How to Build a Social Media Marketing Funnel That Converts

When it comes to marketing your brand using social media, the options are endless. Platforms like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and email offer numerous strategies to engage your audience and build a strong online presence. These strategies involve creating compelling content, developing a well-planned social media marketing calendar, and executing creative campaigns to captivate your target audience.

However, there's often a gap when it comes to building a customer journey that converts potential customers into brand advocates and recurring buyers. This journey involves taking individuals who are just discovering your brand and guiding them through a series of stages until they become loyal advocates of your business.

In this article, we will delve into the five phases of the marketing funnel. By the end, you will have a comprehensive understanding of how social media plays a crucial role in each stage of the funnel, propelling your brand towards success.

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What is a social media marketing funnel?

A social media marketing funnel is a strategic path that guides your customers from the initial stages of discovering your business to the point of becoming loyal brand advocates. It encompasses the entire customer journey, mapping out the steps and actions needed to influence consumers at each stage.

The funnel begins when individuals first become aware of your brand and continues throughout their decision-making process, ultimately leading to a purchase. The ultimate goal of the social media marketing funnel is to transform customers into enthusiastic advocates who actively promote your brand to others.

While different industries and experts may have their own variations of the funnel, there is a fundamental framework that underlies the customer journey, resulting in successful conversions and long-term brand advocacy.

The most common framework for a social media sales funnel consists of five key phases:

1. Awareness: Attracting new individuals who are not yet familiar with your brand.
2. Consideration: Differentiating yourself from the competition and ensuring that new audience members remember your brand.
3. Action: Compelling your audience to take the desired action and make a purchase.
4. Engagement: Using social media to maintain top-of-mind awareness and keep your audience engaged even after they have made a purchase.
5. Advocacy: Building a strong level of trust and loyalty with your audience, encouraging them to become advocates who actively recommend your brand to others.

If social media is a significant part of your marketing strategy, you’ll be able to incorporate social posts into each stage of the funnel. Depending on the platforms you use, you can guide your audience through the customer journey organically.The marketing funnel works as a unified whole. When every section works towards specific goals, friction in the journey is reduced, creating a customer journey that continues to build trust with your audience and raise awareness of your brand.

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Awareness

The awareness stage of the social media marketing funnel marks the initial encounter between potential customers and your brand, where they become aware of your existence.

As a business, it is crucial to identify a problem that resonates with your target audience, even if they are not yet familiar with your brand. By offering a solution to a common problem, you can establish a connection and relate to their needs.

During this stage, it is essential to avoid a hard sales pitch for your products or services. Instead, focus on providing value and support. Offer information, insights, or resources that are valuable enough to capture their attention and make them remember your brand. By delivering valuable content, you pique their curiosity and encourage them to seek further information about your brand and what you have to offer.

Video marketing also works very well in the awareness phase. If you can create videos for Facebook or Instagram or useful tutorials on YouTube, you can increase your chances of new users finding you organically.

Seattle Coffee Gear uses YouTube to share educational tutorials about how to make different types of coffee. While these videos lightly mention how to use their products, the main emphasis is on how to make coffee.

Consideration

As potential customers progress through the marketing funnel, they enter the consideration phase where they start seeking more specific information to make an informed decision about your product or service. 🔍 This is the time when they compare you with your competitors and evaluate why you stand out.

During this critical phase, it's crucial to provide potential customers with detailed and relevant information that guides them towards taking action. 📚 Sharing case studies, hosting webinars, or offering in-depth product tutorials can help build trust and showcase the value you bring.

Take a cue from Zapier, who effectively utilizes Facebook Ads to retarget users who have interacted with their website or content. 💡 By addressing pain points and showcasing customer success stories through video testimonials, they reinforce their expertise and demonstrate how their features can automate businesses.

For B2C companies, the consideration stage can involve powerful customer testimonial campaigns, comprehensive product tutorials, or engaging product reviews on your Facebook Business Page. 🌟

Look at The Quick Flick, a makeup brand that leverages their Instagram Business Profile to share a multitude of makeup tutorials featuring their product as part of everyday routines. 💄 These tutorials not only resonate with their audience of makeup lovers but also build trust and confidence in the effectiveness and versatility of their products.

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In fact, according to the Sprout Social Index, 45% of consumers are more likely to research a product or service when they see relatable posts from employees, while 32% react similarly when celebrities or influencers endorse the same offering. 🙌

By strategically showcasing relatable content, testimonials, and informative resources during the consideration phase, you can guide potential customers towards making an informed decision and create a strong connection with your audience.

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Action

Now it's time to turn that interest into tangible sales and measurable results. Here's how you can make the magic happen!

1. Analyze Your Audience: Leverage the power of data

Take a deep dive into your analytics to understand how your audience has engaged with your brand throughout the previous funnel stages. Trust that they have made it this far, indicating their genuine interest. 🎯 Armed with this knowledge, you can align your strategies and efforts accordingly, ensuring a smooth transition from consideration to action.

2. Gently Encourage Conversion: Nudge them towards the purchase �

At this stage, customers should feel receptive to making a purchase. Don't be afraid to provide that gentle nudge! Offer enticing incentives like exclusive discounts, new customer deals, or free shipping to motivate them to take the leap. After all, 67% of consumers are more likely to engage when presented with discounts or special offers.

