1. What is a B2B content marketing funnel?
2. Stages of the funnel
3. Content creation for different stages of a funnel
4. How Does B2B Content Marketing Fit into the Marketing Funnel?
5. B2C Vs. B2B Content Marketing Funnels
What is a B2B content marketing funnel?
The content marketing funnel concept evolved due to the astronomical growth in the digital market industry. This customer-centric campaign indulges the target customers with educational content at every stage of their journey until they convert into buyers.
Content creation is part of an economic strategy whereby many start-ups begin mushrooming. It creates an ideal platform for new entrepreneurs to showcase their ideas, thus embarking their dreams into reality.
The facts presented by us is supported statistically by Content Marketing Statistic :
- 96% of B2B marketers use content marketing to reach their customers.
- 71% Of B2B Buyers Read Blog Posts.
- 61% Of Customers Have Made a Purchase After They Read a Recommendation on a Blog.
- 89% Of Marketers Point Out That Brand Awareness Is a Goal When Creating Content.
- 90% Of All Marketers Use Content Marketing to Generate Inbound Leads.
What are the stages and types of a B2B content marketing funnel?
We are now aware of the content marketing funnel’s dominating position in today’s world. It becomes necessary to know the different stages of the funnel. Customers need to settle and read the content to make a buying decision. The type of content influencing the customer at each funnel stage is necessary for that to happen. To begin with, let us know.
Different stages of a funnel?
- Top of the funnel (TOFU) – Awareness is created for the customer about the brand. This place attracts much traffic due to curiosity, and the goal is to educate the buyers about the product, quality, and utility.
- Middle of the funnel (MOFU) – Evaluation & Consideration is created to the customer about the brand. This place witnesses a milder traffic reduction, but lead generation occurs here. The goal is to provide an in-depth understanding of the product or service as a solution provider.
- Bottom of the funnel (BOFU) – Decision making & Conversion is created at this stage. This place exercises brand superiority over its peers, conquers customers’ fear, builds trust, promotes goodwill, and qualifies for selling.
- Customer retention – Repeat purchase is needed for building a brand image, and referrals are part of the plan.
Content creation for different stages of a funnel
1. Top of the funnel (TOFU) approach
Content creation should focus mainly on
- Identify your target audience and what are their pain points.
- Generate awareness among them through your solutions.
- Use parroting techniques for more engagement on social network sites.
- Augment the traffic to your site.
Content creation types are
- Blogs
- Infographics/images
- Social Media
- Audio/Video podcasts
- Ebooks
Metrics used for evaluation
- Traffic generated by the site
- Percentage of inbound links
- Site engagement rate
- Awareness percentage about the product
Unfortunate but true, brands scale down their marketing efforts after the first stage of the funnel. Therefore, there is a massive miss in conversion rate. Firms lacking in human resources are unable to succeed in their conversion rate. To resolve problems related to various types of content creation, Neekan Consulting has an exclusive wing focusing on content creation and distribution. Various content types are created as per the client’s requirements to increase site traffic.
2. Middle of the funnel (MOFU) approach
Content creation should focus mainly on
- Growth of email sharing and leads
- Conversion of leads from the content
- Customer acquisition from the leads due to this content
Content creation types are
- Software downloads (free for one month)
- Education resources (case studies, white papers)
- Quiz/surveys (emails acquisition to deliver the result)
- Promos (discount coupons, codes)
- Events
Metrics used for evaluation
- Traffic generated by the site
- Number of leads and email
- Email click-rates
- Conversion rates through promotions
Visitors or leads who get interested in the website through reading the blogs want to get in-depth details of the product or service. In that case, they fill in all their details to access ‘blocked content’. The downloaded content should be well-researched to justify their quality time.
This place triggers the probability & possibility of ‘Decision making & conversion’. Firms usually need additional help to deliver researched content to align with their products or services. Our forte lies in resolving issues on content strategy, consulting content promotion, and content creation & distribution.
3. Bottom of the funnel (BOFU) approach
Content creation should focus mainly on
- Fostering customers and leads
- Increase the percentage of retention
- Maximize customer service
- Encourage buyers’ frequency
- Nurture ‘word of mouth’ culture
Content creation types are
- Customers’ testimonials & experiences sharing
- Demo
- Comparison sheet
- Webinars
- Mini classes
Metrics used for evaluation
- Retention rate
- Promo email click rate
- Conversion rate
- Sales percentage from the leads rate
- New customer & repeat customer rate
The work of the B2B seller does not curtail once the customer’s first purchase is completed. Interesting and worthy content should also be produced to keep their interest activated. At Neekan consulting, we deliver strategy, promotion, & consultancy through a subject knowledge team. The content keeps the visitors more intrigued by the product, products, or services.
