Content has two main purposes. The first is to showcase who you are – your brand personality, beliefs, values and what you stand for. The second is to move your ideal client through their journey with you from not knowing anything about you all the way to becoming a raving fan.
By using the right content at the right time, we can make sure that we are targeting exactly what our ideal client needs to hear at exactly the right time. This makes the time between each phase of the client journey (see below) much shorter which then allows you to form more relationships more quickly.
Here’s a few tips on how to use your content more strategically throughout the client journey.
Know your ideal client
This is a key to a successfully constructed client journey. Many of my clients feel like they know their ideal client, but find it really difficult to describe exactly who she is. This is because we are too busy trying to define our ideal client, rather than trying to relate to them.
Understanding them and talking to your ideal client like you would chat to a bestie over a glass of wine is the key to really igniting the relationship you have with them. What would she share with you in a quiet moment? What’s troubling her? What’s on her mind?
(If your content is missing the mark with your ideal client, download my Un-boring Ideal Client Avatar Workbook so that you can start relating to her on a more personal level.)
Content that relates to your ideal client will help them move through the client journey.
What are they thinking, feeling and doing at each stage?
Once you know who they are, you can understand what they’re thinking, feeling and doing at each stage of the client journey. Grab a pen and paper and jot down who they might be following, what they’re reading, how they’re developing and what their inner mean girl thoughts might be.
Then you’ll be ready to create content that specifically addresses these thoughts and actions, helping her make progress and strategically move her through the client journey.
Use the best type of content for each stage
Not all forms of content are created equal! Some are better used at different stages of the client journey.
Core content is great for connection and nurturing, lead magnets are used in the subscribe phase and email marketing is best for nurturing and converting,
Making sure that you choose the best option at the right stage of the client journey will help you be more strategic and purposeful with your content creation.
(The Content Roadmap is the best place to start if you’d like to know more about what types of content to create at each stage of the client journey).
Cover the entire journey
A journey is a stepping stone from one stage to the next, so it’s important to making sure that you’re guiding your ideal client through the entire journey by creating content that covers all the stages. If you are constantly creating content that just connects, but not doing anything to encourage them to subscribe then you’ll never hit your sales targets as they’ll be stuck at the beginning of the journey with you.
You need to be creating enough strategic content that addresses what your ideal client is thinking, feeling and doing at each stage of the client journey.
Creating content becomes much easier when you realise why you’re creating it. Last minute posting or ghosting with your core content is hard work. When you switch to understanding how it’s helping your ideal client and why you’re creating it, it becomes less of a burden.
If this is something you may need further help with, I can craft a purposeful and sustainable content strategy for you. Or join the waitlist for the launch of my membership The Content Effect where you can learn more about how to create aligned and purposeful content.
