You may spend hours, weeks, or perhaps even months, building that brilliant 20 page whitepaper.

You have researched thoroughly, the writing is impeccable, the design is brilliant, and you just know that everyone is going to hang on every word. But, there is one component we have to remember when building content – our buyer’s attention span.

According to a 2008 study commissioned by Lloyds TSB Insurance in the UK, average attention spans are just over 5 minutes. That’s down from over 12 minutes in 1998.

Content needs to be easily digestible and manageable, and there is no doubt that with these shortening attention spans, we have a challenge to conquer of communicating the core value in the amount of time your buyer is willing to spend.

So, what is the optimal length for different types of content? And time spent? We’ve researched to provide you the answer! Take advantage of our nerdiness, check out this table from IDG on content lengt best practices, and go create some engaging content!

With multiple factors addressing each purchasing decision, it is important that the content you build align with where your buyer is in their purchasing process.

You know, the classic stuff of consumer behavior. If you are a seasoned marketer, this is old news.

But, if you are like most of us, a reminder of what our buyers go through when making a purchase decision never hurts. Especially when it includes an easier way to remember the stages of the buying cycle.

The Decision Making Process

The buying process typically looks something like this

1. The buyer realizes they have a need or problem. (Perceived needs/Problem Recognition);
2. The buyer actively seeks information about the solution to their need or problem. (Information Search);
3. Once the buyer has found multiple solutions, they begin to compare and weigh their options (Evaluation of Alternatives);
4. The buyer decides between options (Purchase Decision);
5. The buyer goes through the process of purchasing (Purchase);
6. The buyer begins to evaluate whether the purchase was a good decision, or alternatively, if they regret making the purchase (Post-Purchase evaluation).

As marketers, our job is to determine the information that our potential buyers are going to find most valuable given their stage in the buying process. In B2B purchases, this is especially important as the need for information is much greater.

But when you are building your content for the buying cycle, dealing with deadlines, researching and writing content, determining design and functionality details, is it really possible to think through all six steps? Obviously they are important, but what is really practical?

These steps guide how we can use and promote the content – but some simplification would be nice.

The ACT of Decision Making
In practice, we simplify to three stages of the buying cycle: Awareness, Consideration, Transaction. Roughly, the six steps above break down to…

Awareness: (Perceived needs/Problem Recognition) & (Information Search)
Consideration: (Evaluation of Alternatives) & (Purchase Decision)
Transaction: (Purchase) & (Post-Purchase evaluation)

And Look at that! We even have a clever mnemonic device to remind ourselves that the goal of your marketing is to get your buyers to ACT.

What information is valuable at each stage?
Mapping out what information your buyers need, helps to understand how the content you develop will be used. Lucky for you, IDG Connect has researched what types of content are the most demanded at each stage of the buying cycle. (They don’t use our clever ACT model, but we’ll let that slide…this time).

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Quick tip: Try mapping out what your buyer’s process may look like, then generate some ideas about what content would be most valuable at each stage. There are three easy steps for creating engaging content for successful lead generation.

The Content Grid

For even more options when aligning content to the buying stage, Eloqua’s Content Grid V2 gets a gold star. (Given their explanations of each stage, they also get extra points for creativity and entertainment value).

Click image to enlarge

Quick tip: With clearly defined target market personas, creating valuable content aligned with your buyer’s needs becomes much easier.

Final Thoughts

So, how can you align content to your buyer’s needs? Get your buyers to ACT by evaluating what they will need at each stage in the buying process (Awareness, Consideration, Transaction).

In a world where expectations are high, what can we do to get more leads? Is outbound the key? Is it inbound?

What do you need to fix your Lead Generation problem?

Great content distributed in a relevant way.

Content may be king, but it’s not the emperor.

The key to fixing the lead generation problem is not an either/or choice between Outbound or Inbound Marketing techniques. Instead, it comes down to being relevant.

