Content marketing makes it easier for companies to convert website visitors - find out how Brafton created strategies that helped two brands increase sales.

Industries: Real estate & home furniture
Content: Blog posts
Highlights: Higher conversion rates for blog readers

Wouldn’t it be great if customers added an extra 15 percent to their orders? Or what if more of the customers who come into your store and visit your website end up making purchases? With higher sales, you could focus your efforts on retaining these buyers and delivering an exceptional brand experience – and less time chasing down prospects to keep your sales funnel full.

These are the results we were happy to report back to clients who had invested in content marketing strategies for their websites.

One of these companies is a home furnishing brand that hired Brafton to create and manage the content on its website. Now we can see that blog readers are spending nearly 15 percent more per purchase on the site than average visitors. The second business is a well-known luxury real estate agency, which is attracting blog readers that convert at a rate 41 percent higher than average visitors.

content marketing increases sales

The content marketing strategies are similar, but distinct. Brafton’s content writers create lifestyle articles that speak to each target audience’s needs, but also their wants. This kind of approach paints a clear picture in readers’ minds about what it would be like on the other side of a purchase decision.

Adding the finishing touch to the customer experience

For the home furnishing company, our content writers creates articles to hook customers who are shopping around for items to spruce up their homes. We cover topics, like:

  • Decorating tips

  • Seasonal suggestions for making the most of indoor and outdoor space

  • Suggestions for how to achieve a specific design aesthetic

For readers who are just looking for inspiration, the articles show them see how specific pieces play into a design, make small spaces seem bigger or provide better functionality. On the other hand, if readers already have a good sense of what they want to achieve, these articles can cement their ideas or point them in a direction of an option that makes more sense for their goals.

On an ecommerce site, content acts as a personal shopper

On an ecommerce site, content acts as a personal shopper. It’s selling visitors on the vision without coming across as salesy. The articles are simply providing no-pressure information about how products can function together in a space to create a certain aesthetic. The result? Blog readers buy more; specifically: 14 percent more than the average website visitor.

Building a better home buying experience

For the real estate agency, we wanted to create lifestyle pieces that would give prospective home buyers a taste of what it’s like to live in a city they’re considering.

Knowing there are weekly art festivals in a community might make an area look more attractive to potential buyers. Hearing that a region is known for wine enthusiasts might pique prospects’ interests and encourage them to reach out to a real estate agent.

Our content team creates blog posts for each of 15 categories that cover the agency’s territory – one for Los Angeles, one for New York City, one for San Francisco, etc. The articles discuss:

The blog is nurturing visitors’ interest in properties and getting them to take the next step – looking at listings, contacting an agent or requesting more information

  • Local events and attractions

  • Community news

  • Design Trends

  • Data about the current market

The strategy is paying off. In the past business quarter, we’ve seen that blog readers convert at a rate 41 percent higher than average visitors. Here’s another way to quantify to that. Let’s say that for every 10 website visitors, one converts on average. Now if those same 10 websites visitors read the blog, five will convert. The blog is nurturing visitors’ interest in properties and getting them to take the next step – looking at listings, contacting an agent or requesting more information.

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Is content marketing the best sales tool you’ve left untouched?

Content is a valuable online sales tool. It’s there long after employees leave brick-and-mortar sales floors, even after customer service reps hang up their headsets for the night. A content marketing strategy that’s built around the customers’ wants and needs will nudge prospects through the sales funnel, even when they’re not talking to you about their needs.

At the end of the buyer journey, customers who have read blog content will be well educated on what they don’t need – and what they do need – to get what they want. This makes them more efficient converts, and sometimes also bigger spenders. For marketers, this means more sales for the same amount of work.

Here are some related resources where you can find out how companies get bottom-line benefits content marketing services:

Lauren Kaye is a Marketing Editor at Brafton Inc. She studied creative and technical writing at Virginia Tech before pursuing the digital frontier and finding content marketing was the best place to put her passions to work. Lauren also writes creative short fiction, hikes in New England and appreciates a good book recommendation.