What are the best types of content to attract and nurture leads at different stages of the buyer's journey?

I am a big fan of "evergreen" blog content. I grew Stackify's blog to 10 million websites visitors a year by writing really high quality blog posts that were all designed to drive awareness. I call them evergreen because the blogs should get traffic for years. Writing blog posts that get a few visitors for the first week from an email blast and none in the future are not as good as ones designed to rank and last forever!

Content marketing is a powerful way to attract and nurture leads at different stages of the buyer's journey. But not all content is created equal. Depending on your audience's needs, challenges, and goals, you need to tailor your content to match their level of awareness and interest Ideas for the awareness stage can also include short informational videos about topics in your industry, profiles of your customers, company culture videos and FAQ videos about your company and what you do. Consideration content should help the reader by explaining the available products, services, and solutions on the market. At this stage, think checklists, calculators, case studies, vendor comparisons, white papers, reports, and webinars

In my experience there are two types of content that best serve awareness. First is educational content. The internet is the greatest invention in history to provide anyone a way to educate themselves instantly. Establish your organization as experts in the field, share knowledge freely, and prospects will remember you when they have a need. Second is focused pain/solution content. No one wakes up and decides to buy a random product or service. Typically, we are dealing with a very specific issue causing ourselves and our business pain. We go searching for specific answers to solve the pain. If you offer a solution to solve that pain, they should come across your content that describes exactly how you are the ideal solution to do so.

While the traditional thought has always been that customer stories belong nearer the end of the journey, that's not always the case. A well told story deployed on social or through ads can be a brilliant way of building awareness in your ability to solve a clearly felt pain or deliver a highly desirable outcome, and can also be used as an educational asset ("here's the how") when done well.

To attract and nurture leads at the awareness stage, focus on establishing your brand as a trusted resource by educating your audience about common challenges and industry trends. Content in this stage should provide value by personalizing key messaging that best resonates with your audience's role or industry. Your leads may face internal obstacles like budget constraints or lack of executive sponsorship, preventing them from exploring further. The goal is to set the foundation for future engagement whenever they are ready to start a relationship with a salesperson and build off the research they’ve done.

At this stage, conversation is more important than content. The seller is, in essence, the content. To optimize initial conversations, sellers need to research the account and stakeholders and use this for call planning. Asking questions and providing insights that only SMEs would know to ask is how to most effectively engage the buyer at this stage.

A powerful piece of proof you can share here is a 'nuclear deck' that combines reviews, one-sheet stories, and other brief customer proof in a compendium that is nicely organized (e.g. by industry, by pain, by role, etc.) and basically acts as 'shock and awe' asset that creates a "Wow, they've got a lot of strong references and advocates" feeling in the customer.

In the consideration stage, users maintain their independent engagement with your brand through social media platforms and industry conferences. They actively seek out product reviews, participate in webinars, and conduct closer evaluations of competitors to gain a better understanding of features and the product roadmap. Buyers expect salespeople to build off the research they have done and provide actionable insights such as personalized demos and ROI calculators. The goal is to set the foundation for salespeople to collaborate with prospects and jointly develop a compelling business case to the buying committee within their organization.

The format doesn't matter! Sure, there are trends and typical approaches - but the goal here is to make them want you. You could have a 36 page whitepaper or a 30-min coffee chat. So long as you show them: - Why me not them - How amazing you'll feel/be after - I can't go with another option

In the consideration stage, leads are evaluating solutions. Offer content that showcases your expertise and differentiates your offerings. Webinars, case studies, and product comparison guides are effective, helping leads understand how your solution fits their needs. Immediate takeaway: Use webinars, case studies, and comparisons to guide leads in the consideration stage, highlighting your solution's fit and advantages.

The make-or-break conversations in this stage are happening when reps aren't in the room. So your champions are having conversations about you, without you. Which means top reps are selling *with* by writing out and collaborating on the content for a thoughtful, concise business case. Bringing together: 1/ A concise problem statement. 2/ A logical approach that relates to their product. 3/ Specific measures of the payoff by a certain date. 4/ Investment required, including both budget and change management. Ideally, written with the buying team's own language, in a layout / structure that's familiar to them.