Think of the last social gathering you attended. What did you think of the person who only spoke about themselves, and never let you speak?  Similarly, what about the person who stayed on the fringes of the room and waited for you to seek them out? Conversation was probably great, but what if you had never approached them?

Neither interaction is ideal.

Instead, the best conversation you had was with the person who met you half way. They may have approached you, or vice versa, but the conversation evolved the more you learned about each other. It was an actual conversation, not a one way stream of information.

This is relevance.

When taken to B2B marketing, being relevant means communicating the information your prospects need/want, delivered to them on their terms.

Instinctively, this is what every great marketer strives to do. Why we keyword track, watch behavior online, and solicit feedback. We inherently feel the need to be relevant to our target markets.

3 Steps to Becoming More Relevant

1. Identify your target market persona;
2. Use resources such as Marketing Sherpa, eMarketer Daily, or MarketingCharts to familiarize yourself with the buying behavior of your target market;
3. Align your campaigns to your target market persona and their buying behavior.

Do the research to discover what information your prospects find valuable and use this to guide your marketing content.  Then deliver it in a way which resonates, and watch that lead problem begin to disappear.

But…we were wrong!

88% of our clients told us they would recommend Response Capture to a friend or colleague.

Wow. All we can say is…thank you!

You make us feel like the Old Spice Guy of Lead Generation.

-The Response Capture Team

Other than first defining clear objectives, and how you will measure results, your success depends on three pieces:

1. Who (i.e., who your target audience is);
2. What (i.e., what you are offering);
3. How (i.e., what you say and how the piece looks.
   Also known as the “creative”).

The breakdown looks like…

40% of your campaign’s success depends on this first piece (understanding your target audience). 30% on the second piece (your offering). And the final 30% on the third piece (creative).

If you do not understand your target audience, nor have you aligned your offer to this audience, you run the risk of not being relevant (i.e., the easiest way to ensure less-than-stellar performance).

If your campaign is performing below what you expect, before making any changes to creative pieces, verify that you understand your audience, and that your offer aligns with that specific audience.

- However -

If these two pieces are aligned, and your campaign is still performing below expectations, the problem may be with your creative.

How can you tell you are working with a great piece of creative? Creative which delivers results has three elements:

1. A clear concept;

2. A clearly communicated and valuable offer;

3. An obviously displayed and enticing incentive.

Element #1: A Clear Concept

Definition: An abstract idea, or general notion.

The best concept has a clear theme, includes an emotional connection, and reinforces your message.

One of 2011’s most popular commercials was “The Force” from Volkswagon.

The first 30 seconds does nothing but build the concept for the advertisement (i.e., the Star Wars theme).

Volkswagon’s concept is clear. Darth Vadar can tap in to  “the force” and control things without touching them. You can start the 2012 Passat remotely. The mini-Darth? Your emotional connection.

Remember: Clear, Emotional Connection, Reinforces Message.

Element #2: A Clearly Communicated and Valuable Offer

Definition: The thing of value you are providing to your target audience.

When you are working with a great piece of creative, the offer (which, of course, is already aligned with your target audience) is crystal clear.

Note: Your offer is most often in the form of some sort of learning, evidence, or way to solve problems. (Blogs, Whitepapers, Research Reports, are all offers.)

In the case of this blog post, the offer is the knowledge of how to leverage your marketing creative to move a campaign from “good” to “great”.

Remember: Your offer is the thing of value, and should be aligned with your target audience.

Element #3: An Obviously Displayed and Enticing Incentive

Definition: An appealing element you introduce to stimulate the desired action.

The first thing you may think of is…

But beware the “iPad Syndrome” trap! Giveaways, downloads, or free trials are not the only types of incentives.

Be creative. What valuable piece of information will be a catalyst to inspire action? That is your incentive.

Remember: Your incentive stimulates action.

So, how do you take a campaign from good to great?

Build on a foundation of a clearly identified target audience and include all three pieces for great creative:

1. A clear concept;

2. A clearly communicated and valuable offer;

3. An obviously displayed and enticing incentive.