, of brands with relevance and authority.
The conversion rate of your site is the ratio of your number of visits to the number of actions taken (newsletter subscription, rich material download, budget request, etc.). Conversion is a performance indicator for a marketing campaign. After all, it is not enough to just attract the visitor to your page. That is, in one way or another, your content is not attractive enough to make what the reader wants to advance on the journey, consume more materials or buy your product. With a real, consistent conversion rate set, you’ll be able to more accurately plan and focus your marketing efforts, boosting your bottom line, and proving your ROI better.
With your plan in mind, here are some must follow steps on how to build a conversion-oriented content strategy:
1. Create content appropriate for each stage of the sales funnel
Not every customer is ready to buy, but that does not mean you cannot feed him until he’s finally there. For this, it is essential to produce content for all stages of the sales funnel, attracting a large number of visitors:
Top of the funnel: It is the stage of attraction and awareness, the awakening of a curiosity or need. Invest in basic and comprehensive content, but in a compelling and inviting way;
Middle of the funnel: Here, visitors have already established a certain trust in you, becoming Leads, then the content should be more in-depth, showing “how to” something, advantages and disadvantages of certain tools and services etc.
Funnel background: Your lead has already mastered the subject, already researched several service options and is in the phase of deciding what suits him best; invest in tool tips, metrics, budget calculators, return on investment and success stories.
In addition, a journey that is really thought and grounded in the behavior of the persona can help – in the passage from one content to the other – to influence conversion rates.
2. Use calls and impact words
This may sound basic, but it is extremely effective. Phrases and words of impact vividly convey the benefits of your product and the problem it solves, as well as being extremely attractive.
Some powerful words that can be used to attract your client, such as Free, The Truth About, Last Chance, Sensational, Urgent, identify the ones that make sense for your persona and use them in a way that reflects that there is the solution to your client’s pain. But attention: using these words just to get attention, without delivering value, can also be a shot in the foot.
3. Emphasize value rather than processes
It is very common, when disseminating content, we focus on the process that it demystifies. For example: Register today for the conversion optimization course! But try to emphasize the value that that information brings (Find out how to increase your conversions by 86%). The difference is that a process-oriented call describes an activity, while the second describes the value that this activity will bring to your work, attracting the reader better because it focuses on a pain that needs healing.
4. Segment your content according to placements
Consumers today expect to receive content and differentiated information according to the channel of their choice. By segmenting the audience into smaller groups and better studying who your client is, how they interact and react on each channel, you’ll be able to deliver content that will resonate more and, of course, have more value.
5. Develop a professional or team focused on product content
Develop a multifunctional content team that enjoys the resources, flexibility, and authority to quickly make content decisions in support of Marketing and Business. A professional dedicated to the digital content of the product allows you to have a better and greater vision on how to present a solution or idea for you.
6. Invest in tools that help improve conversion rates
CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization) strategies are essential for increasing results and you can and should! Count on them in your planning.
7. Monitor your results consistently
Use tools to monitor the results of your content. This monitoring is essential for reviewing strategies, scoring what was positive or not, creating new ideas, and replicating successful actions. Google Analytics and RD Station can be great allies at this time.
To conclude content marketing and conversion work best when worked together as they help you gain a greater understanding of what type of content converts better by introducing more customers into your sales funnel and increasing your revenue. And when you have a well-oiled and working conversion machine, it’s even easier to focus on your core business, gaining competitive advantage within your market.
Guest article written by: Sarah Feldman is a Marketing Manager and is currently working with Digital Express, a digital agency specialized in content creation in Dubai. She loves to learn and share the latest digital marketing updates and trends.
Particular liked the bit about impact words. That is really the area I need to work on when make content. The sales funnel and filling every stage of it is also a nice concept probably something I will look at down the track.