Funnel Marketing 101: What Is It? How Does It Work?
Funnel marketing is the key to increasing website traffic and conversions, but what exactly is it?
Have you ever considered funnel marketing when writing blogs for your business? Blogs may have started as mechanisms for self-expression, but they have since become powerful business tools. Their content has the potential to attract buyers and, when presented well, facilitate sales. To capitalize on each of your site’s visitors, you need an effective funnel marketing strategy.
Funnel marketing involves optimizing each step in your marketing funnel. That is, your customer’s journey from the first page they visit to their final conversion. Most content marketing jobs in DC place a significant amount of emphasis on funnel marketing. Content marketing ensures each post helps boost sales and conversions.
Whether you’re just starting in funnel marketing, or looking to refine an existing funnel, these 5 steps are guaranteed to increase conversions and improve blog performance.
Target a Specific Audience
When it comes to funnel marketing and your company blog, it may be tempting to target a broader audience. That said, targeting too general a visitor has its drawbacks. Content that is too general won’t generate audience value. Instead, you need to define your target market and create content that speaks specifically to them. That way, all your blog pieces work in conjunction with one another. The more cohesive your blog, the easier it is to draw readers in and encourage them to keep exploring.
Identify All Possible Conversions
Some marketers believe only actual sales qualify as funnel marketing conversions, but that isn’t always the case. A conversion funnel can be anything! Any point where visitors take a particular action on your site represents the final step in a conversion funnel. Maybe your goal is for visitors to join a mailing list or apply for a job. Maybe it is to get readers to follow your linked social accounts. Whatever it is, it’s important to find all possible conversions, identifying where they are and their core purpose. That way, as you rethink your funnel marketing approach, you can look at the entire site as a whole.
Evaluate Your Current Funnel Marketing Process
Once you identify a target audience and understand your existing funnel, you can start experimenting with your website. Does it flow? Are your conversion paths easy to find? Do they take a lot of steps to complete? You can do this not only by navigating the site yourself but by using data from platforms like Google Analytics. If you aren’t seeing much traffic on a particular post or page, it may be because it’s difficult to find. Solve this problem by increasing general brand awareness. How do you do that? It’s as simple as expanding social media presence, creating meaningful content, and optimizing on-page SEO.
Focus on Quality Content
Ever wonder why visitors leave your site quickly or only view one page? It might be because your content isn’t high quality. Quality content involves thoroughly researching a topic and providing details that readers will find valuable. While funnel marketing’s primary goal is to maximize conversions, your company blog needs to be customer-centric. That means focusing on their needs as well as your own. Content needs to be more than a sales pitch. Instead, use content that provides useful information about a topic associated with your product or service. You can still pepper in your marketing efforts, so long as they do not overshadow the purpose of the post. This helps establish your blog as a resource, not an advertisement.
Also, make sure to format blogs in an easy-to-read way, especially on mobile devices. This can include eliminating big blocks of text and breaking up content with images or graphics.
Add Calls to Action
A call to action is a simple statement that encourages the reader to take another step. An example could be requesting more information or obtaining a free trial. It is key to funnel marketing! It’s wise to add a call to action to the end of every blog and on promotional material. Do this even when the content, like an email, isn’t specifically sales-oriented.
The best calls to action clearly state the value customers get from your site. Offering something free in exchange for their engagement is the perfect place to start. For example, a PDF guide with helpful information that pertains to your niche if users provide their email. Typically, creating a digital guide doesn’t take a lot of time, energy, or resources. You can even automate sending out the PDF! Now, with their newly submitted contact information, you can send along upcoming promotions and website updates.
Conclusion
By following the tips above, you can create an efficient marketing funnel for nearly any blog. A thought-out conversion funnel increases the odds that a reader will engage with your site and become a customer. It may take time and diligence, but it is worth the effort. Watch as your metrics rise and your blog succeeds!
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