Are you struggling to create a content plan for your business? Starting with content marketing can be challenging because it requires careful analysis, planning, and patience. To execute a successful content strategy, you need a well-thought-out plan. Hiring skilled copywriters and staying consistent with your efforts is key. Although content marketing takes time to show a return on investment (ROI), creating the right content that aligns with your buyer’s journey is essential to your success.
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Why Focus on the Buyer’s Journey?
Your content strategy should be based on your buyer’s journey to effectively guide potential customers through the stages of the buying process—Awareness, Consideration, Decision, and Advocacy. This process works like a funnel, where you engage a wide audience in the Awareness stage, but only a few become loyal customers in the Advocacy stage. By creating targeted content, you can guide potential buyers to take the desired action. This is how content marketing works, and here are 5 simple steps to plan it right.
5 Steps to Create a Content Strategy Based on Your Buyer’s Journey
1. Identify Your Ideal Buyers
To start, you need to identify your ideal customer—the one who brings the highest customer lifetime value (LTV) at the lowest customer acquisition cost (CAC). To do this, research key identifiers such as their demographics, goals, challenges, job roles, and how they research products. Once you gather insights, create content that shows how your product or service helps them solve their problems and achieve their goals.
2. Map Your Buyer’s Journey
The buyer’s journey includes four stages: Awareness, Consideration, Decision, and Advocacy.
Awareness: The buyer isn't aware of your product but has a problem to solve. Your content should offer solutions and position your brand as an expert.
Consideration: The buyer is researching options and comparing competitors. Provide actionable insights and guidance to help them make informed decisions.
Decision: The buyer is ready to purchase and needs to know why your product is the best choice.
Advocacy: After purchasing, the buyer shares their experience. Good customer support and product onboarding can turn them into brand advocates.
By analyzing each stage of the journey, you can create relevant content that aligns with what your audience needs at each step.
Example of a Buyer’s Journey for an Adventure Sports Company:
Awareness: “10 Cool Places to Go This Summer”
Consideration: “Best Adventure Sports to Try”
Decision: “Tips to Choose a Guide for Adventure Sports”
Advocacy: “7 Ways to Share Your Cool Trips with Friends”
3. Look for Keywords & Language:
To connect with your audience, you need to use the language they use while searching for solutions. This involves conducting keyword research to identify the terms your target customers are likely to search for. Use tools like MOZ, SEMRush, and Google Keyword Planner to find keywords with high search volume and low competition. Incorporating these keywords into your content will help you rank higher on search engine results pages (SERPs).
5. Decide the Right Marketing Channels:
Once you’ve done your keyword research, the next step is selecting the best marketing channels to distribute your content. Your choice should depend on your target audience, budget, and content type. For example:
For college teens, focus on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest, along with Google Search and display advertising.
For working professionals, use LinkedIn, Twitter, and Google Ads for search results.
These are general examples, so it’s important to refine your channel selection based on your audience’s online behavior.
5. Promote Your Content:
No content strategy is complete without a solid promotion strategy. Simply creating content isn’t enough—you need to figure out how to get it in front of your target audience. Marketing automation tools like HubSpot and Marketo can help automate the process. For more budget-friendly options, tools like Hootsuite and Buffer can help schedule and distribute your content. Use various promotion techniques like social media sharing, SEO, and participating in forums to maximize your reach.
Conclusion: Plan Your Content Around the Buyer’s Journey
This 5-step approach helps you create a content plan that aligns with your buyer’s journey, allowing you to attract, engage, and convert your audience into loyal customers. Every business is different, so your content strategy should be customized to fit your specific goals and target market. By following these steps, you’ll be able to craft a content plan that resonates with your audience and helps move them from awareness to advocacy.
Good luck with your content marketing efforts!
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