I thought I would share some samples of content marketing, both stuff I’ve written and some of my favorite examples I’ve found through research. Let’s start with content created for customers in the Awareness stage of the buyer journey. As a reminder, the customer is grappling with a problem and is starting to research a solution during this stage. The job of content marketing is to use content to introduce your brand as that solution. This is best done with educational and informative blog posts and e-books that can be shared through your website and social media. Many brands use the tactic of offering gated content on a website so they can collect emails to keep the conversation going. I’ve written a lot of content for that purpose. Here are some examples.
These are both gated e-books that talk about a problem a business person is facing (promoting events or increasing sales) and how the brand’s product (both are SaaS) can provide a solution.
B2C content marketing at the awareness stage could be a guest post on beauty blog for a cosmetic brand or a downloadable recipe book for a baking ingredient.
During the consideration phase, the customer knows your brand could solve their problem but also knows others that do. They are weighing their options on purchase. Your content at this stage should be informative and useful. In many cases, brands send this content out via e-newsletters or on packaging.
To me, one of the best examples of content marketing at this stage is the Tollhouse Cookie recipe on the chocolate chip bag. Can you imagine how many people have decided to buy those chocolate chips just for the recipe over the years?
Here are a buyer’s comparison guide I’ve written for a SaaS client.
Here are a couple of blog posts for the consideration phase:
https://www.calldrip.com/blog/the-5-key-factors-to-choosing-the-right-car-dealership-call-software
https://www.calldrip.com/blog/how-calldrip-integrates-with-your-automotive-crm
Content marketing is very important in the purchase phase because it can build customer loyalty. Of course you want to close the deal, so feature the benefits your solution offers. The central message is how your solution is different (and therefore better) than others and how the customer will be happy with their purchase. Good content for this stage is a buyer’s guide or a research report.
My favorite example of content marketing at this stage is the little note and style card that comes in every Stitch Fix box. It is a very personalized and useful touch that makes me want to keep everything in the box and sign up for more.
Here’s an example of content I’ve written for this stage. It’s “how to use” manual that was included in the packaging of a home health product.
I hope you can see that I’m excited about creating content that engages consumers. It’s fun for me. It’s challenging in the best way. I also believe that content marketing is a necessary business strategy that all brands should engage in if they want to grow. If you need help building your brand, increasing your sales, or building customer loyalty, I can help. Let’s talk.
