Is your website really converting visitors into customers effectively? If more than 90 % of your web visitors leave your website without becoming prospects or customers, you need to take action to increase the conversion potential of your website.
However, it is not always easy to attract visitors to your website and convince them to invest in your solutions.
- This depends to a large extent on the aesthetics of your website.
- It is also influenced by the UX design
- Even aspects of technical performance - such as website speed and responsiveness on mobile devices - influence your target audience's willingness to spend their hard-earned money on your brand.
And the one universal requirement for converting web visitors into customers is to gain the trust of your potential customers. Since 81 % of consumers see trust in a brand as crucial to their purchasing decision, you need to find ways to increase the credibility of your business.
The good news is that you can invest in and showcase relevant website content to achieve your goals.
If you're looking for ways to increase your brand's sales potential, here's how you can use content to build trust in your brand and convert more website visitors into customers.
1) Optimize your inbound marketing strategies to attract more visitors to your website.
One of the best ways to ensure you get the highest ROI from your content marketing efforts is to optimize your strategy. Your goal? To attract as many visitors as possible.
On average, small and medium-sized businesses receive between 500 and 15,000 visits per month. The average conversion rate for B2B websites is around 3 % and for B2C websites around 2 % - that's not many new customers, especially if your traffic is on the low side, which is typical for new websites or niche businesses.
However, let's assume you can increase your visitor numbers and gain twice as many new customers. In this case, you should also double your CR.
With this in mind, the first step to using content to improve brand awareness and maximize conversions is to optimize your inbound marketing strategies. And the best part is that you're probably already doing a lot of it.
Invest in SEO
Investing in search engine optimization is undoubtedly the best way to draw more attention to your content.
Data shows that people are not very patient when searching for content online. According to a study from 2023, the first result on a SERP is ten times more likely to attract a visitor than the tenth result on the same page.
To ensure that your hard work in developing content has not been in vain, you should supplement your content marketing efforts with SEO.
You can significantly improve the visibility and ranking of your website by
- You research and target relevant keywords related to your potential customers' problems.
- Incoming links from trustworthy sources and strong internal linking.
- Make sure that your content matches the search intentions of your target group.
If you need more help with search engine optimization, check out this content optimization checklist.
Pay attention to consistency
Consistency is key when it comes to content marketing. If your potential customers know what to expect from your brand and their expectations are met on a regular basis, they are much more likely to form a positive opinion of your company. And that gives you the advantage of gaining their trust.
There is no magic formula for the ideal publication schedule for your brand. It depends on your resources and the expectations of your target group.
If you are working with a small team and a limited budget, you should not overextend yourself. Focus on quality, not quantity. And do your best to update existing resources regularly so that they are relevant to your potential customers. It is often easier to optimize older content and increase traffic than to place new content.
For example, indicating the date a post was updated can be a great way to show web visitors that they can rely on your company for up-to-date and accurate information. This, of course, increases your chances of gaining their trust (and business). Take a look at the Shopify article What's a Good Conversion Rate below and see how the article clearly shows when it was last updated.
Using the right sales channels
It's perfectly fine to wait for your target group to want to solve their problems. After all, most people use the internet to find information and solutions. It is very likely that your customers will come across your brand and your products at some point.
However, if you want to use your content marketing efforts to establish your brand as an authority in the industry and attract new prospects, you should take a more active approach to content distribution.
Find out which digital channels your ideal customers use on a regular basis. Then try to invest as much as possible in the distribution of content via these channels.
For example, research shows that people searching for solutions online regularly select a well-known brand in search results. So if they remember your company's name from positive interactions in other channels before they enter the sales funnel, they are more likely to click through to your website - and take action there.
Beauty of Joseon, for example, is a South Korean brand that regularly publishes skincare tips and tricks on its social media channels. Even if not all social media users who see this content want to buy skincare products, the brand builds familiarity with potential future customers. This increases the likelihood that these users will choose BOJ products in the future.
2) Use content to improve product understanding
Now that you've learned the basics of increasing conversion rates and brand awareness through content, it's time to move on to more advanced strategies to attract and engage more potential customers and improve your customer acquisition efforts.
A great strategy is to focus your content production on improving product understanding.
- Scientific research suggests that you need to ensure two things if you want internet visitors to buy from your business:
- Convince them of the credibility of your brand.
Demonstrate the unique value and benefits of your product and convince prospects to choose your solution over the competition.
One example of a brand that manages to do both in a spectacular way is Rosie. On its homepage, the brand features a prominent explainer video that demonstrates the capabilities of its AI solution. The demo perfectly summarizes how the software works, ensuring that potential customers perceive the solution as highly effective. It also allows them to better assess whether the solution is suitable for their needs.
3) Show that your brand is likeable
To gain the trust of your visitors, you need to show them not only that your company is able to solve their problems and frustrations, but also that you are willing to put their needs above your profits.
And why? Because benevolence (concern for the well-being of people) is one of the three pillars of trust, along with competence and integrity.
You can use your posts to humanize your business and show your potential customers that your ultimate goal is to help them - even if it doesn't always benefit your bottom line. This can be as simple as giving good advice in a blog post without asking for anything in return.
