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Content Marketing Funnel Stages

Spend any amount of time scrolling through social media or browsing the internet and you’ll see a lot of content that is trying to get you to buy something, sign up for something, or learn more about something. This type of marketing, known as content marketing, can play a huge role in attracting customers to your brand and business. Creating content like this is part of the content marketing funnel, which is a way to introduce leads to your business and then convert them into sales by “funneling” them through various stages of content. The content marketing funnel has its own place in the sales funnel, and can naturally push customers towards your product or business. Before jumping into creating content, though, you need to know the five stages of the content marketing funnel:  awareness, evaluation, conversion, purchase, and repurchase.

2 megaphones pointing in opposite directions, one blue and one orange.
First you need to raise awareness of your business and get exposure!

Awareness

This stage is very important for businesses, because it is the stage in which you produce content that gets the attention of potential customers. After all, before a lead becomes a customer, they have to be aware that your business even exists! During this stage, you should be posting mainly on social media. Your content should speak to potential customers about what’s important to them. Engage with them as much as you can in order to grow your visibility on other people’s pages or walls. You can share interesting articles or videos (including those you have made yourself), write and share blog posts, and even create a podcast! 

Evaluation

After coming across your content, customers will evaluate whether they need your product, and whether it will be a solution to their problems. This is the evaluation stage. During this stage, you should be trying to build trust with customers; the best way to do this is by providing them with all the information they will need to make their decision. At this point, they will hopefully be looking at your website, so make sure that you are SEO-optimized. You should also make sure that your service descriptions are up-to-date, and that your site includes information about your company, such as your background and values. 

Conversion

call to action written on a black board with a stopwatch as the O
Make sure to include a call-to-action for prospects to request more information.

Once a customer has visited your website, you need ways to continue to funnel them towards making a purchase. This means that it should be easy and appealing for them to sign up to receive updates/more information. This is the conversion phase. Make sure you have a visible call-to-action, try using an email drip campaign, or even offer a free trial for your services to entice them to give you a try. By presenting potential customers with as much information as possible during this phase, you can help steer them towards a purchase.

Purchase

The average customer engages with 3-5 pieces of content before talking to a sales rep. If you have successfully led them through the funnel that far, then you have a good chance of making a sale. But once a customer has decided to purchase your product, you still need to keep the customer relationship going. This stage is all about continuing to engage with your customers and making them feel important so that they stay satisfied. Having great customer service skills will eventually get your customers coming back and referring you to others. 

Repurchaseone hand coing out of a laptop screen with a credit card reaching towards another hand coming ojut of a laptop screen with a brown bag

After a customer has purchased from your business, you need to keep them coming back to you to use your services again. During the repurchase stage you will be focusing on developing customer relationships by continuing to engage with your customer. Stay in contact with them to make sure that they are happy, and if they are not, then see what you can do to make them happy. When you keep your customer happy, you will have a customer for life!

About The Author: Cassandra Love

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