3️. Remarketing: Reconnect with interested users

Don't let potential customers slip away! Utilize remarketing paid campaigns to reconnect with users who have previously shown interest in your brand. By targeting these engaged individuals, you can remind them of the value you offer and reignite their interest in making a purchase.

Take a page from Casetify's book: They leverage discounts and holiday promotions to entice shoppers to grab their stylish phone cases. Through targeted Instagram ads, they reach users who have already interacted with their brand, reminding them of the special offers available.

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Remember, the action stage is where all your efforts culminate in conversions. Keep nurturing those potential customer relationships, providing exceptional experiences, and showcasing the value of your offerings. Trust the process, and soon you'll witness the magic of your hard work turning into tangible results. 🌟📈

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Engagement

Now it's time to convert those potential customers into loyal buyers. Here's what you need to know:

1️. Analyze and Optimize: Dive into your analytics 📊

Take a closer look at the data from your analytics to understand how your audience has engaged with the previous stages of the funnel. This valuable information will guide your strategies and help you fine-tune your approach for maximum impact. 📈 Trust that your audience has progressed through the funnel and that conversions will follow.

2. Nudge and Incentivize: Encourage the leap 💪💸

Gently nudge your customers to make that purchase by offering compelling incentives such as exclusive discounts or free shipping. Research shows that about 67% of consumers are more likely to engage with discounts or offers, making this an effective strategy to drive conversions. 🎁💥

3. Remarketing Campaigns: Reconnect with interested users 🔁

Reconnect with users who have shown interest in your brand by utilizing remarketing paid campaigns. This targeted approach allows you to remind them of your offerings and entice them to take action. 💡

Take a cue from Casetify, a brand that uses discounts and holiday promotions in their Instagram ads to encourage shoppers to snag their stylish phone cases. By targeting users who have interacted with their brand, they create a sense of exclusivity and drive conversions. 📱💯

4. Engagement is Key: Nurture the post-purchase relationship 🤝

Don't forget about your customers once the sale is made! Focus on engaging and nurturing these relationships to foster long-term brand loyalty. Create social media content that supports their purchase and encourages them to share their experiences using relevant hashtags. This builds a community and keeps your brand top-of-mind. ✨📸

For example, Essie's #essielove hashtag campaign invites customers to share photos of their nail polish in action, creating a sense of community and inspiring continued brand loyalty. 💅💖

Whether through hashtag campaigns, Twitter chats, or private Facebook communities, find creative ways to stay connected with your audience and make them feel like valued members of your brand community. 🌐💬

Remember, the action stage is a crucial moment in the marketing funnel where conversions happen. Stay focused, nurture those relationships, and provide exceptional experiences to turn one-time buyers into lifelong brand advocates. 🙌💼

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Advocacy

Now it's time to transform your customers into passionate brand advocates who will spread the word about your business. Here's what you need to do:

1️. Express Gratitude and Incentivize: Reward and Encourage 🎁✨

Show genuine appreciation to your customers and reward them for their loyalty and support. Encourage them to share their positive experiences and advocate for your brand. Gather customer testimonials and reviews, or offer incentives that motivate customers to share their journey with their friends. Dropbox is a great example of this, as they incentivize customers to invite friends in exchange for more storage space. By nurturing these relationships, you'll turn your customers into powerful brand ambassadors. 🙏🚀

2️. Continue Building Valuable Content: Engage and Inspire 📝💡

Keep delivering valuable content that nurtures your existing customer relationships and keeps them engaged. Make it easy for customers to share their stories and advocate for your brand. Provide platforms where they can leave reviews or testimonials on your website or Facebook Business Page, allowing their positive experiences to be heard by others. This social proof is invaluable in building trust and credibility. 💬🌟

3️. Collaborate with Customers: Harness the Power of User-Generated Content 🤝📸

Partner with existing customers or power users to create compelling content. Shopify is an excellent example, working with users to create blog posts that showcase their success stories and how they utilize the platform. This not only highlights the customer's brand but also serves as a powerful case study, positioning them as an advocate for Shopify. By leveraging user-generated content, you gain social proof and authentic marketing material. 📚📣

Remember, at the advocacy phase, your customers have become true brand ambassadors. Their positive experiences and recommendations will organically influence their network to trust and engage with your brand. Nurture these relationships, celebrate their support, and continue to provide exceptional experiences to foster long-term advocacy and loyalty. 🌟🤩

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Traditional sales funnels have their place, but when it comes to engaging your audience, building trust, and creating an authentic fan base for your brand, social media marketing funnels take the spotlight. 💫✨

One common mistake that marketers make is investing in only a few stages of the funnel instead of embracing them all. It's important to remember that your audience and potential customers can sense when content is overly sales-focused or lacks the foundation of brand awareness and trust. Such marketing approaches can be off-putting to those unfamiliar with your brand. To overcome limited resources, you can focus on one or two tactics for each phase of the funnel. Quality over quantity is key! 🎯🔑

By incorporating the right steps into your customer journey, you're not just building a customer list, but rather cultivating a devoted fan base. 🤝🌱 This loyal community will fuel your brand's growth and advocate for your business organically.

Embrace the potential of social media marketing funnels and watch your brand soar to new heights! 🚀🌟

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