Content Funnels for Beginners
If you’re reading this it is because you heard the words content and funnel put together to form the phrase, ‘content funnel’ and you’re trying to picture pouring content into a funnel and wondering just how does that work? Another word for content funnel is sales funnel and both have the same end goal: string together a series of content to lead a user to take action that turns them into a paying customer OR gets them to share personal information in exchange for free information. The personal information can be an email address, phone number, first and last name or anything else you would need to deliver free information.
Are you utilizing content funnels in your marketing strategy yet? The reality is that if you have a website and you post content on social media platforms which directs your audience to your website then you are building content funnels already! However, it doesn’t need to stop there.
With content marketing funnels the 6P’s are important to remember, Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance. You’ll hear us refer to this phrase on a regular basis because it applies to just about everything we do in life. Setting up a landing page to ask people to join your email campaign is a simple example of a content funnel however, if you don’t plan it right then the click through rate (CTR) will be low.
Setting Up The Right Content Funnel For Your Business
A good content funnel will be well thought out and take less than 15 minutes from beginning to end. Why less than 15 minutes? This is not a hard and fast rule however, the attention span of users is dropping daily it seems. Making it easy to use and short in time will increase the CTR that you end up seeing.
What can be included in a content funnel? Any type of content you want and we encourage a good mixture of all types of content. What are the types? Written, videos and social media posts are a few examples of content type. By using a variety you’re showcasing your content to the potential user just like a fisherman using different types of bait to attract fish.
Let’s consider a scenario. Let’s say your potential customer found you on Instagram to start. I consider Instagram to be a go between for social media accounts and websites. Perhaps on Instagram you’ve made a post encouraging them to check out your website. Now that potential customer decides that they will check it out so they click the link and head over. Now what? Well, hopefully your website’s home page is planned out in such a way that it leads the potential customer through any questions they might have or fears that they need abated in order to become a customer.
It may seem like once you have gotten a potential client to jump from a social media platform to your website that this is the end goal however, that’s just the beginning or at least it should be. The home page is an integral piece of your content funnel puzzle and it needs to be laid out in such a way that your potential client stays as long as possible. Why? This is where your bounce rate comes into play.
What is a bounce rate? The bounce rate is a percentage based on how long people stay on your website. The longer they stay the better, according to current SEO strategies. What factors play a role in how long someone remains?
Decrease the Bounce Rate and Increase the Sales
The lower the bounce rate percentage, the better it is. This means that people are coming to your website and sticking around to learn more. This sends signals to Google and the other search engines that the information on your website is useful to users. So, a well built home page funnel will be a vital step in decreasing the bounce rate. How so?
Generally speaking the first thing people check out on a website is the home page. They may scroll down and up just to see what’s there. It is wise to have multiple sections with different destinations on the home page. Good sections to include on a home page are: a bio section that rotates through your team, a section for your latest blog articles and a section reviewing your top services are just a few options.
Why? Variety is the spice of life. Let’s imagine that every user that travels to your website is a unique fish and each fish is interested in a different type of bait. By offering variety on the home page you’re ensuring that the potential client (the fish) clicks through to another section of the website. Once they do this it’s as if you dropped a line and you just got a nibble off the bait. This doesn’t mean they’re automatically a client now or that the fish is today’s dinner. There is more work involved.
Let’s say that the bait this user nibbled on is the about page. That means they decided that before they hit the buy button or before they take a second nibble they want to know more about you and your business. Great, now what? Well, like a good fisherman you keep the line in the water and wait for the next bite. On the website once they’ve made it to the about page you want to make sure that just like the home page it is planned out in such a way that it gets the fish on the hook and onto tonight’s dinner menu by explaining what they are interested in AND encouraging them to take the next bite.
This may seem complicated and in some ways it is however, once you realize that your website and the social media platforms that you use are part of the internet ocean it becomes easier. The simple goal of a fisherman is the same as your goal as an entrepreneur, put food on the table. You may not be a pro fisherman, I certainly am not however, I think you get the idea. Content funnels are your fishing pole, the fishing line and the bait that you use to get your users hooked and wanting more. Just like a pro fisherman would have a boat with multiple pole holders and multiple lines in the water, you too want to make sure your content funnel is set up correctly from beginning to end.
Not sure how to do that? That’s fine, we here at Bzzy Beez have got you covered! Let us review your current content funnel strategy and offer our recommendations on how to improve it.
Written by: Brittany Maas
Brittany is a copywriter and content planer for Bzzy Beez Gone Wild. She works hard to capture the voice of those that she is writing for. She also loves planning content funnels for small business owners who are looking for the next level in their online presence. She enjoys teaching people about the power of the internet and views herself as an internet spokesperson.