I built, scaled and ran Enablement and Sales Engineering at Similarweb (pre and post-IPO). 2 things are critical in aiding the decision stage: 1) Everything bespoke: We all agree generic email outbound doesn't work anymore, the same is true for proposal crafting. 2) VALUE: People are buying because you deeply understand a problem they have and can solve it. Price discounts are irrelevant in that evaluation and leading with such things just de-value your solution. Customer is solving X, Y and Z which produces upside 1, 2 and 3. If they can't afford it, ask them which problem they don't want to solve. They'll find the money. Build content frameworks to support this.

In the decision stage of the buyer's journey, where leads weigh their options, content that demonstrates value and differentiates your offering is key. Case studies and testimonials provide real-life success stories, building trust and credibility. Product comparisons and detailed guides help buyers understand how your solution stands out from competitors. Live demos and free trials offer a hands-on experience, allowing leads to see the benefits firsthand. Tailoring content to address specific concerns and questions at this crucial point can effectively nurture leads into making a confident decision in your favor, turning consideration into conversion.

At the decision stage, leads are ready to choose a solution. Provide content that reassures and persuades, such as detailed product demos, customer testimonials, and comprehensive FAQs. Tailor this content to address final concerns and highlight your unique value proposition. Immediate takeaway: Use demos, testimonials, and FAQs to support leads in the decision stage, addressing concerns and underscoring your solution's benefits to facilitate the final choice.

Decision is the stage where a potential lead has gone through all the steps and is ready to make a purchase, sign a contract, or go for a trial. At this point, they have narrowed down to the possibilities and seek that last push or incentive. Your job here would be to nudge them to put the final decision in your favor. Free trials, discounts or coupons, guarantees, FAQs, and checklists work ideally for this. These forms are action-oriented and have a sense of urgency, covering at least most of the common objections and concerns but offer extras as value-adds of benefits, rewards, and support to make potential leads feel confident enough and motivated to go for your solution.

One important part of this is being aligned with the actual sellers. All too often enablement teams build fantastic libraries brimming with content but much of it goes unused. This tends to happen because a lack of trust and alignment from sellers. Enablement not only needs to build and distribute content but they need to work with sellers to make sure it's align with how they use it and what their needs actually are. Sellers are the ones talking to buyers every day and they often have the best insights into what content would be meaningful. Working will sales and sales leadership can be an important difference maker when building out content that attracts and nurtures leads throughout the buyer's journey.

Most organizations start from a state of ad-hoc enablement. In this stage, enablement functions are undefined. Only certain content is available for sales staff across various repositories, marketing insights on buyer's engagement with sales content are anecdotal, and technology is siloed. New content is created after it's needed, and collaboration across departments is stifled with little insights to what's working. Instead focus on an integrated approach with all customer-facing teams and technology integrations.

Become best friends with your Product Marketing team. Equip your team with content that boosts their confidence and effectiveness. Provide detailed product sheets, objection-handling guides, and tailored scripts. These resources should empower them to communicate value propositions clearly and address prospects' questions accurately. Immediate takeaway: Arm your sales team with comprehensive product information, objection-handling strategies, and persuasive scripts to enhance their performance and close deals more effectively.

For a technical buyer experience, the demonstration of your software or hardware is the single most important way to drive funnel conversion. At the top of the funnel the user should be able to watch a demo of your software. To get a technical buyer further into the funnel, the user must be able to use the software themselves in some kinds of hands-on experience in a live environment. It is crucial to offer a demo capability as our core content for a technical buyer.

I'd add "Post-purchase engagement." The relationship doesn't end after the sale. You want those customers to keep coming back for more and even become your brand advocates. Send them thank-you notes, ask for feedback, and provide post-purchase content like user guides or tips for getting the most out of your product or service. Keep the communication going through newsletters, exclusive offers, and loyalty programs. Happy customers are your best marketers.

Content marketing is a way to interact with prospects without selling. Sales enablement is an overarching strategy that builds off the foundation of content marketing and nurtures prospects throughout the buyer's journey. Sales enablement goes beyond the generic approach to content creation and focuses on empowering teams to close deals and measure impact on pipeline. Sales enablement content should be tailored to buyers and address their unique pain point, and offer compelling solutions. This personalized approach enhances the buyer's experience, builds trust, and increases the likelihood of conversion.