When we think of content marketing, we often think of a strategy aimed at acquiring new customers or leads. I would say a kind of courtship: gifts, messages, proposals.
Not surprisingly, many examples of web content creation strategies stop near the end of the sales funnel.
And then what? And then too many times it happens that we don’t treat the customer sufficiently, convert them and abandon them.
Yet if you have a business you know that it is much more difficult to win the trust of a new customer than to retain someone who has already chosen you once.
Fortunately, content marketing can be much more than courtship. Have you ever thought of using it to build stable affections?
Content marketing: choose the right one for each stage
With content creation strategies for the web, it is possible to create real firm relationships with your customers, increase brand awareness and obviously increase sales in the long run.
Whether producing content intended for potential new customers or to enrich the experience of those already loyal, writing content designed specifically for each stage of the funnel is critical to any company’s success.
It may help you to know that to structure the perfect content strategy, you need to pay attention to the moment when the content reaches the user.
Let me explain further, if the goal is to attract the user’s attention to your Brand, it is important to do so with content that is fast, fascinating and quick to absorb.
Once you have achieved this goal and the user is willing to learn more, then you can opt for more engaging content that draws attention and provides more information.
Content marketing: examples for building loyalty
Articles, guides, newsletters, posts, videos, images, ebooks, downloadable pdfs, stories-these are all examples of online content creation used in a content marketing strategy.
This means only one thing: we all produce content. There are billions of pieces of content. There is a very high competition inherent in web content writing.
Don’t cry: there is a solution. When quantity is so redundant, you must always play on quality.
Your skill lies in creating specific content to add value to your people. To do this, you must know your customers well and therefore define your ideal Buyer Personas.
Good content has at least one of these characteristics:
- is useful
- is fun
- inspires change
- excites.
If you don’t have a single one, stop. Think about it. Rethink your content marketing strategies.
A little extra memo: respect your users’ privacy and their opt-in and opt-out choices.
The rules dictate it, but so does common sense: what do you do when you get an intrusive telemarketing call, or a newsletter that just doesn’t interest you? Yep.
So would your users.
Content strategy for the after-sales phase
You have courted your contact throughout the sales funnel (path to purchase).
He gradually told you things about himself: his research, the pages of the site he liked best, the products he browsed, the ones he left in his shopping cart.
Eventually he was convinced and purchased. From a simple Lead he became a Customer. In doing so, he provided you with other data: personal and billing data, of course, but also an implicit statement about what he may need in the future and how he prefers to buy.
He has already spent time and money to be with you, and you have spent energy and budget to convert him from a lead to a customer. And now you plan to let him go just like that or treat him like one of many? No, I would say definitely not.
Continue to provide useful and valuable content using newsletters, inbox chats, SMS Marketing, social, podcasts, webinars, etc.
What content will be useful in this post-sales phase? Here are some examples for defining an effective content marketing strategy:
- Promos, possibly related to the products or services you have purchased or that may suit you;
- Stories from inside your company, your vision, your values. For example, stories of satisfied customers, or charitable initiatives, or content aimed at branding. Keep this in mind: customers often choose your very brand and become attached because they espouse the same values as you and feel a part of something;
- On social, try to post content to build a community of users, especially engaging people who have already purchased from you. They will be your influencers, your focus groups and your bearings in a crisis;
- The most useful content for customers, such as guides, webinars or videos on how to use the product or service purchased.
Remember that tone of voice, that is, the way you write your content, is also crucial.
Your web pages can respond effectively to your potential customers’ research. They can tell stories with different points of view.
Finding content that meets their needs and communication style is the first step in creating a valuable relationship.
Content marketing: how much does it cost to retain customers?
This depends on how many tasks you can do independently in-house or whether you need to contract a content marketing agency or freelancer.
There are many variables involved: how many people you want to reach, who they are, where they are, what industry you work in.
So there are variable costs that you need to evaluate carefully, considering that your goal is still to have an adequate ROI.
What I can tell you is that technically you could do content marketing at no cost, using the company blog, direct email marketing, etc.
Free means without having to spend any budget on advertising, but simply using the organic search and spaces you already have on the web.
Content marketing to retain customers then has advantages: you can reach the customer directly with direct actions such as e-mails or instant messages, without having to invest in advertising or spend time and energy on SEO.
I can’t give you the perfect recipe. I can tell you that content must be authentic, useful and exclusive to retain your customers.
What I recommend is that you don’t go in fits and starts, but build a comprehensive digital marketing strategy that starts at the top of the funnel but doesn’t end at purchase. In this strategy, include content to retain and pamper existing customers.
Your brand also needs stable affections.
Writing SEO content to attract new customers
If you apply an SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Strategy at the content creation stage, your content marketing will turn into an important tool for acquiring new customers.
The more SEO content you publish on your website and/or e-commerce, the greater the opportunities for it to be properly indexed by search engines.
There is no magic formula, I can tell you that the more indexed content your site has, the higher your company’s online ranking will be.
As online positioning grows, the opportunities to acquire new contacts grow significantly.
Therefore, we can say that content written for the web can help us improve our ranking in search results and implement a lead generation strategy.