Understanding the 5 Stages of Awareness (and How to Market to Each One)

Ever wonder why your content isn't converting into sales? The answer lies in understanding where your audience is in their journey of awareness.

Most entrepreneurs create content without considering how people find them or what stage of awareness they're in when they do. This disconnect explains why even great content sometimes fails to generate leads or sales. In episode 448, I break down the five critical stages of awareness and how to market effectively to each one.

We start with the "Unaware" stage - where potential customers don't even know they have a problem. I'll show you how to create foundational content that connects with them before they've identified their needs. From there, we move to "Problem Aware," where searchable content becomes crucial for those actively looking for answers. The "Solution Aware" stage requires demonstrating how problems can be solved, while "Product Aware" introduces your specific offerings as the ideal solution.

The journey culminates with the "Most Aware" stage - that critical moment where prospects know your solution exists but need that final push to purchase. You'll learn exactly what content works best at each stage, from blog posts and podcasts to emails and landing pages.

What makes this framework powerful is understanding that not everyone enters your world at the same awareness level. Some are ready to buy immediately while others don't yet know they need what you offer. By creating targeted content for each stage, you'll build a comprehensive marketing strategy that guides people naturally toward becoming customers.

Ready to transform your content strategy? Grab our Strategic Growth Plan to deep-dive into creating content that truly resonates with your ideal customers. Which awareness stage are you creating the most content for, and which one might you be neglecting? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Read more HERE.

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Stages of Awareness
• 1:56 Unaware Stage: They Don't Know Yet
• 4:15 Problem Aware: Creating Searchable Content
• 6:01 Solution and Product Awareness Stages
• 9:01 Most Aware Stage: Closing the Sale
• 10:22 Implementation and Content Strategy Tips

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:11

This is the Influencer Entrepreneur's Podcast with Jenny Melrose, where I strategize with business owners on how to grow and scale their businesses to hit their income goals.

Speaker 1: 0:35

This is episode 448 of the Influencer Entrepreneurs Podcast with Jenny Melrose. Today we're jumping into understanding the five stages of awareness and how to market to each one. Now, before we jump into that, I want to make sure that if you haven't already grabbed our strategic growth plan, that you do so. It is going to help you really truly dive even deeper into how you can create content for the customer that you are trying to attract. So if you haven't already grabbed that, make sure that you do so. It is linked in the comments. Understanding the stages of awareness is going to help us be able to create content but, more so, be able to sell our products and services, because it's truly important for our audience within our customer journey to understand our marketing that we are trying to reach them at. Too often, we create content and we don't understand why it doesn't convert into customers. Why don't they get into our list, why don't they buy our products or services? And it's often because we are not considering how they are finding us. So it's going to be important that we break down the five stages of awareness so that you can develop content specifically for the stage that they are at. The first stage of awareness is unaware and they don't even know that you exist. They don't even know that they have a problem. So, in order to attract attention, you are going to want to make sure that you are really clear on the problem that you solve. Now, remember, they're totally unaware that they have a problem whatsoever. So, really, what you are trying to do is hit them at their baseline, be able to a relationship with them through your social media content and potentially grow an audience based on their interests. You need to be thinking about what is it that they are going to relate to? How are they going to create personal relationship with me? This is why you hear me talking so much about podcasting and also YouTube videos how important they are because it speeds up the process, gives people an opportunity to get to know you.

Speaker 1: 2:43

So when you are creating that content, you want to be thinking about things that kind of would be on the offset of what they're thinking about. You know that they may be struggling potentially with, let's say, perimenopausal hormones, but they don't realize this yet, not feeling great in their skin and don't know what it's about. So you have to start to hit them at that baseline of feeling tired, feeling cranky, all the very early on symptoms where they don't even realize that they have a problem. Now, this goes for anything that you are talking about Giving an example about perimenopausal. It doesn't have to be about that. You don't have to be a coach for perimenopause. What it can be is anything, whether you are talking about meal planning, whether you are talking about homesteading, think about the baseline, the very early, early, early on stages, where maybe they're running into, with homesteading, some problems with bugs and they need to understand how to better grow their tomatoes. This is where you're going to hit them so they can then understand that you're going to be able to solve their entire problem from them of being able to run their vegetable garden through the seasons to be able to actually supply their family with a year's worth of food. You want to start thinking about what's that baseline of where they're coming in at, where they're unaware that they have a true problem. They're just really, in the very early beginning stages, kind of curious about things that are going on, but not sure that they actually have a problem.

Speaker 1: 4:15

The second stage is problem aware. They know that they have a problem, they understand this, but they don't know that you exist. They have no idea that you're out there. So it's important in the problem aware stage that you exist. They have no idea that you're out there. So it's important in the problem aware stage that you are creating content based on what they are going to be searching for. This is where blog posts really are important, and it's most important that you are doing keyword research prior to writing blog posts, because they're going to be using Google in order to find the answers to their problems and that's how they're going to find you. So this is the stage where you want to make sure that you again are thinking about beginning problems, where we gave that example before about the bugs that they potentially could be having on their tomato plants. If you talk about gardening or homesteading, well, you want to be making sure that you have an article that solves that problem podcast episode, youtube video, whatever it might be, something where they're going to be able to search for it, so that they can see that you also know that they have a problem and that you potentially can solve it for them.

