What steps are involved in the SEE Think do strategy?

When discussing SEO strategy with the C-Suite, do you ever experience your audience’s eyes glazing over?

Sure, you can try to explain website optimization in terms of the top of the funnel, mid-funnel, and bottom of the funnel; every CMO has some understanding of that. But that still doesn’t effectively capture the essence of what organic search optimization should be today.

What if I told you there’s a better way to approach discussing SEO with business stakeholders, in a language they can understand?

I’m referring to the marketing model envisioned by Avinash Kaushik, digital marketing evangelist at Google, called “See, Think, Do.” His framework applies to all types of marketing strategies, regardless of the channel.

Here’s how to apply the “See, Think, Do, Care” framework to discussions around the implementation of optimizing a website for organic search.

Understanding “See, Think, Do”

Discussing his framework in an interview with Acronym CMO Mike Grehan, Kaushik dismissed the age-old AIDA (Attention-Interest-Desire-Action) model, as well as the conventional consumer buying cycle of awareness, consideration, purchase, and loyalty.

Instead, he argues for taking a customer-oriented approach based on an understanding of the consumer’s journey. Grehan’s conversations around “intent-based digital marketing” align nicely with this notion.

According to Grehan:

“I believe when you develop content around intent and think in a more focused way about the ‘required experience’ on the customer journey, you begin to change the voice and the way you communicate, too. You begin to think more of the individual and speak in a one-to-one tone as opposed to the often copied ‘mass media audience’ voice. The fact is, nobody watches the internet. You can’t compare it to the audience-designed broadcast medium. In short: Talk to ‘me’ — not my demographic.”

(I talk about intent briefly as well in this Search Engine Journal post on fleshing out the intent behind keywords.)

In the video, Kaushik said:

“I don’t think about awareness, consideration, purchase loyalty — these standard marketing models, I hate them. So I created a new one. I call it ‘See, Think, Do.’ And what it says is that rather than thinking selfishly as a company, you have to think from a consumer perspective. … Every single person in the world is in one of these four buckets [See, Think, Do, Care].”

The buckets of consideration that Kaushik is referring to happen when an audience is on their buying journey.

• See: This stage is comprised of the largest, qualified, addressable audience.
• Think: This stage is the part of the audience that is actually thinking or considering a particular thing.
• Do: This stage is made up of that subset of the audience that is looking to buy.

Below is an illustration from Kaushik that shows the See, Think, Do framework with the types of audiences that fall into each stage of consideration (with “Care” added for established customers):

In this model, “audience intent” is defined by behavior, not demographics or psychographics, Kaushik said.

So how does this model relate to SEO strategy?

Tying it into the traditional way we think about how people search, Grehan compared See, Think, Do to search queries that are either informational, navigational, or transactional in this article.

The difference here is that the SEO of yesterday might focus on simply optimizing webpages with specific keywords from those three buckets (informational, navigational, transactional).

Today, See, Think, Do coupled with intent-based optimization is focused on what the audience is trying to accomplish, and bringing in various elements on a webpage to help them reach their goal.

Applying the See, Think, Do Framework to Website Optimization

Let’s look more closely at how you might apply the See, Think, Do framework when discussing and implementing the optimization of a website to drive organic search, conversions, and revenue.

Keep in mind that when talking about optimization, we aren’t just placing keywords; we’re creating an experience through content and the various elements on a webpage.

• See: This includes the larger audience of people online that are interested in something, and relates to the more generic search queries we see (e.g., “doorknobs”). In this phase, if you’re in the market of selling doorknobs, you might create informational content in various forms on your website about doorknobs; varieties, uses, features and benefits, installations, etc. Again, we’re thinking about the intent of the audience here.
• Think: Your audience is essentially thinking about a purchase. Your website’s job is to help that decision become easier. In this phase, you might create buying guides for doorknobs. You might also have functionality on your product pages that allow a person to compare various doorknobs.
• Do: This is enabling a conversion on the webpage, whether that’s buying a product or signing up for more information from your brand or any other type of conversion you deem important. This is usually facilitated by the elements on the webpage (for example, a noticeable “add to cart” button, an easy-to-find way to request more information or talking to customer service via chat, and so on).

Let’s remember that the traditional journey from the top of the funnel to the bottom is no longer linear. Yes, your audience will still likely go through all three phases to get to the conversion, but that doesn’t mean their actions exist in a silo.

