Create and Optimize Your B2B Content Marketing Funnel

B2B content marketing in your company must be built around the buying journey. By considering the pre-purchase, purchase and post-purchase phases, content can be more personalized and messaging more targeted. Creating and optimizing content for the different stages in the marketing funnel involves the following stages:

Top of the Marketing Funnel

ToFu content is designed to reach a broad audience of potential buyers. Remember that the purpose here is to get people’s attention. Here are some of the great forms of content to develop for this stage of the funnel.

1. Social media content is one of the easiest types that you can create. Since it is associated with your social media profile, there must be authenticity, authority, and the right degree of affability. Also make sure the stuff you’re sharing is of high value to your clients. Include your own reasons for sharing and ensure they are robust.
2. Blog postings, when done correctly, may be extremely effective for B2B content marketing. Blog entries are also a great technique to demonstrate your skills and assist your audience. Making your blog entries extremely shareable can help you scale your efforts even further.
3. Infographics are visuals that explain a topic. They frequently display statistics and data in an easy-to-understand graphic format. Listographics (infographic lists) and instructographics (infographic how-to articles) are two popular subcategories for this type of material. The latter is extremely powerful on Pinterest and has the ability to drive hundreds of thousands of visitors.
4. Videos take time to create, but if done right, they can significantly enhance conversion rates in B2B content marketing campaigns.
5. Podcasts are a modern version of the humble radio, and just as effective today as radio was in those days. Podcasts can be transcribed into blog entries that include your keywords.

Of course, there are different kinds of ToFu content. However, if you’re just beginning, these are the simplest formats to work with.

Middle of the Marketing Funnel

Educational resources are the ideal form of content for the middle of the funnel journey in B2B content marketing. You gain extra points if you can make them easily shareable (pulling more people straight to the middle of the funnel).

If the first section of the funnel was all about catching people’s attention, Middle of the Funnel (MoFU) should be all about being useful and practical. Your target audience should be able to apply the knowledge in this material and achieve a “fast win.”

The primary goal of this content is to collect some contact information from the user. This is how we’ll start cultivating our relationship with them, eventually getting to the bottom of the funnel.

The audience can only obtain any content you are offering by giving you their email address. This form of content is commonly referred to as a lead magnet. It’s a win-win situation for everyone. The person gains an incredible resource, and your company gains a lead.

Important Note: Since the EU began implementing GDPR regulations, make sure to educate yourself and implement the right methods for email lead capture.

The following are some popular resources kinds for this stage of the funnel:

1. White papers are fact sheets that provide statistical data or a report in an academic manner and form an integral part of your B2B SaaS content strategy. White papers can help persuade your audience that your product or service can solve a certain problem.
2. Case studies are another type of data-driven content. Case studies frequently involve statistics and other data acquired at the conclusion of a test or project.
3. Free guides or ebooks are examples of “how-to” content that assist your audience in solving a problem, and is another essential bit in a B2B SaaS content strategy.
4. Worksheets are a terrific addition to a “how-to” article since they allow the reader to put what they’re learning into practice and reinforce their learning.
5. When creating a lead magnet for B2B content marketing, consider “utility.” What can you provide your audience that will be of actual, measurable value? It should be something that they can put to use right away.

Bottom of the Marketing Funnel

Bottom of the funnel (BoFu) in B2B content marketing, as previously stated, should be highly “personal,” bridging the gap between the free value you’ve been providing them and your paid product offering. This form of content works best when distributed using email autoresponder sequences, and it can be sent to those who gave their email addresses in order to receive the lead magnet described above.

Email sequences grow progressively, connecting the dots from the original problem to your product’s answer. Once you’ve connected the dots, you can ask for the sale.

There is an excellent article on how to construct effective CTAs. It’s worth bookmarking to help you fine-tune your email sequence calls to action.

Some MoFu content can be utilized here as well, but it must be “interactive.” Again, it’s all about personalizing the experience your prospective clients will have.

Demos and trials are the most common kind of content for this stage in B2B content marketing. This will ensure your audience starts to use your product or service.

You can also use the following popular forms of content as part of your B2B SaaS content strategy:

1. Customer testimonials: You can develop a series of emails in which consumers describe their success stories (case studies). Customize the tale to reflect the customers’ procedure prior to utilizing your product or service, as well as how they benefited from the product or service.
2. Webinars and advanced classes: You can also run advanced classes for your target audience or host events for individuals who are already familiar with your work. These take time, but responding to a lead in person promotes trust and willingness to purchase.
3. Free discount codes: Give your audience discount codes that will function “for a short time only” on their purchases. This will create a sense of urgency to purchase your stuff.

The conversion of your audience into consumers is not the end of your content marketing funnel. Most businesses fail to follow through on this, leaving money on the table.

Closing words

Those were some of the content you can create for the top of the funnel, middle of the funnel and bottom of the funnel purchase journeys. And once you have created content, always keep coming back to optimize the content weekly or monthly as you feel is mandatory.