Speaker 1: 5:19

The third stage is solution aware. This is where, now, they have already, they know that it is out there, they understand that they have this problem and they also understand that there is a solution to it, and we're hoping that you provide that solution right. So it's important, when you are creating content through your blog posts, your podcasts, your videos, that you are showing that, yes, this is a problem, that you have the what, the why, but this is how then you are going to be able to solve it. So I really want you to start to make sure that you're creating that type of content as well, that you are starting to show them that there is a solution to it and how to actually fix that solution is going to be key. So, in our example before about the bugs on the tomatoes, not only are you telling them why they may have it, which was in the early stages of them being aware that they have a problem Now you're letting them know there's a solution of how to fix the bugs that potentially are harming their tomato plants. So this is the next stage that they are in, and we then want to be able to take them further along. The next step to go from solution aware to then product aware is for you to be able to tell them that you have a product or service that you offer. And the way in which you're going to do this, of course, is going to be making sure that, one, you are getting them onto your email list and, two, through that email list, you're having calls to action making them aware of the products and services that you have that are going to actually give them that solution in a nice little bundled up gift. So, instead of telling them how to fix the uh bugs that potentially were on their tomatoes like we said in the solution aware, now you're not only telling them how, but you've packaged it together so that they never have that problem again. You put it together in a digital product, you put it together in a course. You're showing them that not only could these bugs be impacting their tomatoes, but maybe it's impacting their entire garden. And you have a membership where they can join to make sure that their garden is flourishing and starts feeding their family for a full year from their garden. This is how we take them along this journey of starting off not even knowing that they have a problem and then being able to show them that not only do they have a problem, you can solve it with the solution, but you've created a product or service that's going to do it all in one, and it's something that they can easily find accessible and want to become aware of it.

Speaker 1: 7:54

The final stage is most aware. This is where they know that you have this product or service. They are absolutely seeing how it is a good fit for them. They know, like and trust you and they're about to make the next step. But in this stage you have to continue to show them. This is where you're going to show them testimonials of clients and customers that have used your product or service and have seen results. This is where you're going to be doing any of the myth busting of why things don't work out and why things may have failed for them in the past when they have tried a solution, but that your product or service is the perfect fit now.

Speaker 1: 8:28

Most of this usually takes a place in your emails. This is where it's going to be happening in a sales sequence, so that when you are creating your emails, you are creating a problem-solution email, you're giving them a question-answer email, you're providing them with a testimonial email and you may be doing a myth-busting email. So this is where you will make sure that they truly are aware of everything that you offer, and they are so fully aware of it that they are teetering on deciding whether or not to purchase. And this is where you're going to give them a swift little kick and push them over the edge, because they know, like and trust you. They've seen that you've been able to do all the things.

Speaker 1: 9:07

But it's important, when we put all of this together in the stages of awareness, that we take them on this journey, and we need to realize and recognize that not everyone comes in at the same stage. Some people that are going to find you are going to find you needing the solution then and now, while others are going to be totally unaware that they even have a problem yet. So, when you're creating your content, you need to make sure that it's specific to the stage that they are at and that you were able to take them along this journey to, so that they then will actually take the next step and purchase your product or service. So right now, I want you to start to look at your content. Where are you finding your people? Are you making sure that you're getting them at the baseline and taking them along this stage of awareness, or are you solely giving them the solution and they didn't even understand they had a problem?

Speaker 1: 10:01

You really need to make sure that you are putting this into effect, making sure that you're creating content that way social media, blog posts, podcasts, as well as video and, when you get to trying to take them to most aware and to take the next step, to utilize your email to the best of your ability, not only are you going to make sure that you are utilizing this through your emails when it comes to all of these stages, but you're also going to want to make sure that you use it on your landing pages within your sales copy.

Speaker 1: 10:34

So, if you're trying to get them at an earlier stage, where maybe they're problem aware, and you're trying to get them onto your email list, that you have a sales landing page for the email where it shows them that you have the solution so they can then become solution aware, and then, through the email process, you're going to make them so that they are most aware and potentially take the next step to buy the product or service, you really want to make sure that you are using the language that they use.

Speaker 1: 11:03

The copy on your sales pages needs to actually reflect where they are on that journey. You don't want to tell them that they already know that they have this problem if they're not quite there yet. So thinking about different opt-ins that could potentially meet them within these stages is how you're going to pull people to you and advance them further along your funnel and the stages of awareness. I appreciate you all so much for joining with me. I would love to know in the comments which stage of awareness you feel you're creating the most content for and which one you feel like you need to make up for and create more of that type of content so you can take your stages of awareness and turn them into the next step of becoming buying customers. I appreciate you all so much for listening in and I will see you all soon.