Although none of these conversions will necessarily result directly in a sale, they are all touch points with your targets that will collectively help move them through the sales funnel over time. By establishing clear conversion goals, you not only map out the series of actions that your target buyers might take before making a purchase, but you also create a framework for evaluat- ing how effective your content is by measuring those conversions. Later in this eBook, we will look at how to create content that drives conversions, the importance of tracking and analyzing conversion metrics, and how incentives can be used to foster conversions. 4. Delivering Your Content Through the Right Points of Contact Another important aspect of your content strategy is deciding how you are going to make contact with your target buyers to deliver your content. There are several ways this can happen: » You can contact them through e-mails, phone calls, text messages, tweets, etc. » They can contact you after finding you through search engines, online forums, advertisements, retargeting, etc. » Contact can be made through others, including other buyers, friends, colleagues, industry analysts, etc. The numerous vehicles and programs that you can use to make contact — from your website to social media, to influencers and relationship marketing — are outlined in detail in Chapter 5. At this stage, keep these key points in mind about how you contact your targets: » Always consider your buyer and their context when selecting a method of contact » Your method of contact must be effective enough to drive the desired conversion » Less expensive forms of contact are often better than more expensive ones » Plan on needing multiple points of contact with your buyers using multiple contact vehicles and programs » The less work you have to do to make contact the better As we will see, finding the right ways to make contact with your target buyers is just as important as creating content that reflects your understanding of them. It Takes a Content Factory! | 13