The concept of mapping your content marketing efforts to your customer’s journey and the sales funnel is essential for creating meaningful content designed to drive conversions. In today’s landscape, when video is at the epicenter of the marketing mix, it’s equally as important to consider how you can leverage it throughout the journey. By mapping your video content to the customer journey, you’ll have a better understanding of the promotion tactics and key performance indicators relevant to that piece of content.
Awareness
When your customers are in the awareness stage they are just realizing the problem and may have no pre-existing knowledge of your brand or solution. This is the phase where they are performing initial research around their problem and not looking directly for solutions. As first impressions are wildly important, so too is how you engage with your customers in this stage of the journey. This content should be quick, simple, and easily digestible.
In the awareness stage, educational video content offers real value to your audience and establishes your brand as a friendly subject matter expert without pushing a hard sell. This content is designed to gain trust from your audience and help establish your brand.
Keyword research and search engine optimization are key components in both the ideation phase of this content segment as well as the promotion strategy. Creating video content for key landing pages or even creating video blogs meant to educate your audience and answer questions found in keyword research is a great strategy. In addition to organic promotion, a paid campaign to promote your content using strong keyword or demographic targeting is a great way to get your content in front of those who aren’t familiar with your brand.
Key Performance Indicators: View Count, View Through Rate
Consideration
Now that your potential customers are aware of the problem they want to solve, they’re looking for solutions. Ideally, your audience will be familiar with your brand through the top of funnel content you’ve created for the awareness stage. While it’s easy to be tempted into pushing a hard sales message at this stage, it’s important to keep the focus on educating your audience. Remember, by educating your audience you’re empowering them to make the best decision, which ultimately leads to happier customers.
This content will likely be more of a deep dive than awareness stage content. Explainer videos and product/service demo videos are great for this stage, along with brand videos to educate your audience on your company and culture.
Your promotion strategy may look very similar to the awareness stage, utilizing targeted paid campaigns and organic search optimization. Your paid campaigns may place a heavier weight on search ads for solution based key terms vs demographic targeting. It’s also very important to leverage the audience garnered from the awareness stage through a remarketing campaign; that audience is already familiar with your brand, has ideally gained a little trust, and will be more likely to convert.
Key Metrics: View Time, View Through Rate
Decision
In the conversion stage your audience has researched their problem, found your solution, and are ready to move forward. After all your hard work building trust and educating your audience, it’s time to close the sale. The beauty of video in the conversion stage, is that it allows you to leverage a strong emotional component while also educating your audience on why your product/service is the best solution.
Any objections or questions that your audience may have before they’re ready to buy should be considered in decision stage video content. Video FAQs, testimonial, and instructional videos are great for this stage in the journey. Being transparent in this stage will continue to build trust all the way through the sale. By answering all your audience’s questions, you’re empowering potential customers to move through into the conversion.
Key Metrics: Conversions/Leads/Sales