While in the “See” phase and on an informational webpage, your audience may benefit from choices in the other phases of the journey, so that they move along at the pace they choose.

As this presentation from McKinsey & Company outlines, the consumer decision-making journey today is much more circular than linear:

See, Think, Do: An Example

Kaushik shares an illustrative example of how ModCloth employs multiple See, Think, Do elements on any given web page on their site:

Why You Can’t Afford to Ignore the New Approach

Without an understanding of what your audience is trying to do, SEO strategies today can fall short, be too prescriptive, and be too tactical.

When you implement the wrong tactics, you end up measuring the wrong things, too. As Kaushik points out here:

“Without great content, and an equally worthy marketing strategy across See-Think-Do-Care, data is almost completely useless. Scratch that. It is completely useless.”

In an era where search engines are becoming smarter at identifying the webpages that answer your audience’s intent, you can’t afford not to consider models like intent-based optimization and See, Think, Do. Without it, your chances of visibility online are becoming slimmer.

Plus, approaching your conversations with the C-Suite in a more strategic way when discussing SEO is speaking a language they can understand, and presenting a roadmap they can get behind.

Image Credits
Featured Image: Paulo Bobita
Image 1: Kaushik.net / See, Think, Do, Care Winning Combo: Content +Marketing +Measurement!
Image 2: Kaushik.net / See-Think-Do: A Content, Marketing, Measurement Business Framework

By engaging with your audience through their behavior, the See-Think-Do-Care Framework (STDC) model helps you create content aligning with your target customers’ intent. The funnel also qualifies customers by meeting and motivating their purchase desire through each intent cluster stage.The framework is excellent support for your YouTube content planning. It enables you to stay on track, think from your customer’s perspective, and not overcomplicate your video content marketing strategy.Following this funnel when creating video content will enable your business to cultivate relationships with your target audiences, enhance their motivation to buy, and nurture loyal customers for your brand.

See-Think-Do-Care Framework: SEE

At this stage your potential customers need you, but they don’t know about you yet.

Your goal is to make it easy for your target audience to see your brand, know your products, and learn about its benefits. Creating videos that address their needs and provide useful information is the key to extend your brand reach in this stage.Most companies tend to focus their marketing efforts on the See stage content and miss out on the benefits of the Think and Do stage.

Examples of the SEE stage include:

Beginner tutorials, videos on the general topics relating to your industry that are brief, useful, or entertaining.

See-Think-Do-Care Framework: THINK

From the See stage, a subset of your audience will continue to think about your business offerings but have not yet decided to purchase from you. Combined with strong Search Engine Optimization (SEO), YouTube is a powerful tool for the Think stage videos.

Claim the territory by producing high-quality product education videos that engage and entertain your viewers.Prioritize the Think stage by allocating budget and spending to build trusting relationships and keep your audience coming back for more.

Examples of the THINK stage include:

Product education, how-to videos, step-by-step guides invite participation from your viewers, capture their attention, and become a part of their lifestyles.

See-Think-Do-Care Framework: DO

While the Think and Do stage contents are often overlooked by brands, providing insightful videos from the Think stage, you drive the Do intent for your target customers.

Viewers are now ready to buy your product or service as they trust you have the best solution for their problems.Creating resourceful content with clear end screen or description call-to-actions (CTA) helps guide viewers to your product page after the viewing.

Examples of the DO stage include:

Testimonial videos, reviews of other customers, or content that provide transactional information to reinforce purchase decision makings.

See-Think-Do-Care Framework: CARE

Many companies disregard the Care stage in their content marketing, but who are better promoters of you than your already loyal customers?

You want to care about the customers who care about your brand and turn satisfied customers into loyal regulars.Providing videos for the Care stage is a brilliant retention strategy to offer more value to your repeat customers, address their product/purchase-related questions, keep them informed about new products, and curious for your next steps.

Examples of the CARE stage include:

FAQ videos, more product education, and even product launch videos to keep your fans re-engaged.

Summary

The See-Think-Do-Care framework consists of the following stages:

1. See: the largest possible audience that you can reach
2. Think: people thinking about buying a product like yours
3. Do: people ready to or in process of purchasing from you
4. Care: repeat customers with two or more transactions with your brand

Do you use the STDC framework in your video marketing? Let me know in the comments down below. 👇🏼If you want to learn more about video marketing strategy, make sure to download our free YouTube marketing guide for business.

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