For many small business owners, content marketing may seem unimportant – after all, do blog articles or social media posts really equal an increase in sales and provide a boost to your bottom line? The answer is yes, although establishing an effective digital marketing funnel between a piece of content and a new customer completing a purchase online or walking through your front door requires you to understand the importance of online customer conversion. Once you understand the importance of the process, your content marketing works to attract potential customers into your business, and allows them to get to know you, like you, and trust you to do business with you.
The Importance Of a Well-Branded Business Website
2020 ushered in the Great Resignation. A very large portion of those people that left their traditional jobs have moved into starting their own business. Competition has always been fierce, and as a business owner you strive to be different to attract those customers that “get” your unique brand of delivering what you offer. Now, more than ever its important to establish your brand in a way that is engaging to your ideal customers. 2022 is ushering in a new era, where a humanized, authentic digital presence is the mark of a good brand.
People are marketing savvy. We are bombarded with hundreds of marketing messages each day. We know when someone is being authentic – and when someone is not. We engage with brands that inspire us, that show us the way to a better life, a better business… or just to have fun along the way!
The key to effective content marketing is consistency. Producing and publishing content on a regular basis allows your audience to find you, follow you, and learn from you. It builds awareness and interest in your offerings and done properly, creates the desire to learn from your expertise. Being consistent in your marketing keeps you in the forefront of your followers, fans and customers. Staying relevant and authentic keep them in your tribe. Learning along the way, what works to engage and what doesn’t, allows you to stay better connected with your audience.
Step it Up
Your website should work as hard for your business as you do. It should promote your offerings and the promise you deliver upon when you work with your customers. It should allow potential customers to get to know you, like you and trust you. That is done through sharing your expertise through the various ways your followers expect to consume information. Video, written content, audio, are all ways that your customers can get the information they need to be inspired and trust you and your expertise.
When thinking about building a sales funnel, something that allows you to build your followers, think of ways to answer the burning questions that are keeping your customers awake at night. Present that information to them through various format, repurposed in a way that your audience likes to learn: a video or audio series, an infographic, a whitepaper or interactive web page, an assessment or quiz. Be creative in your presentation and your audience will enjoy it all the more! That is the start to a well-rounded customer journey!
Think of repurposing your most sought-after content into many different formats that allow your followers to learn in a way that suites them at that moment in time. Video, audio and the written word all are consumed differently during our day. The better you understand your audience, the more likely your content will connect with then in an authentic true way.
Getting Started
Including an opt-in on your website that builds your email list, is a must to create a website that converts. Your opt-in should be something that your ideal audience is interested in, and is willing to give away their email address to stay connected with you and your business. Identifying what to use, and how to build out the opt-in communication sequence can be overwhelming. But to do it right, starts with stepping into the shoes of your ideal audience and giving them something they are seeking. To get into the right mindset, here are a few questions to ask yourself when thinking about what content to use when crafting an online funnel:
1. What questions keep your customers awake at night? What is so important to your customer’s success that you know would entice them to click to learn more? What are their burning desires that motivates and drives them to seek out answers? Where are your customers missing an opportunity or not seeing that could help them feel “unstuck”? All of these things are the beginnings to develop an opt-in that compels your audience to learn more. Your opt-in should be the intersection between what your customers are feeling and how your expertise can help them get on the other side to success.
2. Now that you have ideas for your content, what are some ways you can deliver the answers that can compel your prospective customers to reach out to learn more? Is video their preferred way to learn? Or do they want a more interactive web experience? Can you create a quiz or assessment that helps your customers gain insights? Thinking as your customer, determine the right way to deliver the content to them that best engages them.
Once you have your content ideas, the fun begins! Now, you need to create the delivery system through your email newsletter service or your CRM to create the communication process of delivering your opt-in information, as well as communicating with them. Using a CRM or email automation service, you begin crafting the communication to deliver your sought-after content.
In our next blog post, we will discuss the communication process, and building an opt-in that grows your email list and funnels the right customers into your business.