Last week, you learned the answer to What is a Buyers’ Journey, and how the answer to that question can help you cater content to your print buyers in whatever stage they may be in.
But, did you know you’ve barely scratched the surface of a buyers’ journey?
To be not only mindful of the journey but also successful, you’ll need to dive in a little further. So, that’s where you’ll pick up today – with a deep dive into stage one of your print buyers’ journey: Awareness.
The Awareness Stage: 101
If you recall, the awareness stage is the part of the buying journey where your print buyers start to experience symptoms of a pain point or opportunity.
While they can’t quite put their finger on the specific problem from the symptoms they’re experiencing, it’s in this stage that your print buyer’s goal is simply to recognize and “become aware of” the problem.
As the name implies, you’ll need to work on creating an overall awareness of your product, service, or company at this stage. Your goal is to get your print buyers to begin to understand what you do and how you can help them. Remember how you’ve learned previously to focus on addressing your buyer’s pain points? This is precisely when your content should focus on calling attention to your print buyer’s pain points and not your product or brand.
Understanding the Awareness Stage: Check Yourself
If you’re struggling to get in the mind of your print buyer in the awareness stage, consider reflecting on questions like these:
- When speaking to your print buyers, how would they describe their goals and challenges?
(e.g., they want to grow their mailing list; no time to market themselves) - What would your print buyers typically do to learn more or educate themselves on achieving their goals and challenges?
(e.g., they research and look for easy solutions that offer the greatest return) - If your print buyers do nothing, what consequences would that inaction create?
(e.g., they might experience a lack of business growth or fall away from being top-of-mind for their clients) - Are there common misconceptions you’ve picked up on that your print buyers have about addressing their pain points or opportunities?
(e.g., they mistakenly think direct mail is too expensive, too hard, or unpredictable) - How do your print buyers decide whether the pain point/opportunity should be prioritized?
(e.g., they might wait till it’s too late or fail to see the urgency of gathering new sales opportunities)
The good news is that your business can present a resolution to these print buyers’ problems by creating content that identifies and directly addresses the issues.
What Types of Content Fit Best in the Awareness Stage?
If you’re looking to reach buyers in the Awareness Stage with content that fits well, include the following:
- Blog Posts: Blogs are great for making yourself known to the world in a non-pushy format. Each blog helps increase your organic website traffic using keywords and help your print buyer to learn about you and the problems you solve. Did you know you can get pre-written customizable blogs delivered to your inbox for as little as $6 per blog?
- Infographics: These stunning and informative visuals are quickly and easily sharable and can increase your chances of being found and shared on social media.
- Short videos: Videos help tell a visual story and make it easy for your brand to get found on platforms like YouTube.
You might also include things like
- Podcasts
- Social Media Ads
- Google Ads
Remember to include a call-to-action within these pieces of content or keep some of your content gated. This means you offer the content in exchange for their email address. This technique will help you move these potential customers into the consideration stage.
Click here for some downloadable resources you can gate on your own website. For example, on that page, you’ll find the new 2021 social media hashtag calendar. This is a creative content piece you could offer your print buyers in exchange for their email address to grow your mailing list.
Yes, You’re Great, But No Selling (Yet)
One important thing to remember about the awareness stage is that you do NOT want to sell at this point.
While it may seem counterintuitive, there are very few customers who will buy a solution they’ve never heard of, from a brand they don’t know, after the first initial touchpoint. Remember that the awareness stage is simply laying the foundation of knowledge before you would even consider or push for the ‘hard-sell.’ Although it may be tough when selling is your ultimate end goal, laying this foundation will ensure that when the time comes for them to order printing, you will have made it a lot easier for them to do so.
Stay tuned to your inbox for the Consideration Stage next week!
