7 Ways to Improve Content Marketing Conversions

Recently, we posted a great list of places to find content inspiration, and hopefully it helped you come up with a whole list of great new ideas. Creating new content can take a little time, so in the meantime, here are seven ways you can boost conversions for the content you already have.

1. Use specific landing pages

Whether you’re promoting your content through email, social media or SEM, the ad for your content piece should lead to a landing page specific to that piece.  This is especially important if you’re using content as part of a lead generation program. Don’t drop prospects off at a site where they have to click around to find the content you promised them.  If you make it clear and easy for your visitors to find out how they can get the content piece you promoted or advertised, they’ll repay you with a better conversion rate.

2. Socialize your content

We share things we like, find interesting and helpful.  Since those are all things that you want your prospects to say about your content, make it easy for them to share your content with their networks. When someone we know and trust recommends something to us, we are much more likely to read it or give it a try. On your thank you pages and your actual content, try including social media buttons that let your readers tell others through a tweet or Facebook post that they are enjoying your content.

3. Bring people back online with QR codes

Eventually and inevitably that white paper or guide you’ve been promoting online will be printed and left on someone else’s desk.  Bring those readers back online with a QR code that leads to a branded landing page where you can engage with them.  Try all sorts of call to actions – offers to more about your product, to read something else or to watch a related video. By bringing readers back online, you’ll be able to track and gain some insight into how often your content is shared, and you can keep the new reader’s experience with your brand going.

4. Suggest a next step

Just because someone finished reading your blog post or watching a video doesn’t mean that they are finished learning. Maybe they want to keep learning about a certain topic or maybe they want to learn more about you- the company that seems so knowledgeable about this subject that interests them. Make it easy for them to stay engaged and to reach out to you.  On thank you pages and at the end of content pieces, suggest a similar post or whitepaper for those that still want to engage with your content and provide a clear call to action like “Let’s talk” for those who are ready to convert.

5. Leverage progressive profiling data

If you market your content to prospects in a nurture campaign, progressive profiling is a great way for you to learn more about a prospect with each subsequent visit.  Use the progressive profile information you’re collecting to create even more specific, targeted content. For instance, if you ask about buying timeframe then you can combine that information with your buyer personas, to send content that’s specific to buyers based on where they are in your buying cycle.  The more targeted and relevant your content is to someone’s needs the more likely they’ll be to want it.

6. Version content for specific segments

Smart segmentation will help you learn more about your landing page visitors and it will provide your landing page visitors with an even better experience – and a better experience means better conversions.  For instance, we know that a landing page toolkit will appeal to people who don’t have a landing page program and to those who do.  If you’re just starting a landing page program you’re going to need different slightly different information compared to those who have established programs, and while we want to talk to both groups, our conversations are going to be different.  By offering (aka segmenting by) a beginner’s and an advanced version we can learn something about our visitors and our visitors get a content bundle that speaks better to their needs.  Better, more specific content is what should drive the segmentation choice.

7. Test it all!

The only way to know if your target audience is going to like and convert is to try it out! Experiment with different content formats, landing page layouts, segmentation and traffic sources. We’ve seen content pieces do just okay in paid search, but then rock it in on LinkedIn or social and vice versa.  The more you test, the more you’ll learn about where your content performs best and what your audience likes.

How are you improving your content marketing conversions? Share your tips below!