That's exactly what Going does with its article How to Use Google Flights. By providing readers with a wealth of genuinely useful information on how to find cheap flight tickets, the brand establishes itself as a trustworthy company. More importantly, it is able to present its solution as a simpler alternative to Google Flights for budget travelers, seamlessly guiding potential customers from the top to the bottom of the sales funnel with a single article.
For a more sales-oriented approach aimed at gaining customers' trust, you can do something similar to what Ovaeda does on this page.
Since Ovaeda knows that many web visitors land on product pages (and not blog posts), they have added free content in the form of samples to their product content. This shows their commitment to the customer experience. In addition, the fact that the free item is automatically displayed first when the product collections page is viewed is a big plus point that draws attention to Ovaeda's commitment to customer satisfaction rather than sales promotion.
4) Demonstrate the expertise of your team
People trust experts, but their definition of „expert“ varies. The latest Edelman study on brand trust found that 74 % of consumers trust both scientists and peers when making purchasing decisions.
So if you're looking for ways to build trust through content and turn more web visitors into customers, why not let some of your team members take the lead?
A great example of how you can do this can be found at Trumpet, where content is used to demonstrate expertise. In The Sales Soundcheck podcast, Trumpet's CEO interviews sales leaders who provide unique insights to the brand's future customers. The result of this expert-led approach is twofold. Firstly, listeners/viewers can gain immense knowledge and value from each episode thanks to the insights and expertise of the podcast guests. Secondly, the brand CEO demonstrates a deep understanding of the sales process, which underlines his expertise (and by proxy that of his brand) and automatically builds customer trust.
5) Back up your claims with UGC-based social proof
If you look at consumer behavior research, you'll find that there's one content format that almost all shoppers look for before making a purchase decision: social proof.
The data shows that 99.75% of online shoppers read reviews to ensure they are choosing the right product or brand. Many people even restructure the typical buying process by starting their product research on product and price comparison sites rather than brand websites.
With this information in mind, one of the most effective ways to use content to build brand trust and increase conversion rates is to present social proof. Let potential customers recognize themselves in your existing customers and show them how your product or service benefits other people like them.
Traditional reviews and ratings are great for demonstrating your brand's credibility and expertise, but it's also a good idea to experiment with more advanced formats to persuade your potential customers to buy.
Integrating user-generated content into your website design, as in the example below from Rheal, is a great way to provide social proof.
If you want to go one step further and create unique content that builds trust and encourages conversion, you should create detailed case studies like the ones published by DialMyCalls. Case studies are an important part of conversion content for B2B companies. With this tactic, you can draw attention to the positive results your solution has achieved with existing customers. This can be a deciding factor in a longer B2B sales process.
6) Create resources that enhance the shopping experience.
What do customers want when they shop online? For some customers, price is paramount. Others want convenience. Still others place so much value on the shopping experience that they are willing to spend more money if they receive better service in return.
For this reason, your web design needs to meet the expectations of your target audience and make shopping or finding out about services as easy as possible. One way to achieve this goal is to invest in content that encourages conversion and improves the user experience.
This content can be offered in a variety of formats, such as size charts, shipping details, return policies, FAQs, downloads, troubleshooting videos, chatbots and support resources - all of which are great ways to help your future customers.
If you want to benefit from interactivity and turn your content into engaging lead generation systems, you should do something similar to Tailored Athlete. This brand's jersey finder quiz is a perfect example of interactive, personalized content that enhances the shopping experience and encourages customers to buy by helping them find the ideal solution to their problems.
One example of such an improved shopping experience is the website of MOSAIC, a non-profit organization. To make it easier for immigrants to find the content they are looking for, MOSAIC offers a service finder that generates results based on the settings selected by the user.
7) Invest in post-purchase content
To get the most out of your content marketing strategy and maximize the conversion potential (and trust potential) of your website, don't forget that the sales cycle doesn't end with the completion of a purchase.
The key to long-term business success is to retain your customers and keep them coming back. This not only increases customer value, but also maximizes the reach of your brand. Satisfied customers are more likely to spend more money on your brand, recommend it to friends and family and leave positive comments on social media and review sites.
With this in mind, your content marketing strategy shouldn't just aim to attract new customers. It should also help improve your customers' shopping experience by giving your existing customers the resources they need to get the most out of every purchase.
The article «How to Soften a Stiff Leather Bag» by Andar is a great example of content designed to improve the post-purchase customer experience. It addresses a common problem for people who have invested in new leather products. It shows Andar's customers simple and safe ways to treat their leather products to meet their expectations and provides them with a sympathetic service beyond the purchase.
If you want to make your customer service even more attractive, take inspiration from Chisos. The company has recognized that most customers prefer multimedia content and not just blog posts. That's why they add a video to each product care guide that walks customers step-by-step through how to put on their brand new cowboy boots.
Conclusion
Investing in quality content can do wonders for your brand, no matter what stage of the customer journey you're trying to address.
However, if you want to achieve the greatest possible benefit for your brand and therefore also for your conversion rates, you should try out the tactics described in this guide. They will help you achieve above-average conversion rates. And if they help build your brand's reputation as trustworthy and memorable, they'll be more than worth the investment in the long run.