Suggested reading: The ultimate guide to B2B content marketing in 2022
How Does b2B Content Marketing Fit into the Marketing Funnel?
According to the research conducted by B2B digital marketers, nearly 71% of decision-makers start researching on Google. In that case, a sound B2B content strategy dominates to advance your rankings in the SERPs and traffic to your website. The specifics for writing content address intellectual subjects and the upper level of the pyramid (executives, decision-makers, market experts).
The transition between various marketing funnel stages should be smooth without overlapping but interlinking.
a. Top of the funnel – brand building
The logical manner to spread the brand image is through leadership content. The topics that catch readers’ attention are mostly industrial topics and the latest trends in the market. Along with the awareness, public relationships need to be focused. Articles written by the top management or guest post by famous subject experts to the blog adds the ‘brownie point’ to the product.
b. Middle of the funnel – literacy creation
Educational content creation becomes the mantra during this stage. At the same time, the customers are still pondering whether to purchase or defer or alternate brands’ possibilities. Content that enriches their knowledge domain is one of the best fits. Keywords research comes the closest second. But, content writers need to create content based on customer feedback, call recordings from the sales pitching team, customer queries, and challenges they face.
c. Bottom of the funnel – Product and services
The worth of the product or service is measured through the revenue it generates. The sales team must validate the content generation in various forms like industry reports, white papers, and case studies. Additional input can be acquired through their suggestions or experience handling multiple clients.
B2C Vs B2B Content Marketing Funnels: How Are They Different
There always needs to be more fundamental clarity amongst marketing folks with the terms B2B and B2C marketing. On the outline, they speak the same language but diverge in many ways. Before addressing their discrepancies, let us know what they both stand for.
B2B content marketing is a transaction involving two business entities. Their communication is logic-driven and fact presented.
B2C content marketing involves a company selling a product to the end-user or consumer. Their tone of communication is emotional, and entertainment driven.
a. Objectives:
Presumably, the B2B and B2C companies will have distinct marketing strategies to run their businesses as their objectives differ.
- B2B – The strategy for business lies in pitching your products or services. Therefore, your priority is lead generation, fostering and converting them as future clients.
- B2C – The strategy for business lies in identifying a customer need. Therefore, your priority focus is brand promotion and awareness to convince an individual requirement.
b. Content tactics:
Content marketing tactics cannot be identical for both, as the readers have different mindsets. B2B – The primary focus is on the product/service and how it favors the clients’ business growth. Therefore, it must be validated through proven facts and data driven. Some are
- Case studies
- Blogs
- eBooks
- Email campaigns
B2C – The primary focus is on your product, how the consumers are favored using them & why they are better than their competitors. Therefore, it must be validated through tales. Some are
- Marketing via social media (YouTube, Twitter, Instagram)
- Customer testimonials
C. Language tone:
The tool for content marketing is ‘writing’, so the fundamental language tone and vocabulary usage should resonate with the readers. So, the language must align with the content’s consumers.
B2B – The premises of the tone is for a group of professionals. As they are top management well versed with the industry jargon, the writing should reflect your subject expertise and nuances of the trade.
B2C – The premises of the tone is for people of ‘all walks of life’. Since customers buying decisions are mostly culturally related, emotional connectivity and impulsive need. The writing should reflect simplicity and colloquial jargon to make them recognize your brand.
d. Decision making:
The decision-making for purchasing a product cannot be the same. Various factors go into their thought process to ultimately say ‘Yes’.
B2B – The relationship nurtured between the buyer and seller is a long-term association built on trust, business ethics, and goodwill. The decision-making is entrusted to the members of the top management, and multiple options are considered before that. So, it takes an extended time before the ‘pact is sealed’.
B2C – The relationship nurtured between the buyer and seller is ‘impromptu’. The buyers decide based on the products’ utility value, emotional connectivity, and purchasing power. So, it takes a brief period before the ‘pact is sealed’.
Closing thoughts
Every start-up or entrepreneur cannot smell success unless they overcome a challenge. These challenges help them to find out of box solutions and climb the ladder. One such solution is the delegation of specific challenges to the subject expert. Neekan consulting has provided custom-made solutions to the various problems related to Content Marketing & Business consultancy. To know more, contact us here.