Content Marketing Strategies for Lead Generation

Is your content working for you and bringing you leads, or do you feel that your efforts are not yielding the desired results? The importance of content cannot be overstated nowadays, but there are many hurdles. Maybe you lack an effective content marketing strategy.

Why is a content marketing strategy important?

Content creation makes up a significant portion of online marketing resources and costs for many companies. Social media posts, newsletter content, blog posts, content for other advertising materials and channels. Not only writing but also publishing and promoting take a lot of time.

To leverage synergies and create content as purposefully and effectively as possible, a good content marketing strategy is essential. The foundation of the strategy: what goal are you pursuing with your content? Each channel and individual content piece can pursue different goals, but an overarching corporate strategy should define the direction. Producing content aimlessly is at worst nothing more than a waste of resources.

Therefore, ask yourself the question: What is your primary goal, why are you investing budget and resources in content creation? Why are you investing in content marketing?

The most important goals include

• Increasing revenue/conversions

• Increasing traffic/reach

• Brand building/increasing brand awareness

• Link building

In reality, it is often several goals that a campaign should fulfill, which is why it is particularly important to define the primary goal. Why? Types of content, content itself, the target audience, and how you address them can differ significantly depending on their main goal.

The content marketing strategy thus provides the framework for content campaigns and measures, preventing content from being created in an unplanned and aimless manner.

The importance of user intent and target group (Buyer Persona)

Behind every search query lies a need. User intent is therefore essential in search engine optimization, but also in SEA channels. However, the need is also crucial on other channels, as users only click on a link if they expect something from it, for example:

• The answer to a question

• A purchase opportunity

• A decision aid before making a purchase

• Entertainment

If you create content based on keywords, the most important question is: what is the primary user intent behind the keyword? The more specific this keyword, the easier it is to answer this question. Very generic keywords usually allow for multiple interpretations. The intent behind “Buy Samsung Galaxy S20” or “Weather tomorrow” is much clearer than behind “Living Room” or “Berlin.”

So when planning, ask yourself: what need should and can be fulfilled with the content? Not every type of content is equally suitable for every need. A purchase intention, for example, is better addressed via a product page or category page of an online store than through a long blog post. The intention “product comparison” is well covered with a comparison article or a test, or alternatively through a comparison function in the online store.

As important as the intention: for whom are you writing your content? Which target audience do you want to reach? What does your buyer persona look like, where and how can you address them? A B2B audience differs from a B2C audience, for example.

Demographic characteristics can also significantly influence how you address your audience and the content you provide. How many details and what kind of presentation does the target audience need? How important are media?
The more accurately you know your target audience, their needs, and preferences, the more successful your lead generation will be.

Content Strategies along the Customer Journey

Have you ever thought about your target audience's customer journey? What phases do users go through until completion?

The seven phases are:

1. Pre-Awareness

2. Awareness

3. Consideration

4. Preference

5. Purchase

6. After-Sale

7. Loyalty

With content marketing, you have the opportunity to provide relevant content at each of these phases and encourage users towards conversion.

A common mistake we observe in companies is the exclusive focus on the purchase phase of the customer journey. This is understandable, as this phase is where completion occurs, and revenue is generated. However, you miss significant potential if you are not visible in the phases before (and after) this.

In content planning, it is not only important who you create content for and what need you address but also in which phase users currently are and what the next phase is.

Examples of user journey phases and the associated intentions and suitable content types:

1. Pre-Awareness: unspecified intention → for example, entertaining content, company news, infographics on the topic, etc.

2. Awareness: finding solutions for a problem → tutorials, guides, workshops, webinars, tools, etc.

3. Consideration: decision aid for an offer/product → customer reviews, test reports, white papers, etc.

4. Preference: finding the right product/offer → product comparisons, case studies, etc.

5. Purchase: purchase intention → detailed information about the product, fact sheets, etc.

6. After-Sale: using the product/offer optimally → instructions/videos for the product/offer, overview of related products/offers, etc.

7. Loyalty: finding further useful products/offers from the company or offers → presentations on new products, insights from the company (trust-building), etc.

Different types of content (such as workshops or case studies) can be relevant and helpful in different phases, so the listing is just an example to illustrate how diverse content types can be and how they can be strategically used along the customer journey.

B2B and B2C Content Strategies

Who is your target audience? Are you addressing end customers or business customers? Lead generation and the appropriate channels, as well as content creation itself, differ depending on whether you want to acquire B2B or B2C leads.

