What content formats do you need?
01
The best formats for each stage
For each stage in the customer journey, there are different formats that are most appropriate. Which formats do you choose when?
Awareness
For the awareness phase, we create formats that require little engagement and work more on feeling than on reason. In this way, customers learn about your offering and connect it with a central argument and feeling.
- blog posts
- articles
- sector reports
- short video
- ungated webinars
- ungated whitepapers
- podcasts
- organic posts on social
- ads on search engines
- paid posts on social
Consideration
For the consideration phase, we offer formats that introduce the customer to the offer more deeply: the customer is now willing to pay longer attention, and so we offer more in-depth content here, which is both rational and emotional and often action-stimulating.
- email routes
- webinars
- whitepapers
- testimonials
- use cases
- inspiration guides
- explainers
- walkthroughs
- longer video
- product tours
Conversion
For the conversion phase, we need to persuade the customer to take up the offer now. Here we use content formats that make it as easy as possible for the customer to order, and we add arguments to order right now.
- Detailed product pages
- Bofu webinars
- Bofu playbooks
- Live demos
- Free trials
- Price lists
- Reviews
- Competitive comparisons
- Calculators
- Interactive product builders
02
How much budget for which phase?
In your budget allocation for content marketing, make sure you balance your content across the entire customer journey. Only then can you attract enough (and the right) people to your website, convince those people of your offer, and get them to make their purchase now.
As a general rule of thumb, spend half your budget on basic content streams with a mix of informational and emotional content, a quarter on engagement content and a quarter on conversion content.
50%
Basic Content Streams
- Articles
- blog posts
- social media posts
- newsletters
25%
Conversion-Driven Content
- Webinars
- case studies
- free trials
- landing pages
25%
Engagement Content
- Educational articles
- testimonials
- whitepapers
- longer videos
Also read
Link
03
Plot the formats on your customer journey
To see if your approach is conclusive, draw out your choices on an ideal customer journey. Look through which touch points (websites, socials, mail, etc) in your plan the customer will interact with which content formats and check that you are creating a working journey that way.
