How to use Smart content to find customers online

by Web Digital Media Group Web Digital Media Group

Customers today have ever-increasing expectations in both the B2C and B2B markets. People do not only want a product or service, but a personalized experience to be experienced firsthand.

For a company, having a website is no longer enough. In the B2B world, companies need to be prepared to personalize their site on an ongoing basis . Fortunately, technology today offers optimized customization modes. Sophisticated platforms such as HubSpot, for example, provide systems that are now indispensable for companies in order to develop sites geared towards acquiring potential customers .

Many websites have already implemented advanced personalization tools - smart content, design studied on user behavior, content structure elaborated on the basis of referrals - to attract, engage and retain visitors to the company website .

What are Smart content?

Content is the backbone of any Inbound Marketing strategy . Every type of web campaign, blog, email marketing, pay-per-click (PPC) requires ad hoc content. The content helps companies to connect with their target audience, to educate and inform users, to generate high quality leads. In other words, without the content, companies would have no chance of distinguishing themselves from online competition .

However, as companies come into contact with Content Marketing (more precisely with Inbound Marketing) the production of high quality content is no longer sufficient. Users today require tailored experiences . They want to feel as if a piece of content, campaign or web page has been created specifically for them.

Here then it becomes essential to rely on specific tools to create content, or Smart Content , for the personalization of your site.

Smart Content (also known as dynamic content) is, according to HubSpot, a website content that changes based on the interests or previous behaviors of the individual user. The smart content running through the data from the database company's marketing or CRM : these platforms store contact information and interactions visitors had with the website. This changes the content of the site (text or other structural elements of the site) to provide a personalized experience for individual users.

Marketing managers can set rules for smart content in order to show certain types of content to specific contacts. For example, a string of criteria would be: "If a contact has downloaded X eBooks, show them Y eBooks." This functionality can also be used to show visitors different (but relevant) landing pages based on what they have previously viewed.

An example of Smart Content is given by Amazon: a specific feature shows customers the most relevant products for them, based on what they have purchased in the past, the items they have in their virtual shopping cart, the items they have rated or appreciated and that other customers have purchased. The feature is effective enough to generate over a third of Amazon's revenue.

Smart CTA to find customers online

Like smart content, smart calls to action (CTA), also known as dynamic CTAs , change based on a contact's behavior and past interactions with the site. For example, if a contact has already clicked on a specific CTA, on the next visit, another CTA relevant to their interests will be shown.

Smart CTAs are based on rules, in the sense that they change based on certain criteria set.

Thanks to HubSpot, smart CTAs can be based on the following criteria:

· Country : the content can be shown to visitors based on the country in which they are located (determined by the visitor's IP address);

· Device : HubSpot examines the visitor's browser to determine the type of device;

· Reference source - changes the content based on how a site visitor found the site;

· Preferred language : allows you to customize content based on the language of the user's web browser;

· Contact list subscription : allows you to customize the contents according to whether a contact is a member of a specific list;

· Life Cycle Phase : Shows certain content based on a contact's life cycle phase;

Of course, not all Marketing automation platforms can offer this level of specificity in relation to Smart Content , therefore it is right to evaluate the right investment for the management platform.

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Referral-based personalization

We know that the channel through which a visitor arrives on the site indicates a certain level of interest . For example, a visitor who comes to the site via paid search is interested in the product or service they clicked on and is probably lower in the funnel than someone who comes to the site via social media.

Given the differences in the intention and in the specific phase of the buyer journey , it is appropriate to customize the content of the site in order to attract visitors in the different phases of the purchase process . For example, those who wish to find out about it would like to find informative articles on the particular problem they need to address. While those who wish to purchase a product or service would certainly be more likely to see product demonstration videos, the price list, product specification sheets and other guarantees.

This type of site customization can be performed on each referral, offering companies a way to change their content for each stage of the purchase process.

Use Smart content based on user behavior

Smart Content and dynamic CTA can modify the text present on a site, but what about the layout of the site itself? Visitors will be attracted and linger on some areas. Knowing what they are can help companies develop more user-oriented design.

The Heatmaps are excellent tools to help you identify where visitors are directed and what to watch. Analytics informs marketing managers about which pages are viewed but not which aspects of the page users have looked at.

Using Heatmaps , companies can then modify the design and layout of their page to maximize visitor engagement.

Probably a CTA could be placed higher, or a banner placed at the top of the page could increase the conversion rates. Knowing exactly where site visitors click and how they view pages is extremely useful when it comes to designing a customizable site for users.

These are just some of the actions that companies are using to create personalized experiences for visitors to their sites. To date, the key is not simply an impactful website, but owning a sales-oriented website.