Content creation and the importance it plays in a B2B content marketing strategy is profound. But did you know that before you even start creating content, you should be using content mapping to give your content more direction?
As far as inbound marketing goes, content mapping is right up there with one of the most important. Here's a guide to everything you need to know.
What is content mapping?
Firstly, let's look at exactly what it is.
Content mapping is a process we carry out before creating the content, and it essentially involves planning your content based on the question: who is going to be reading this and what problem are they trying to solve?This means creating content that is suitable for specific buyer personas and reaching out to the right people at the right time. You need to create content for people based on their wants, needs, challenges and fears if you want it to get any traction.
But it goes beyond this.
Content mapping also focuses on where your prospects are in their customer journey (i.e. how close they are to buying products that meet their needs).
By focusing on these two areas, content mapping will help you to come up with specific topics and ideas that you know will generate interest and engage the reader.
Why is content mapping so important for effective inbound marketing?
There are many reasons why content mapping is so essential when it comes to inbound marketing best practices:
- By mapping your content properly, you will know the type of content to create to match the stage of the customer journey. Different customers encounter your content at different stages, and some are ready to buy while others are not. Content mapping enables you to create content that resonates with readers based on where they are in the journey.
- It helps you build stronger relationships with your prospects and customers as you are helping them with useful content - not selling to them
- By creating content that is relevant to the reader, you are in a better position to generate more engaged readers, which in turn makes them more engaged with your brand. No one will spend time reading content that is not directly relevant to what they are trying to achieve, but content mapping ensures that you create copy that engages.
- Content mapping gives you a clearer idea about where each reader is in the customer journey, and you can create the content that takes them further down the funnel, resulting in more conversions
Use content mapping to take your inbound marketing further
Content mapping is an essential element when it comes to inbound marketing best practices and building a B2B content marketing strategy. Without having a clear idea about who you are targeting and at what stage of the buyer journey they are at, you cannot hope to create content that engages them and propels them further down the funnel.
We've covered what's involved, but now it's up to you to start coming up with topics. If you want to learn more about content mapping and inbound marketing, download our guide to inbound below:
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