The Content Marketing Matrix: A Complete Guide for Marketers
In today’s fast-paced digital world, having the right strategy for content marketing to reach your audience is key. To help with this, the content marketing matrix guides you in planning and delivering the right kind of content at each stage of the customer journey. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned marketer, this comprehensive guide breaks down the content matrix into simple steps—what it is, how to use it, examples, and how to build your own.
What Is a Content Marketing Matrix?
The content marketing matrix is a visual planning tool that helps marketers decide what types of content to create based on two key factors. First, audience intent—are they looking to be entertained or informed? Second, the customer journey stage—are they discovering, considering, or ready to buy?
Originally popularized by Smart Insights, the matrix plots content types on a grid to help balance emotional and rational messaging. As a result, it enables marketers to craft more targeted and effective content strategies.
Why Use a Content Marketing Matrix?
Before jumping into content creation, it’s important to understand why this framework works:
- Helps avoid random or duplicated content
- Maps content to actual user needs
- Offers balance between branding and lead generation
- Makes collaboration easier across marketing teams
- Useful for pitching content plans to stakeholders
Using a content marketing matrix template also ensures you’re hitting each part of the customer journey—awareness, consideration, conversion, and retention.
Bonus: Marketers using structured content plans are 60% more likely to see positive ROI (Content Marketing Institute).
How the Content Marketing Matrix Works
This section explains how the matrix is built, generally using a 2×2 grid:
| Emotional (Inspire/Entertain) | Rational (Educate/Convince) | |
| Awareness (Top Funnel) | Entertain (e.g. memes, stories) | Educate (e.g. blogs, infographics) |
| Decision (Mid Funnel) | Inspire (e.g. case studies) | Convince (e.g. demos, whitepapers) |
Breakdown:
- Entertain: Builds reach and brand awareness
- Inspire: Builds connection and interest
- Educate: Informs and nurtures
- Convince: Drives decision-making and purchase
Many content marketing matrix PDF versions are available online for download and sharing within your teams.
Tip: Use this matrix during quarterly planning to audit existing content and find gaps.
How to Create a Content Marketing Matrix
If you’re starting from scratch, here are 6 simple steps to build your matrix:
1. Define Your Target Audience
To begin with, identify exactly who you’re talking to. Build audience personas using specific market data such as age, location, interests, and key pain points.
2. Understand Their Journey
Next, map out the stages of the customer journey—from initial awareness to post-purchase loyalty. This helps you understand what your audience needs at each step.
3. Choose Content Types
Then, align your content formats to the appropriate stages of the funnel. For example:
- Awareness: Blog posts, social media content
- Consideration: How-to videos, email campaigns
- Decision: Case studies, product pages
4. Plot Content on the Matrix
After that, place your content ideas into the matrix quadrant that best fits the audience’s intent and your marketing goal.
5. Identify Gaps
Finally, monitor your content performance using tools like Google Analytics, HubSpot, or SEMrush. Review and refine your matrix every 3 to 6 months based on performance data.
6. Track and Adjust
Review content performance using tools like Google Analytics, HubSpot, or SEMrush. Adjust your matrix every 3–6 months.
Tip: Use a free content marketing matrix template to simplify plotting. Several are available on HubSpot and Smart Insights.
Content Marketing Matrix Example
Let’s look at an example of a B2B software company using the matrix:
Entertain (Top Funnel)
- Humorous LinkedIn memes related to productivity
- “A Day in the Life” stories of marketers
Inspire (Mid Funnel)
- Interviews with marketing influencers
- Case studies from clients
Educate (Top/Mid Funnel)
- Blog posts about CRM trends
- Free downloadable guides (e.g. “2025 B2B Marketing Playbook”)
Convince (Bottom Funnel)
- Demo videos of the platform
- Side-by-side product comparison sheets
This approach keeps content balanced and relevant, encouraging prospects to move naturally from interest to action.
You can find other content matrix examples in Smart Insights’ content planning toolkit.
Best Practices for Using the Matrix
- Repurpose Content: Turn blog posts into videos or infographics.
- Localise Content: Tailor messaging to the audience, using local spelling (optimise vs. optimize), and relevant cultural examples.
- Collaborate Across Teams: Bring in product, sales, and support teams for a 360° view of what content matters most.
- Audit Regularly: Check performance metrics—CTR, bounce rate, dwell time—every quarter.
Citation: "Marketers who audit their content regularly are 2x more effective in lead generation." — Content Marketing Institute
Why Every Marketer Needs a Content Marketing Matrix
In a cluttered online space, the content marketing matrix provides you with a strategic edge. Not only does it bring clarity, focus, and measurable impact to your content efforts, but it also aligns your messaging with business objectives. Whether you’re working with a small team or an enterprise marketing department, this tool ensures you’re producing purposeful, audience-focused content.
To get started, use a simple template, then gradually build your strategy to match your business goals and audience intent.
