How to Create Content That Converts
Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2025 7:05 am
On the latest episode of The Hot Pursuit Podcast, Roy Harmon interviewed Stephanie Fiteni, CMO at 9H Digital, about content marketing. Some of the things they covered include:
How to develop a successful content strategy
How to craft compelling content
The right way to use ChatGPT during the content development process
Watch below.
Understanding Your Target Audience
The foundation of any successful content strategy lies in a deep understanding of your target audience. Stephanie emphasizes that this is not just a preliminary step but the most crucial part of the entire process.
“It’s absolutely the most important part and definitely it’s also the part that I would give probably the most time out of the whole,” she says.
Strategies to Identify and Understand Your Audience
Interview Internal Teams: Start by engaging with your sales team, customer malta whatsapp data service representatives, and anyone else who interacts directly with clients. They can provide invaluable insights into customer pain points, objections, and frequently asked questions.
Speak Directly to Clients: Stephanie advises that “You … have to speak to the clients themselves—that’s very, very important.” Conduct surveys and interviews, particularly with new clients, to understand their decision-making processes and what led them to choose your product or service.
Use Onboarding Forms Strategically: Incorporate questions into your onboarding process that reveal why clients chose you, what problems they’re trying to solve, and what they hope to achieve.
Turning Information into a Story
Once you’ve gathered sufficient information about your audience, the next step is to transform these insights into a cohesive narrative.
“I like to actually turn that into a story,” Stephanie says. This approach helps identify gaps or “plot holes” in the customer’s journey, ensuring that your content addresses every stage of their decision-making process.
Mapping the Customer Journey
By turning data into a story, you can naturally segment your content into the three stages of the buyer’s journey:
Awareness: The customer realizes they have a problem.
Consideration: They begin exploring solutions.
Decision: They choose a specific product or service to solve their problem.
Setting Clear Goals for Your Content
Having a mission statement for your content ensures consistency and purpose.
Stephanie recommends having a mission statement for all of your content. While the ultimate goal might be to drive sales, each piece of content should have a specific objective, whether it’s to educate, inform, or inspire your audience.
Defining Content Goals at Each Funnel Stage
Awareness Stage: Aim to inform and educate. Provide valuable information that helps the audience understand their problem better.
Consideration Stage: Offer solutions and options. Compare different approaches to solving their problem.
Decision Stage: Highlight what sets your product or service apart. Provide clear calls to action that guide the customer toward making a purchase.
Balancing Educational and Sales-Driven Content
Stephanie advises against overt selling in your content. Instead, the focus should be on providing value.
“Always educate,” she says. Modern consumers are savvy and can easily detect when they’re being sold to, which can be a turn-off.
The Power of Education
By positioning yourself as a knowledgeable resource, you build trust with your audience. This trust makes them more likely to choose your product or service when they’re ready to make a decision.
How to develop a successful content strategy
How to craft compelling content
The right way to use ChatGPT during the content development process
Watch below.
Understanding Your Target Audience
The foundation of any successful content strategy lies in a deep understanding of your target audience. Stephanie emphasizes that this is not just a preliminary step but the most crucial part of the entire process.
“It’s absolutely the most important part and definitely it’s also the part that I would give probably the most time out of the whole,” she says.
Strategies to Identify and Understand Your Audience
Interview Internal Teams: Start by engaging with your sales team, customer malta whatsapp data service representatives, and anyone else who interacts directly with clients. They can provide invaluable insights into customer pain points, objections, and frequently asked questions.
Speak Directly to Clients: Stephanie advises that “You … have to speak to the clients themselves—that’s very, very important.” Conduct surveys and interviews, particularly with new clients, to understand their decision-making processes and what led them to choose your product or service.
Use Onboarding Forms Strategically: Incorporate questions into your onboarding process that reveal why clients chose you, what problems they’re trying to solve, and what they hope to achieve.
Turning Information into a Story
Once you’ve gathered sufficient information about your audience, the next step is to transform these insights into a cohesive narrative.
“I like to actually turn that into a story,” Stephanie says. This approach helps identify gaps or “plot holes” in the customer’s journey, ensuring that your content addresses every stage of their decision-making process.
Mapping the Customer Journey
By turning data into a story, you can naturally segment your content into the three stages of the buyer’s journey:
Awareness: The customer realizes they have a problem.
Consideration: They begin exploring solutions.
Decision: They choose a specific product or service to solve their problem.
Setting Clear Goals for Your Content
Having a mission statement for your content ensures consistency and purpose.
Stephanie recommends having a mission statement for all of your content. While the ultimate goal might be to drive sales, each piece of content should have a specific objective, whether it’s to educate, inform, or inspire your audience.
Defining Content Goals at Each Funnel Stage
Awareness Stage: Aim to inform and educate. Provide valuable information that helps the audience understand their problem better.
Consideration Stage: Offer solutions and options. Compare different approaches to solving their problem.
Decision Stage: Highlight what sets your product or service apart. Provide clear calls to action that guide the customer toward making a purchase.
Balancing Educational and Sales-Driven Content
Stephanie advises against overt selling in your content. Instead, the focus should be on providing value.
“Always educate,” she says. Modern consumers are savvy and can easily detect when they’re being sold to, which can be a turn-off.
The Power of Education
By positioning yourself as a knowledgeable resource, you build trust with your audience. This trust makes them more likely to choose your product or service when they’re ready to make a decision.