The most important differences between B2B and B2C customers that play a role in the content strategy:

B2B audience

• Typically smaller target audiences → targeting and distinguishing from irrelevant users (for example, B2B vs. B2C) can be more challenging.

• Decisions are made for the benefit of the company → generally more rational (though emotionality shouldn’t be neglected for any audience), trust, facts, and figures are more important than the entertainment factor.

• Multiple people often involved in decisions → content that convinces each user and provides arguments for superiors and decision-makers.

• Often expertise present that influences purchasing decisions → expert content is even more important than in the B2C segment.

• Wide range of price segments up to very high revenue per completion → particularly for high-priced products, more time and budget can be spent on each lead.

• Purchasing decisions can take more time → more touchpoints, longer nurturing phase, maintaining contact is particularly important.

B2C audience

• Typically larger target audience

• Individual decisions based on personal needs or those of another person → emotional appeal more important, identification with a brand, a company.

• Often, only one person makes the decision, sometimes in consultation with a partner, rarely more people are involved → only one person needs to be convinced.

• Mostly lower-priced products and services → largely automated lead generation, personalized addressing usually only based on automation.

• Purchasing decisions are generally made faster → also usually several touchpoints, but over a shorter period.

Content Marketing in the Marketing Mix

As a full-service online marketing agency, we naturally recommend our clients a combination of different channels and measures. There are good reasons for this: If you do not rely solely on one source of traffic, you significantly reduce your risk. Google updates and changes in the algorithms of major social media platforms have already cost some companies substantial revenue. Loss of traffic and revenue is always annoying and should be taken seriously, but if you are not dependent on one channel, you can at least partially compensate for the losses.

In content marketing, this means considering all available channels and thinking them through strategically. Which channels are important for which phase of the customer journey? Remember that depending on the industry, it takes an average of 3 to 10 touchpoints to make a purchase.

These touchpoints can be involved in a purchase, for example:

• The display of an interesting, entertaining post in a social network (social channel, content format social media post)

• Google search and click on an unpaid result that answers a general question and offers a solution (SEO channel, content format blog post)

• Google search for the best product and click on an unpaid result leading to a test report or product comparison (SEO channel, content format blog post or PDF download)

• Google search for purchasing options and clicking on an advertisement for the product (SEA channel, content format product page or landing page)

• After purchase: opening a newsletter and clicking a link to a tutorial (E-mail channel, content format PDF tutorial or video tutorial)

10 Tips for a Good Content Marketing Strategy for Lead Generation

Our SEO and content warriors have put together 10 tips for you to advance your content planning and creation. A good content marketing strategy is a complex task, so our tips are not claimed to be exhaustive, but rather to provide you with practical advice that you can implement immediately.

 1. Topic and keyword selection

Even if you ideally want to be visible in all phases of the user journey: your resources and budget are limited, so prioritization is always advisable. If lead generation is the focus, keywords and topics that are closer to a completion are more important. An indication of the intention behind a search query are so-called “keyword modifiers,” for example:

• Instructions, tutorial, guide, how can I…, why, examples, etc.

• Test, comparison, reviews, etc.

• Best, price, cheapest, etc.

• Buy, online shop, order, etc.

Focus on topics and keywords that best match your goal. Analyze your existing content to see which phase of the customer journey and which intention it addresses: are you neglecting important phases? Where are the greatest potentials that you are not yet exploiting?

2. Content planning

There are always current topics that you want to take up in your content, but the rough plan should be created in advance. For us and our clients, it has proven effective to create an editorial plan 1-3 months in advance. It is important to keep an eye on trends but also create “evergreen content” that addresses fundamental questions and topics and can continuously bring you traffic and leads. Mix current and evergreen topics in your content plan, determine which primary goal each content piece pursues, and simultaneously plan which channels you will promote your content through.

3. SEO

Content marketing is part of search engine optimization, so the hint about SEO may seem superfluous. However, in our experience, it is often forgotten to consider all relevant SEO criteria: have you optimized all elements?

This means, for example, optimizing

• Metadata (Title Tag and Meta Description)

• Headlines (main title and subheadings)

• Images

• Internal linking

And of course, the text itself: Have you created a keyword set in advance and used it in the content? Is there already a content piece optimized for the keyword? Ensure that different pages do not compete: the content on your website or in your online shop should always be optimized for a unique set of keywords for which there are currently no content and associated pages. Of course, you can recycle content on social media and in newsletters, but all content readable by Google should be unique and not compete for the same keywords.

