A company blog is a great way to explore different types of content marketing that show your personality to potential clients. It should be informative and help guide people towards a conversion, whether that’s buying a product through your site or signing up for a service you offer.
If the bounce rate on your blog posts are high and you aren’t seeing any assisted conversions in your Analytics, your content marketing strategy may need tweaking.
Content creation targeting end-funnel users only
A lot of businesses use their blogs like they would any other page on their site. They are stuffed with keywords and calls to action and rarely offer the reader something for nothing. This type of marketing strategy is due to the need to quantify the bottom line to stakeholders. If your content doesn’t point directly to a product or service then it’s hard to get it pushed through. But this could actually be costing your business.
Target users at different stages of the buying cycle for improved results
By using different types of content marketing that interests your readers or offers them valuable information, you can build a relationship with potential customers who are not quite ready to invest. Once they have read and enjoyed your content, you can target them with a paid marketing campaign with similar pieces of content that feeds them more information each time until they are eventually in a place where they are ready to spend their hard-earned money. Because you have been building a relationship with them, they will hopefully choose to invest in you over someone else.
Understanding what different types of content marketing you should use to target potential customers throughout certain stages of the buying cycle will help you create a marketing strategy that provides great results now and in the future.
Three different types of content marketing you should definitely try
The social post
This type of post is perfect for users who are just entering the buying cycle. They may just be learning about a particular product or service but haven’t dedicated much time to research.
We have named this form of content ‘social posting’, due to the nature of this type of content performing well when shared socially. It should be relevant to your industry but not aimed at driving conversions.
Think of this type of content as a way of introducing yourself to a potential customer. Essentially, this is a ‘first date’ with your audience.
For example, if you are a company that sells eco-friendly content, try a post that talks about the rise of ethical buying. This will speak directly to your target audience and spark their interest. As it is a social post, don’t forget to utilise trending search terms and a lot of optimised images and make your content as engaging as possible.
The informative post
The informative post is a fantastic option to follow the social post. This type of content creation should be aimed at offering readers relevant and interesting information.
It may be that you use this content as part of a remarketing strategy targeting people that have seen the initial social piece. Because the reader already knows who you are, now would be a great opportunity to introduce how your service might benefit them.
Going back to the eco-friendly toilet paper mentioned earlier, in this type of post you might want to highlight the environmental impact of creating traditional rolls of toilet paper, and the predicted impact switching to a more eco-friendly roll could have.
It may be relevant to introduce a very, very soft sell but it is important to remember that this post is all about being informative, not pushing conversions.
The post to drive sales
This is the type of content your bosses will be interested in, however, that doesn’t mean it is the most important. Each of these types of content marketing plays a vital role in driving a user to convert.
Now that your audience knows you and, hopefully, likes you, it is time to create a piece of content that highlights why you are the best choice to fulfil their needs. Include relevant internal links and find a way to highlight how satisfied your loyal customers are to really drive home why they should choose you.
Measuring the results of your content creation
It can be hard getting social and informative posts pushed through due to the intent being far from ‘commercial’. However, it is important to remember that if you aren’t building a relationship with future customers and your competitors are, there is a much higher chance that they will win their business while you lose out.
For content that isn’t sales-driven, we recommend measuring the impact over a three month period for a full picture of whether or not they were successful. And don’t forget to keep an eye on those assisted conversions. These type of posts may pay off a lot more than you think.
