Meet your audience where they are with content that serves their needs
Selling a product or offering a service means providing your customers valuable content so they can make an educated decision.
It’s vital to understand where in the buyer's journey your customer is and what specific content they may need at that stage.
Depending on the stage, their behaviour, needs, and attitude changes. You have to address your customer in different ways.
In this article, we give ideas and inspiration for content formats you could use to reach your audience in the different stages of their journey.
Awareness stage
The awareness stage is the first one of the buyer’s journey.
Your customer knows they have a problem but can’t really name it yet. They will browse through the internet to figure out what their problem is and find a potential solution for it. Your goal is to make your potential customer aware of your business, your brand, your offering.
How do you do this?
Exactly, with the right content.
Useful content formats:
Blog posts
Blog posts are a great way to showcase all the necessary information about your business and offerings without putting pressure on your potential customer. It’s a useful and informative piece of content that helps them understand your offering, arouses interest, and builds a relationship. Additionally, blog articles are very easy to share on several channels.
Infographics
The wonderful thing about infographics is that you can pack a lot of information into just one image. They are visually appealing and easy to digest. On top of that, they are also easy to share so that not only your potential customer sees them, but also all those they share it with. That’s a win-win for all! Make sure to keep your design simple and clean, and don’t overload it. Use white space and organise your content into clear sections to make them attractive for the reader’s eye and mind.
Videos
Videos are great to showcase your brand and the people behind it. Give your audience a look behind the scenes. That builds connections and also makes you approachable. Think of videos about your business’ story, team members, yourself, or short how-to videos that explain core products and services of your business. Since most of your potential customers in this stage may not even know what product or service can help them, these videos can help you to provide them with a solution and lead them in your direction.
Consideration stage
The consideration stage is the crucial stage of the buyer’s journey.
Your customer is aware of their problem or challenge and they are now figuring out if your offering is right for them. At the same time, you also have to figure out if they are your target audience.
It should be a true match, not a partnership of convenience.
If it’s the perfect fit for both of you, you have to convince your potential customer that you are the best offering on the market for them. But don’t show off. Instead, show them that you care about them and want more than just their money.
You can do this with content that shows how and why you stand out from the rest.
Useful content formats:
Case studies
Case studies are the perfect format to highlight what your existing or past customers have experienced with your product. It’s a very unique piece of content and provides knowledge and actionable information. Case studies showcase what solutions your product can offer to potential customers.
How-to videos
How-to videos are a great way to catch your audience’s attention. Focus on the pain points of your customers and explain how your product and services can help them.
White papers
White papers point on one particular problem and how your product can offer the solution. They focus on details and build thought leadership as well as authority for your brand.
Webinars and podcasts
Webinars and podcasts are a great way to engage your audience. And they enjoy great popularity. Podcasts can be even more engaging than written content, but they also take more time and effort to produce. If you don’t have the resources to do one yourself, reach out to other podcasters from your scene and ask to collaborate.
Decision stage
The decision stage is when your potential customer is making the decision to buy.
And you want to make sure that they buy from you. It’s crucial that you show you care about them. Be personal and inclusive.
The content you create should be personalised, but also persuasive.
Useful content formats:
Demos and free trials
The classics. Demos and free trials allow your customers to test your product so they can understand it and know what to expect. They are also the first step to build a connection with your brand. If their trial experience is great, it increases the chance they will stay with you.
Testimonials
Never underestimate the power of reviews. Nothing speaks louder than your current customers. If you’re not sure whether you want to buy this product or not, what do you do? You read the reviews. Create testimonials, either in written form or videos. It’s a great way to convince your potential customers that you are the perfect fit for them.
Now you are equipped with some tips and inspiration. When creating content, keep in mind who your audience is, what their pain points are, what they need and search for, and develop a content strategy for each of the stages.
If you need support finding your way through the world of content, creating a content plan, or finding new ideas, I’m here to support you along the way.
