Your buyer’s journey is consisted of 3 phases and leads typically fall into one of them:
- Top-of-the-funnel: Awareness
- Middle-of-the-funnel: Evaluation
- Bottom-of-the-funnel: Buying decision
Top-of-the-funnel is a place your leads are searching for general information about a subject. Thus, the goal of the first phase is to create rich and informative content. This content should attract as much awareness as possible and convert your visitors into leads. For example- social media tips, blog posts, video marketing, white papers and infographics. Identifying your buyer personas’ online preferences will help you decide which channel to prioritize.
Middle-of-the-funnel or the phase of evaluation should introduce your leads to your brand. Moreover, at this phase, they should learn what it’s like to do business with you. Hence, position your product to those who have passed through the previous phase or your repeat customers. Focus your content on providing additional value to your audience. Furthermore, explain your brand further to them. For example, use targeted newsletters, blogs, ebooks, case studies, branded webinars, white papers and email campaigns.
Bottom-of-the-funnel is focused on the buying decision. During this phase, your leads are looking for information that communicates the benefits of your service. Bottom-of-the-funnel leads have shown signs that they’re interested in your service offering. And now, they are serious about doing business with you. Hence, offer them a free trial, a live demo, a discounted deal or a free consultation.
Ultimately, you should focus on providing quality content for all phases. Otherwise, you won’t move leads through your sales cycle. Thus, it’s important to understand the questions, concerns and objections that each of your buyer personas. Having this in mind during all three stages will help you formulate a content strategy that converts.