Creating a Content Marketing Plan for Lead Generation Part One

Creating a content marketing plan for lead generation can seem daunting and complicated, but with some basics and goals defined, it can be much less painful and of course be very rewarding.

Encourage Engagement for Nurturing

Lead generation is all about engaging interest so that qualified people provide their contact information in exchange for something valuable. Then you nurture those relationships with the hopes of eventually turning these audiences into customers.

The Lead Generation Funnel

The lead generation funnel, so called of course because, well, it looks like a funnel, is a visual representation of a path leads go through from discovering your brand to the point they provide contact information. And this is the point your lead generation kicks into second gear.

The process starts with getting people to your site with techniques like ads, search engine marketing, cold email outreach and can even include advertising on busses, billboards and brochures.

The steps in this lead generation funnel include: awareness, interest, consideration and the decision stage (where the contact info is provided) and then of course you close the deal for the ultimate goal of creating a new customer.

But let’s take things one step at a time. Here we will focus on getting contact information from your lead.

The process is consistent and measurable, which is why savvy marketers like it so much. To be clear, the reasons people make purchases can vary greatly but the process they go through for the purchase itself is very consistent.

Why Content is So Important

The term “content” is thrown around so much these days, we’ve become a bit oblivious to what we are actually talking about anymore! Content is what makes your lead generation plan tick. It can be an educational email or blog, a PDF, a case study or a section of your site designed to pull your audiences closer to your goals.

One of the most important aspects of content is you must serve just the right content to your lead to match where they are in the buying cycle. This is SO important!

We can use blogs, educational articles and podcast casts to attract people and get them interested. Then we can use ebooks, whitepapers, webinars and newsletters to get them engaged. And finally, we can use case studies, demos, reviews, company comparisons and good old-fashioned meetings to close the deal.

Top of the Funnel

Here your content should focus on building trust and solving pain points without getting hard core with sales pitches. Provide value to create a connection and build trust to demonstrate that you are the expert they need.

Middle of the Funnel

You created a personal connection with the top of the funnel content. Here you nurture that trust so your site visitors turn into leads. Remember, initially leads are still not ready to purchase, but they are consuming your content at this point so good job! Here you must offer something in return that is deemed valuable to obtain the contact information.

With that contact information you provide help and education with ebooks, white papers, podcasts, newsletter and webinars. What you choose for content depends on your team’s skillset, the number of resources you can spare and where your target audiences are hanging out.

Bottom of the Funnel

When your lead reaches this phase, you focus hard on turning them into customers. Your leads have been provided solutions for problems, education, guidance and advice all (hopefully) around the things your organization provides.

Types of content used at this phase include case studies, FAQs, interviews with your best team members, demos and reviews — and clear call to actions to close the deal without being too aggressive for a close.

Each content type above should reinforce the previous content making the contact’s decision to work with you easier and easier with each piece of content consumed.

You start with being a helpful resource, moving through more focused content regarding your organization’s value while continuing to be helpful, ending up with content that is still very valuable but also provides call to actions for conversions. If you have eased your visitors into the funnel gradually, they won’t mind the call to actions because you are the trusted resource they rely on.

An Example to Prove the Point

Let’s say you are an I.T. firm that specializes in cyber security. You realize small businesses have no idea how to evaluate their IT security needs or even where to get started.

You create a blog on your site about how small companies can evaluate their needs and how to prepare for obtaining help. At the end of this article you offer a download that provides a checklist of the information included on your site page plus a bonus section for five things they can do right now to improve security.

For the folks that provide their contact information (who are now prospects) you enroll them in an email journey highlighting articles of helpful information for their business regarding security that touches upon the services you provide.

For the folks that don’t provide their contact information yet, you continue to provide helpful articles focused on pain points but still centered on the things you do well. It’s okay to offer a download at the end of the articles. It’s more helpful information.

You can also segment your email journeys based on those in the initial awareness stage versus those who have been engaged with you for some time versus those that become customers.

Next Up

In our next article we’ll continue with lead generation content marketing and how to really make your content resonate with your readers every step of the way in the funnel.

NEED HELP?