Creating Binge-Worthy Content Experiences for Your On-Demand Audience

Game of Thrones. Lost. Arrested Development. Downton Abbey. All TV shows I’ll admit I totally binge-watched. Can you blame me? Such great storytelling and acting, and the next episode would queue right up, without me having to lift a finger. So what do these TV show-watching behaviors have to do with your inbound marketing efforts? In both cases, the audience is expecting to consume content on demand and, potentially, en masse.

Netflix has mastered the art of catering to the on-demand audience; one episode ends and the next is queued up for you. How many times have you thought you were calling it a night, and then decided “just one more”? Or, have you ever logged into your account and discovered a new series you hadn’t yet heard of that piques your interest? Here are some inbound marketing techniques to apply that will keep your audience bingeing on your quality content:

Use Your Blog System to Suggest Other Relevant Blogs

Your website visitor reaches the bottom of your helpful and enthralling blog post, and perhaps passes over the CTA for your compelling consideration-stage offer. She’s just not quite ready for that e-book or guide yet, but that doesn’t mean you can’t serve her some other tasty awareness-stage morsel.

By using topic tags on your blog posts, you can design your blog system to recommend other articles that pair nicely with the post she’s just consumed. For example, when you reach the bottom of Kristen Patel’s blog here on the SmartBug website, “Understanding Your Audience: Why You Need Buyer Personas for a Website Redesign,” you’ll find suggestions for posts like “How to Develop Buyer Personas for Your SaaS Company” and “How to Research Buyer Personas Without Ever Talking to Them.”

The main theme of Kristen’s blog is the important role that buyer personas play during the website redesign process; therefore, we can assume that the reader either would like to dive further into buyer persona research or perhaps could use help building out buyer personas for her company.

As the reader progresses through the next queued-up blog post, she’ll once again be greeted with both a consideration-stage offer (maybe now she’ll be ready) and additional posts that are relevant to the second blog she’s just enjoyed. This strategy keeps her active on your website longer, which ultimately helps position you as a trusted source for quality information.

Pair ROI Case Studies with Long-Form Content Delivery

If your website visitor has taken the time to fill out a form and has given you his valuable contact information to read a piece of consideration- or decision-stage content that speaks to a specific pain point, we can generally assume he (or someone he knows) is in pain and could use some help. After he’s accessed the helpful content you’ve provided, now is a good opportunity for you to share a story about someone else who had once been in a similar predicament.

For example, let’s say your prospect downloads The Busy Marketer’s Guide to Generating More Leads Online. Can we assume he would like to increase his inbound lead volume? Yes.

After you’ve helped him by giving him access to this comprehensive guide that teaches him how to generate more leads online, why not showcase relevant case studies or success stories that explain how another marketer just like him had faced a similar challenge and ultimately triumphed?

Be Intentionally Helpful

It may go without saying, but if you view every marketing action through a lens of “How can I continue to support this person?” you will avoid cramming irrelevant offers down his or her throat. Rather than train your website visitor that her presence means she’s now sales prey, you can use the power of marketing automation and smart content to pamper her with white-glove treatment by simply expanding on what she was originally seeking. She’ll appreciate the support, and when the sales rep calls to make an introduction, he’s more likely to be welcomed as a trusted advisor.