With the right content, your company can be part of a prospect’s buyer’s journey at any stage, providing them with the information they need when they need it. The right content keeps prospects engaged and coming back to learn more.
Through a well-researched and thorough buyer persona, you can have customized content ready and waiting to answer a prospect’s questions from when they’re in their awareness stage right up to the decision stage.
Your content should be meaningful and helpful. Those engaging with it should feel that they walked away better equipped to solve their problem. Your content should provide real information they can actually use.
Prospects can see right through garbage content because it’s, well … garbage.
Unlike traditional marketing efforts, content marketing allows you to zero-in on your ideal customer while they’re on their buyer’s journey.
The types of content your company produces should include:
Blogging is at the heart of a content marketing strategy.
Through blogs, companies can create a steady stream of educational content that’s fresh and relevant to prospects. This content flow entices visitors to come back to your website to learn more and feel confident about what your company can do for them.
Blog content should utilize keywords, making it easier for search engines to rank and categorize. It should also include CTAs (calls to action) to help guide customers along their buyer’s journey toward the ultimate goal of selecting your company’s product or service.
In 2019, online video traffic accounted for almost all internet traffic. That figure is expected to go up in 2020.
Videos are one of the more powerful tools you can use in content marketing. Not only can they help you visually present information quickly, but they can also allow for interaction with a prospect.
With the ease of creating videos now, you can reach prospects directly, tailoring messages to them.
Prospect-specific videos can be used to:
Fact: 70% of B2B buyers watch a video as part of researching a product.
Social media is a must in any content marketing campaign. One of the best parts about it -- social media is virtually free.
Social media can drive prospects to your website and its resources. Using hashtags in social media posts is an easy way to help potential customers find you -- particularly when they’re in the awareness and consideration stages of the buyer’s journey.
Social media is also a great way to interact directly with a prospect, solicit feedback, and respond to questions or concerns.
When creating posts for your social media accounts, be sure to:
Email in content marketing serves a variety of purposes.
Email can continue engagement with prospects by keeping a conversation moving along or providing new, useful information.
What’s more, email can also be used as a way to personalize interactions with a prospect and help guide them down the marketing funnel with the right content.
Fact: 80% of consumers are more likely to do business with a company offering personalized experiences.
Be mindful of the frequency in which you send emails -- you don’t want prospects to start identifying your emails as spam.
Like the one you see above, e-books help prospects take a deeper dive into a subject matter.
Just like a traditional book, they’re full of information a prospect can use to help them solve a problem or learn more about a product or service.
E-books can be offered on your site for free as a download or in exchange for contact information on a landing page. For marketers, this information exchange is invaluable in learning more about potential customers and creating a database of leads to nurture along.
In recent years, podcasts have steadily increased in popularity, and they’ve become a great tool in marketing.
Consider these statistics about 2019 by Podcast Insights:
Podcasts allow your company to increase reach and boost its profile as an authority within your industry -- you can use them to discuss new trends, issues faced by clients, or insightful information.
A great example is Healthcare Information Security Podcast by HealthcareInfoSecurity.com. In each installment, the podcast talks with staff and industry thought leaders about current issues facing healthcare security.
If you’re not creating your own podcast, your marketing strategy could include sponsoring one that’s relevant to your ideal customer.
Check out these additional resources on content marketing:
Creating an Inbound Marketing Strategy in Healthcare Technology
How to Increase Your Website Traffic With Content Marketing
Content Marketing Advice in Just 1 Sentence
The Ultimate Guide to Content Marketing in 2020
Get started on leveraging your content to create brand awareness with our FREE Brand Awareness Strategy Guide for Healthcare Technology: