Want more effective top-of-funnel content? Start looking for problems.

It’s no secret that one of the biggest marketing challenges is to warm up cold prospects. Give someone the chance to leap out of the top of the sales funnel, and you may never see them again. That’s why at the top-of-funnel (ToFu) — you might call it the awareness or discovery stage — the key to getting the sales conversation started is to give people a reason to care.

Want to sell more umbrellas in a heat wave? Let people know it’s going to rain.

You want to sell more umbrellas but temperatures are soaring, and your potential buyers are too busy clearing the shelves of sun cream, beach toys and BBQ supplies to pay you any attention. Meanwhile, you’re tracking the storm that’s heading in their direction.

But it’s not enough for you to know what’s up with the jet stream. To start selling, you need to make your audience aware too. If not, your attempts to get the conversation flowing are only going to be met with cries that you’re blocking the sun.

This is the job of effective top-of-funnel content: to let those sun-worshippers know the downside of doing nothing, raise awareness of the problem that your solution solves, and get people talking.

What if they already know about the storm?

Now, what about those who have seen the forecast and plan to take shelter under the nearest tree?

For these people, the problem is not that a storm is coming; it’s that their current solution is not as effective as it could be. And it could be downright dangerous if the forecast includes lightning.

In mature industries, where organisations are aware of the problem and already have a solution, your ToFu content must highlight the shortfalls of those incumbent solutions.

ToFu content in a nutshell

To increase the effectiveness of your top-of-funnel content, make sure you’re raising awareness of the problem your solution solves. If your readers are not aware of the problem, highlight it; if your audience already have a solution, point out where it falls short compared to yours.

Click the button to recieve more actionable advice on fuelling better conversations with your audience, straight to your inbox.

No comprendo: why content localisation is key to speaking with your global audience.

You’re no doubt familiar with the principle of delivering the right message, to the right people at the right time.

Its sound advice, but what’s missing?

The need to deliver the right message, in the right language.

You must recognise the language barrier:

It’s no secret that to talk to your audience, you need to speak their language. Yet, how much of your content is limited to the English-speakers within your target audience? How many existing and potential clients, across EMEA and beyond, are you missing the chance to talk with, as a result?

But translation isn’t enough:

It’s not just about translating your content. To pack the same punch across different regions, it needs to be localised – it needs to reflect the differences in the way people live and work, including their customs, idioms and cultural references.

Should you use the formal or informal ‘you’ in a language where both forms exist? Will everyone be familiar with recent news headline you mention in your article? Will your foreign audience need some extra background information to understand the subtleties of your case study with a British client?

Accounting for these kinds of differences means that you’re not only speaking their language, you’re retaining the impact in what you say.

Does content localisation work?

IT solutions provider, Barracuda, is a great example of a B2B brand that’s benefitting from far greater engagement with their European audience. Their critical monthly newsletter, originally delivered in English with no content variation, is now localised — distributed in six languages, with unique content for each region. This move has seen unique open rates rise by 39% and unique click-through rates by 75%.

This just goes to show how content localisation can help you fuel conversations with your audience and lay the foundations to nurture valuable relationships.

Key Takeaway:

To best fuel conversations with your audience across different regions, you need to deliver the right message, in the right language.

Click here to find out more about Barracuda’s success with content localisation.

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Wherever, whenever: why repurposing content is key to engaging your audience anytime, anywhere.

Imagine if your wardrobe could only consist of one outfit; no matter which clothes you chose, they’d often be inappropriate.

The same logic applies to your content; no matter how great a single asset is, it won’t be appropriate in every context. As a result, you’ll often miss the opportunity to engage your audience in the conversation. For example, imagine (but please don’t try) reading a whitepaper on your phone, whilst cycling to work – tricky, right?

So, to maximise the effectiveness of your content, something’s got to change. Either your audience must engineer a situation in which they can consume your content, or you need to repurpose your message so that you’re able to get your message across wherever, whenever.

Many marketers are reaping the benefits of the latter approach.

Repurposing in action:

Leading translation software provider, SDL, supplemented its industry-leading research report with a separate overview of the 5 key themes. This summary received more than twice as many downloads than any other SDL eBook, ever, and allowed SDL to engage in brief, yet full conversations with those pushed for time – an opportunity they would otherwise have missed.

Meanwhile, newspapers, like the Wall Street Journal, now create their editions in podcast form, allowing subscribers, who don’t have time to read the news in the morning, to listen to it on their drive to work, or on the train (for those of us who remember our earphones!) – facilitating a conversation that might otherwise never have happened.

Key takeaway:

If you’re only publishing your message in one form, you’re missing the opportunity to talk to your audience anywhere, anytime. Repurposing that content into a few shapes and sizes means you’re ready and able to have the conversation whenever, wherever.

And consider this; it’s not just digital content that can be repurposed to better fuel conversations. Check out how Xerox repurposed a fruitful keynote speech into a piece of sales collateral that fuelled follow-up discussion with prospects.

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