Learn more about the basics of OnPage Search Engine Optimization in this article.

4. Landing page optimization

What does the page look like on which users land when they click on a search result, an ad, or a link in a social media post? Remember that the first impression is important, especially for new visitors who visit your website for the first time. Is the page user-friendly on the most important devices? How is the user guidance?

If it is a landing page aimed at a signup, for example, to download a “lead magnet,” the design should reflect this. In this context, the topic of conversion optimization is crucial for success or failure.

5. Optimization for conversion

Always consider when creating content: what should the reader do next? What is the next step? What is the conversion? This could be downloading a PDF document, signing up for the newsletter, or making contact. Perhaps you want to motivate users to learn more about your company and your services and then get in touch with you.

For example, if a call to action is missing at the end of a blog post, the likelihood of users bouncing and leaving the page is higher. Use the opportunity to bring your users to the next phase of the customer journey.

Consider all instruments of conversion optimization: perhaps you can incorporate calls to action or sign-up forms into the content. Also, be sure to focus on one conversion and make it particularly clear. Users who are uncertain about the next step (newsletter signup, contact request, click on the next blog post) may bounce and take no action at all.

6. Building authority

With each content piece you create, you have the opportunity to build trust and present yourself as an authority in your industry—both to your target audience and to Google. Show that you bring experience and know-how, but also consider for whom you are writing. In the B2C sector, technical language is rarely appropriate. However, if you create content for B2B leads addressed to experts, the corresponding language is appropriate and important.

If Google recognizes you as an authority, it gives you an advantage in visibility and rankings in search results. Search engines recognize authority by the fact that you provide a lot of content around your topic, and also by your brand or company name being frequently searched. All measures that make your company more visible and bring you into the consciousness of your target audience also contribute to better search engine optimization.

7. Measuring against the competition

The benchmark in content creation is the competition—especially if you want to optimize your content for search engines. What already exists on the topic? Which pages and content are found for your most important keywords? How long are the texts, how in-depth do they cover the topic? What can you do better than your competitors? Can you add new aspects (“content gaps”)?

The unmodest task is to create content that is better than anything you see in the top 10 for the keyword. How can you cover all relevant aspects, answer all questions—and add something?

This may require a lot of effort, but at least in search engine optimization: quality before quantity. Create fewer extensive very good content pieces rather than many superficial short ones. This way, you become an authority on your topic.

8. Using media

Competitor analysis gives you an initial indication of whether Google ranks content for your topic with media well. If all competitors in the top 10 use many images or even videos, you should consider this. How can you use relevant images or videos and enhance the content with them? From a user perspective, media is also a very good idea.

Also, remember to optimize these media. Images and videos appear in search results and attract a lot of attention. If image search plays an important role for your topic, image SEO is another opportunity for lead generation. The same applies to YouTube: is your topic frequently searched on YouTube? Take the opportunity to be visible on the second largest search engine.

9. Content distribution

Creating content is only part of the effort. “Create and they will come” applies only to a very limited extent in times of content overflow on the internet. Well-optimized content will attract users, but the chances are much greater if you actively promote this content additionally.

Which channels and measures are suitable for content dissemination depends on what types of content you create on which channels. For blog posts, for example, the following have proven effective:

• Social Media: Do you promote your blog posts on all your social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Xing, LinkedIn, etc.)?

• Newsletter: Are you sending out a newsletter? Use the opportunity to highlight your latest blog posts!

• Email signature: Countless emails are sent every day. Use your signature as free “advertising space” and link to important blog posts or new lead magnets.

• Outreach: If you want to build backlinks, outreach is an effective, albeit time-consuming, strategy. Network, make contacts with relevant people and companies, for whose target audience your content is relevant.

10. Monitoring and ongoing optimization

Creating optimized content is the first part of the task; however, it is not done with publication. Observe how the created content performs to learn from it and, if necessary, optimize further.

• How often was the page accessed?

• How much traffic was generated through which channels?

• How much referral traffic came over guest postings?

• How are the rankings developing?

• How many signups or purchases resulted from the content?

Like most online marketing measures, content marketing is not static but requires continuous observation and adjustment.

Warrior Support for Your Content Marketing

Would you like to develop an effective content strategy for your company? Our SEO Warriors bring a lot of experience in content marketing for various companies and industries and are happy to assist you. From topic and keyword analysis, identifying untapped potential, and creating an editorial plan to the creation and distribution of content—we support you in all phases of lead generation with the help of content! Feel free to contact us!

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