Everything you read or watch about inbound marketing stresses the importance of content and the buyer’s journey, yet there is very little information to help you understand what type of content is required for each stage. Knowing what type of content to publish at each stage can help you create content that will be remarkable, rather than skipped over. Read on to learn how to create remarkable content for each stage of the buyer’s journey so you can run your best inbound marketing campaigns.
Creating Remarkable Content for the Awareness Stage
In the awareness stage of your target persona’s buyer’s journey, they are recognizing they have a problem and are seeking a solution. At this point, they are not ready to make a purchase; they are exploring answers to solving their needs or wants. Since more than 80-percent of buyers research online before making a purchase, your content has to stand out as an authoritative source. To accomplish this you must:
- Study your target persona so you thoroughly understand their pain points.
- Use this opportunity to educate your potential customers about their problems or desires and not as a sales pitch or solution-based content.
- Successful content formats during the awareness stage include blog posts, e-books, videos, analyst or research reports and other educational material.
To help you with an example, Company A sells hair loss prevention products. They are targeting men in the 20-30 year range because sales are a bit slow. Two potential items of content might include:
- 5 Causes of Hair Loss in Men Under 30
- Is your Young Lifestyle Causing Hair Loss?
Solution-Based Content for Consideration
Once your target persona has reached the consideration stage, they are fully aware of what their problem or need is and are ready to explore available options. Without touting your brand, or your specific products or services, you want to provide your potential customers with solutions to their needs. Going back to our hair loss company, they would publish content such as:
- How Men Under 30 can Minimize Hair Loss
- Make these Changes to your Young Lifestyle to Prevent Hair Loss
While these examples are very basic, they show you how you can tailor your content to show that your business is an authority on the solutions to your buyer persona’s pain points. Excellent forms of content for this stage include expert guides, white papers, live interactions, videos and blogs.
Guiding your Buyer Persona through the Decision Stage
You have nurtured your potential customers along the buyer’s journey and now they are ready to make their decision. You have helped educate them on their pain points, you have informed them of solutions and now you will show them why YOUR product or service is their best choice. Now is when you present your brand and show your potential buyer why it is better than the competition. Your content should remind them your brand understands their pain points and the solutions you have provided, then prove your business will best meet their needs. Forms of content that are particularly successful here include testimonials, free trial offers and case studies. For the hair loss business, an example for both scenarios might be:
“Losing your hair when you are under 30 can be a challenge for men. Studies have shown that XYZ Hair Serum stops hair loss in its tracks! Order your free sample today.”
Contact your inbound marketing partners of Sumner Digital to learn how publishing remarkable content at each stage of your target persona’s buyer’s journey can amplify your results.