By Brooke B. Sellas, {grow} Contributing Columnist
So you want to nurture leads with content marketing.
Google it, and you’ll find a million and one posts with brawny frameworks that you’ll need a Ph.D. to execute.
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I’m looking for the easiest or fastest route.
So here it is. This is the simplest, do-it-yourself way to nurture leads with content marketing.
Getting Started
First, you’ll need a little background on the basics.
What you’ll need:
- Social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
- A blog post that’s crazy informative (not sales-y!) and a lead magnet
- Advertising know-how OR email marketing software
- Retargeting pixel on your website
- Free app/trial/report/consultation (one of these is your lead magnet)
For this example, let’s use Facebook as our social media channel.
To get set up, you’ll want to install the Facebook Pixel on your website. You’ll need an ads manager account on Facebook to do this.
Essentially, this pixel allows your website to track events or actions that take place on your website (like when someone visits a particular blog post).
There are lots of actions you can track.
Once set up, the pixel will collect insights about how people use your website.
The Two-Part Process
That’s right. Only two parts! I told you this was easy. 🙂
PART ONE
You’ll be using your crazy informative blog post and free lead magnet to qualify your prospects (and garner some brand awareness!).
On your blog post, you’ll want to be sure to link your lead magnet. You can do this with a simple link or with a call out.
I love Matthew Barby’s call out call-to-action on his post about chatbot marketing, seen below.
Once a person subscribes to download your free app/trial/report/consultation, you’ll move to part two.
PART TWO
In Part Two of this framework, you’ll use either email marketing or retargeting to sell a complementary product or service once they give their email to obtain their free lead magnet.
I mean complementary because what you’re selling should match the topic of your crazy informative post. For example, you don’t want to give super valuable information away about boarding your pet safely and then try to sell clothing for pets.
A better match would be a post about boarding your dog and then selling your dog boarding services.
Part Two: Email & Remarketing Examples
Email marketing example.
If you use email marketing you will be able to add your subscribers to a highly segmented list. If we’re going off the dog-boarding service example above, the list may be”dog boarding interest.”
You’ll want to send any dog boarding specific reviews, sales, coupons, etc. to this list since you know they’re interested in this service.
An ideal example to get them to close would be a coupon for first-time customers. After they download your lead magnet, send a thank you email with a 20% off coupon that expires in 90 days. (you don’t have to use those terms exactly, but be specific and generous!)
You can continue to send dog-boarding content to this list, just make sure it’s crazy valuable or your subscribers may stop opening your emails.
Retargeting ad on Facebook example.
If you’d rather use remarketing, you can do one of three things …
- Use the information from your Facebook pixel to send ads to ALL* of the people who landed on your post about dog boarding, even if they didn’t subscribe to the lead magnet. (*users must visit your page and be on Facebook to be “captured”)
- Upload your list of subscribers to Facebook and create a custom audience. Send ads for your dog-boarding service to them.
- Create your custom audience, and if it’s large enough, create a “‘lookalike” audience on Facebook to get in front of potential new readers, subscribers, and clients. Lookalike means this audience will have a similar makeup as your custom audience.
Social Media Examiner has four great ways to use lookalike audiences and I highly recommend the read.
Why This Works
To nurture leads with content marketing, you don’t need a workflow with ridiculously complicated steps.
I like that this two-step process is easy. It also adds flexibility if you’re better with email marketing than you are with advertising.
Additionally, this type of process helps familiarize your audience with your brand, products, and services.
AND, if you’re comfortable with both, you can use both emails and retargeting for nurturing your leads — a double whammy!
Other Simple Ways To Nurture Leads With Content Marketing
Here are some other easy ways to nurture leads with content marketing.
- Personalized emails. Using personalization in your emails can generate up to six times higher revenue per email (Source: Experian Email Marketing Study).
- Multi-channel lead nurturing. Use several different channels together, like email marketing, social media, retargeting, and direct sales outreach for a multi-pronged approach.
- Original research, case studies, or reports. This is a great way to hook leads in the discovery phase as well as present yourself as a thought leader. We use our case studies to do just that!
How are you using content marketing to nurture leads on the path to purchase? Let me know in the comments section below!
Brooke B. Sellas is a done-for-you social media manager & owner at B Squared Media, blossoming blogger, and a purveyor of psychographics. Her mantra is “Think Conversation, Not Campaign” so be sure to give her a shout on Twitter.
