Content Matrix: Its Functions and How to Create One

A content matrix is a tried-and-true tool for directing your content marketing efforts. Great marketing begins with great content, which requires a sense of purpose, direction, and objectives. The content matrix is a framework that helps you execute your marketing strategy based on specific content goals, whether it is to educate, convince, entertain, or inspire your audience. It’s a tool that directs clients down the most direct and effective path to purchase.

How Does the Content Matrix Work?

A content matrix is a scatter plot that puts your existing marketing content onto a two-dimensional chart. The first axis indicates where a piece of content is in the conversion process. On the one hand, there is the initial stage of awareness. On the other, you have the final conversion.

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The second axis assesses how well a piece of material is intended to connect with its intended audience. This includes both rational and emotional approaches. When you combine the two and map your existing material onto the matrix, you’ll have a detailed visual representation of your content marketing effort.

In the quadrant of the content matrix that is closer to the emotional end of the spectrum and early in the conversion funnel, you might notice viral video content. Moreover, you might come across testimonials promoting the benefits of your product or service in the rational quadrant at the end of your conversion funnel.

A matrix might be in the form of a spreadsheet, scatter plot, and more. A matrix, regardless of its appearance, is a strong means of consistently reaching your target audience with the right material, at the right time, in the right place. It’s imperative to have good material, but it’s useless if it’s not in the correct location at the appropriate time on your website.

Why Should Brands Create a Content Matrix?

A content matrix is highly beneficial to brands and marketers. Simply put, it aids you in the following:

• Evaluating your content and determining where it should go in the future
• Identifying weak points, emphasizing strengths, and ensuring that you’re highlighting the content areas that your audience responds to the most.
• By producing content that your customers demand, you can turn chaos into order. 
• Synchronize your marketing and sales efforts.
• By removing non-essential content, you can save time and money. 
• Repurpose the assets you already have.
• Identify and fix gaps in your content marketing strategy.

How Do You Create a Content Matrix?

It’s important to note that a website content matrix is a business-specific tool. As a result, your content matrix tool does not have to look exactly like someone else’s. Below we’ve detailed the most important steps you’ll need to follow.

1. Identify your target audience

Consider who you’re posting for and who you’re selling to. Write for several buyer personas and consider your product or offer from many perspectives. What problems does your product address? What impact does it have on people’s social, professional, and personal lives? Here’s an example of a buyer persona:

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Make a list of all of your potential customers’ worries and difficulties, and then target them with laser-sharp accuracy. Remember that different formats appeal to different people, so don’t make your information too water-tight

2. Map the customer’s journey

Every customer goes through three stages of the buying process: awareness, deliberation, and decision. The first stage necessitates connecting to your client’s emotional side; the second stage entails offering enough information and educating your leads, and the third stage stands for tailored, high-quality content.

Consider what factors impact your customers’ purchasing decisions, and make sure your content meets all of their requirements. Content that is highly visual, viral, and interactive will appeal to your audience’s emotions, while reasonable and expert content will help them make a decision.

3. Be clear about your goals

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Mentioned above is an example of a detailed presentation of content-related goals. Every piece of information you distribute should have a specific goal. Remove any irrelevant information from your content plan that appears appealing but does not correspond to any of your marketing objectives. Try developing a call to action for each piece to ensure that you’re truly assisting your visitors in learning more about your company.

4. Explore new topics and themes

Analyze upcoming trends in your industry and experiment with new topics and concepts you haven’t explored previously. It’s also a good idea to look at what your competitors are doing and aren’t doing, and learn from their failures and successes.

Make a list of the types of content you could employ but haven’t yet. A few examples include ebooks, videos, datasheets, brochures, webinars, podcasts, newsletters, ad copy, and more.

5. Identify the gaps

A content matrix is a complete content inventory that can be sorted by category. It will provide you with immediate visual feedback on any content strategy gaps you may have. Let’s imagine you have three different buyer personas.

If you sort your material by buyer persona, you might find that two of the three personas receive the majority of your attention. When categorizing stages of the buyer’s journey or content types, the same principle applies. You should be able to easily identify any gaps in any category.

6. Include insights

Create a spreadsheet or a virtual board with the stages of the buyer’s journey on one axis, and the pain points and remedies for each step for each buyer persona on the other. The content matrix reveals which content assets you need to use for the audience you wish to target as you read from left to right.

Alternatively, instead of addressing specific issues, divide your material into four categories: amusing, educating, converting, and inspiring. After that, connect those formats to the stages of the buyer’s journey.

Creating a content matrix tool will offer you a clear view of your existing material and how it all works together to nurture your leads through the buyer’s journey. You’ll be able to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your content marketing efforts with a completed content matrix.

A content matrix helps you develop quality content. This tool will assist you in delivering more structured and relevant information that is tailored to the specific demands of your customers. Chances are, your competitors are already doing so.

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