Attract quality leads to your business. Ensure you have an effective lead nurturing strategy by creating a content roadmap.

The process of planning a content roadmap is the strategic approach for a business to obtain quality leads. The higher quality of leads a business generates, the better the chances of increasing conversions.

Creating a content roadmap that follows the customer journey is an effective approach to meeting the customer where they are in the journey with the right type of content at the right time.

The first step in the process is to understand what your prospects are searching for along the customer journey. Gaining valuable insight into the type of content your prospects are searching for and when they are searching for it can influence the entire direction of your strategy.

Discover how to create a lead nurturing strategy with content that aligns directly with your business goals.

What is a Content Roadmap?

Content mapping gives you strategic direction on how to effectively guide your audience through the customer journey. Without a firm grasp of the bigger picture and the goals you want to accomplish, your sales strategies may not go as far as they could. Content mapping will ensure your content delivers the right message to the right people at the right time.

With many different ideas, variables, and opinions, it’s easy to lose sight of balancing company goals and audience goals. A content roadmap helps you see what you might miss out on and how to improve your content strategy.

Why is Content Mapping Important?

Time is money, and the general rule of business is not to waste it. Having a clear content roadmap for your lead nurturing strategy guarantees your content is as effective as possible. Regardless of reach or the leads generated—you pay for your content, so you need to get the biggest bang for your buck. To do so, you must ensure that your content aligns with your vision and goals.

Keep in mind, you must come up with a plan before creating your content map. Without a plan, you will not only waste precious time but also risk missing opportunities to promote the important content your audience is looking for.

Once you have implemented your content mapping strategy, your audience will become more familiar with your offer, will move through the sales funnel, and be more likely to convert.

Content mapping ensures that every piece of content is curated with purpose and optimized for your lead nurturing strategy.

For an effective lead nurturing strategy, consider our best practices to build a content roadmap.

Suggested Reading: What is Lead Nurturing Content? And How to Leverage Digital Content Marketing for Nurturing Your Leads

Create a Content Roadmap Template

As you navigate through your content roadmap, remember to prioritize efficacy. Part of that is determining if you need to create a new roadmap or if you can rely on adapting a template to fit your style, vision, and goals. Using a template to create your roadmap can save you hours of precious time

Create Buyer Personas of Your Prospects

While there is no way to know exactly what your leads are thinking, you can give yourself a good idea with market research. Think of your target audience and ask the following questions to create your buyer personas:

• What information are potential customers looking to get from your business?
• What types of perks, offers, or added features are they searching for?
• What occasions or themes is your target audience gravitating towards?
• What makes your business stand out from the rest?

Asking these questions will also help you understand your audience’s intent. For example, some fashion magazine readers may be open to purchasing access to more exclusive content. Others might just be stopping by for outfit inspiration. Regardless of the ‘why’ or end result, all engagement brings value to your company. Understand what they want to keep them coming back for more.

Some of the most effective buyer personas rely on market research. Focus on demographic data, buying styles, values, goals, and how likely customers are to buy. Go even further by getting direct insight from your audience with surveys or interviews—never underestimate the value of directly asking leads for their input.

The number of personas you choose to create will vary depending on the position of your business. Newer businesses may only have one or two personas while larger, more established businesses may have a great deal more. Pace yourself to avoid feeling overwhelmed. Craft one or two substantial buyer personas to start and develop more as needed.

The more you can clearly visualize your audience, the more likely you will deliver relevant content. Once you’ve established your buyer personas, consider which path they are most likely to take next.

Create a Path For Each Persona

Creating the buyer personas is only part of the content mapping path. You must know where your customers are in the buying cycle. An effective lead nurturing strategy can help you visualize the steps needed to take each persona from the top to the bottom of the funnel. Think about the journey each persona takes.

• How do leads feel when they engage with your content?
• What emotions do you draw from them?
• Does your band offer a viable solution to their problem?
• How does your brand resonate with them?

Clarify the details of your personas to then determine the content that moves your audience through the customer journey.

Select the Type of Content to Move Prospects Forward

Content in an effective lead nurturing strategy will lead your audience forward. No matter where each persona is in the customer journey, each step in the content roadmap should determine the type of content that will move your leads through the funnel.

You should know what type of content each audience is most attracted to. For example, highly technical audiences may appreciate eBooks and white papers, while more general audiences might appreciate blogs (though the layout and use of visuals may vary). More creative audiences may appreciate videos or tutorials.

Gain more traction from your content by leveraging social media. Promote across multiple platforms for maximum reach. Be sure to tailor your message to catch the attention of each unique audience on each platform.

Keep it catchy and brief on Twitter. You can get a bit more length on Facebook, but stay focused on the theme. Add a bit more personality to your Instagram posts but keep it professional on LinkedIn. Aim to really make your brand voice shine when posting on your brand’s own site.

Whichever platforms you choose, make sure they appeal to your audience. You’ll be hard-pressed to find Gen Z on Facebook and even harder-pressed to find Baby Boomers on TikTok. Meet your audience where they are.

Suggested Reading: 3 Types of Lead Nurturing Content & How a Strategic Approach Helps Increase Conversions

Keep an Editorial Calendar

Having a great content roadmap isn’t much help without consistency and organization. You should consider an editorial calendar. Editorial calendars will help you set themes over longer periods of time. Plan ahead within these themes by setting dates for the specific content.

Editorial calendars help you move with intention while allowing for the repurposing of relevant content. This guides the publishing cadence. You can think of the calendar as your overall strategy or long-term game plan.

Now that you’ve got your strategy and details mapped out, how will you execute your content for the roadmap?

Suggested Reading: How to Write Lead Nurturing Content [5 Best Practices for Writing Writing Lead Nurturing Content]

Partner With WriteForMe to Build Your Content Roadmap

Creating a content roadmap built for nurturing your leads is no easy feat, but you don’t have to go it alone.

Contact the content marketing experts at WriteForMe to get started and enjoy the assurance that you’ll have high-quality content catered to the right people at the right time for your blog.

Request your complimentary content marketing playbook today!

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