Many companies and organisations know that content marketing (blogging, social media etc.), otherwise known as inbound marketing, is an important tool for attracting and converting prospects.
On average B2B buyers are 57% through the sales cycle before they make direct content with your business. For 57% of the customer journey they’re searching, exploring, comparing, getting recommendations and making decisions about your business before you have an opportunity to sell to them. Therefore, they require content. You need to provide them with 57% of the sales cycle on your website, social media profiles and through email marketing.
However, knowing that it’s a good thing to do is all very well, actually having a strategy for your company blog that delivers on these objectives is another.
A blog content strategy starts with your target audience
My advice for anyone starting to blog for their business – whether you’re a business owner working for yourself or a marketing manager developing your company’s content marketing strategy – is to really understand who your target audience is.
Then you can write blog content specifically for them and make informed choices about the content you share.Next you must consider your end goals and how content will turn strangers (prospects) into happy customers who want to tell other people about your business.
- What are the stages of the marketing funnel that will ultimately result in a new customer?
- What content do you need to have in advance to ensure that prospects can progress through that funnel in their own time?
If you make the mistake of writing content to attract prospects, but haven’t got your next steps in place, you’ll end up with lots of visitors to your website but not many people self-qualifying and actually allowing you to close the sale. Map out customer journeys for each customer avatar you create. Identify where they converge and where you can reuse content. Understand their differences, where you need to create original content that speaks to them directly. Work out what your customers need to make decisions about your business, service or product – then give it to them!
