Content material continues to show itself as a useful a part of a advertising and marketing technique, for B2Cs and B2Bs alike. Manufacturers that make it their enterprise to create and serve participating, helpful content material can hold their viewers , achieve their belief, and set up themselves as an authority of their area.
Content material technique could be a main a part of reaching enterprise goals – in line with Semrush’s 2022 State of Content material Advertising and marketing International Report, greater than three-quarters (78%) of manufacturers that achieved their enterprise objectives have a documented content material advertising and marketing technique, whereas 81% of firms that didn’t attain their objectives do not need one.
There’s a task for content material all through your complete buyer lifecycle, although it has essentially the most impression when it’s delivered on the proper second, which is the place electronic mail is available in.
Mapping the correct content material with the correct level within the buyer journey and delivering it by way of electronic mail could be extraordinarily efficient. With constant supply of high quality, related and worthwhile content material, you get higher high quality leads and clients who’re extra doubtless to stick with you, in addition to the chance to study extra about your viewers and what they need, persevering with the virtuous cycle.
On this article, we’ll have a look at how one can successfully construct content material into your electronic mail technique in three steps: mapping the client journey, collating the correct content material, and bringing the 2 collectively in an electronic mail programme.
Step 1: Understanding the client and mapping their journey
As is the case with each advertising and marketing marketing campaign, one of the best place to start out is with an understanding of your viewers. As a primary step, draw upon any insights you have got about your present clients to develop completely different personas, earlier than plotting the journey they take with you from consciousness to conversion and past.
Replicate on the prospect’s wants, challenges and issues on every step of that journey. Then establish the factors at which they are going to be most receptive to content material from you and decide what that content material ought to appear like.
An essential level to remember is that your electronic mail and content material technique have to be aligned with the corporate’s broader advertising and marketing objectives. In accordance a 2019 survey from the Content material Advertising and marketing Institute, the 2 largest advantages of a documented content material advertising and marketing technique are aligning groups round widespread missions or objectives, and making it simpler to find out which kinds of content material to develop.
If what you are promoting goals are nicely outlined, then objectives for the content material technique will extra naturally comply with. It additionally means you’re much less prone to waste cash and energy on campaigns that don’t ship materials outcomes for the corporate.
Step 2: Bringing collectively the correct content material
By this level you must have a good suggestion of the content material you want, and happily, there could also be no have to create it from scratch. It could be way more environment friendly to replace or repurpose content material that already exists within the firm, which you’ll be able to monitor down with a content material audit. That is the place you are taking inventory of all of the content material you have got in your web site, similar to weblog posts, movies, guides, whitepapers and survey outcomes, noting what content material is performing nicely or tends to spur motion.
Whether it is crucial so that you can make new content material, make sure you’re enthusiastic about who your viewers are as people – the place they work, their life stage, their challenges, what they worth, the place they get their data – in addition to the place they’re on the client journey, to information what you create.
Step 3: Aligning content material with the client journey
After you have got an understanding of the doubtless journey the prospect will take with you and the content material to which they’ll be most receptive, it’s time to deliver the 2 collectively along with your electronic mail technique.
With a bulk communication and advertising and marketing automation platform, like Everlytic, it’s potential to arrange automated workflows that ship emails in response to sure behaviours, guaranteeing the prospect receives the correct content material on the proper time. Additionally, when you have segmentation in place, you’ll be able to adapt the e-mail and personalise the content material inside it to swimsuit their profile, rendering it much more worthwhile.
For instance, when the Impartial Institute of Training (IIE), South Africa’s largest non-public greater schooling establishment, needed to convert potential leads into candidates and in the end registered college students, they used Everlytic to construct a sequence of emails to nurture these excited about additional research.
A sequence of emails and texts had been despatched to contacts over time, which had been triggered by their behaviour. The content material of the messages, of which there have been 5 variations, would mirror the place the recipient was within the onboarding lifecycle. IIE attributed the marketing campaign as an element within the 20% development in scholar numbers the next educational 12 months. This paced method additionally took a few of the pressure off their gross sales and advertising and marketing groups.
One of the helpful options of electronic mail is that it’s a two-way avenue. Sure, you’re sending the prospect content material that’s most related to them, although you even have the chance to study extra about them based mostly on their behaviour – what emails they open and when, the hyperlinks they click on – in addition to what they let you know straight (by way of surveys, for instance). Harnessing these insights all through the lifecycle offers you the chance to tweak your technique if that you must.
Some examples of the kinds of content material that work greatest at every step of the client journey are given beneath, taking into consideration that any profitable marketing campaign – content material or in any other case – should stability the wants of the client with these of the enterprise.
Consideration
At this level of the interplay, you have got the prospect’s consideration. It’s now your job to assist them make an knowledgeable choice. Academic content material, similar to guides, authentic analysis or case research work nicely right here. Though the last word objective is for the prospect to transform, this content material shouldn’t be gross sales centered – relatively, it ought to supply worth to the recipient whereas establishing your experience.
Conversion
The prospect is now a buyer. At this level, you would possibly take into account sending additional details about the services or products they’ve simply purchased and associated objects they may discover helpful, laying the groundwork for an additional sale. You even have the chance to search out out extra concerning the buyer and their expertise by sending a survey, for instance.
Retention
Now is an efficient time to reward the client for his or her enterprise and reveal your appreciation by persevering with to serve them worthwhile content material. From a enterprise perspective, one other goal is perhaps to make the client an advocate, which may begin with an invite to go away a assessment.
The success of such electronic mail campaigns requires taking the lengthy view. This implies paying as a lot consideration to what occurs after the sale as earlier than it. At Everlytic, we image the digital advertising and marketing funnel as an hourglass, the place pre-purchase levels, together with engagement and analysis, symbolize the higher chamber, whereas post-purchase levels, together with retention and advocacy, are on the decrease chamber.
How does this work in observe? One technique is to make use of messaging to maintain your clients engaged and glad lengthy after they first purchase from you. For instance, when tyre retailer TiAuto Investments (Pty) Ltd sought to maintain their clients engaged after they visited certainly one of their service centres, they used Everlytic to develop an automatic workflow that will ship messages – by way of electronic mail or textual content – asking them to feed again on their expertise or reminding them when it was time for an additional service.
Since implementing the workflow, the corporate has seen a rise in service supply throughout its retail shops. The method additionally helped them higher handle their workload and perceive the way it may enhance their expertise.
Delivered on the proper second, content material could be the essential issue that transforms an undecided lead right into a glad buyer, or a one-time purchaser into an everyday shopper. With a responsive electronic mail technique and supply system, it’s potential to create these moments at scale.
To seek out out extra about constructing automated electronic mail campaigns that hold prospects and clients engaged, contact Everlytic for a free session.
