So, in this article, you\u2019ll learn five steps you can take to create an effective social media funnel that generates leads for your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Table of Contents:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- What Is a Social Media Marketing Funnel<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Why Social Media Marketing Funnel Is Important<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- How to Build a Social Media Marketing Funnel<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- 5 Stages of a Social Media Marketing Funnel<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
What Is a Social Media Marketing Funnel<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A social media funnel is a pathway a lead follows until they become a paying customer. This customer journey generally begins with brand awareness<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the sale is made, social media marketing funnels go a step further to help businesses cultivate customer trust and loyalty. This ensures customers don\u2019t only<\/em> come back for more of your products, but also recommend your brand to their friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"social](\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\")
Source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n As shown in the image above, a social media funnel usually has these four stages:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Awareness<\/strong> – People become aware that your brand and products exist<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Consideration <\/strong>(or Interest) – Potential customers get captivated enough to read your ad, for instance, and click the link to your landing page<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Decision<\/strong> – You get leads to express interest in your products<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Action<\/strong> – Leads then take the next step, which can be adding an item to their cart, messaging you, or calling you.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
There are two final two steps to add to that typical funnel, though – for lead nurturing purposes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Engagement<\/strong> – Where you cultivate a relationship with the customer<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Advocacy<\/strong> – Where they become your brand ambassador to their friends and families<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
For social media funnels, your business relies on the long-term relationship you create with each customer. Let\u2019s look at why this is important in the next section.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why Social Media Marketing Funnel Is Important<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The average adult spends about 95 minutes<\/a> on social media platforms daily. Additionally, there are about 4.89 billion social media users in 2023. This figure is expected to increase with time:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n This simply means that, if you\u2019re a brand, having a social media strategy, advertising on social media, and working with influencers cannot be overlooked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With a solid social media presence, you can:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Grow your brand identity<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Boost website traffic<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Increase brand visibility<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Get free lead generation<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Interact with customers more meaningfully<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Your social media funnel allows you to use your current leads as brand ambassadors themselves. You can achieve this by encouraging your current customers or leads to invite other interested parties to check out your products. It\u2019s known as the network effect<\/strong> of a social media funnel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, social media sales funnels allow you to target leads, depending on the specific funnel stage they are in. You give them unique content that speaks to their needs at that level, boosting the chances of conversion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finally, a social media funnel lets you know the various pathways your customers pass through before conversion. This then allows you to be more strategic in your lead-targeting<\/strong> approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How to Build a Social Media Marketing Funnel<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
To be successful at building an effective social media marketing funnel, you should identify who your target audience or customer is. You can do this by finding out what shared attributes your leads have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, find out what types of content interest your audience. Also, highlight the challenges they face while trying to get the services or products you offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can get this information by talking to your company\u2019s sales and customer service teams. They should have a good picture of who<\/em> your target customer is. Conducting market research can also give you the data you need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n After you have known and defined your audience, the next step is to discover how to reach them effectively. Take a look at the metrics of your company\u2019s social channels. You want to find out which one has the most potential to reach your target audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Every social media platform attracts audiences with different behaviors. Since each platform serves a unique purpose, find out where your audience spends most of their time and reach them there with your content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You\u2019d need to organize your content on each platform, though. You don\u2019t want your audience to be turned off by clutter. That applies to your website, too. After all, you may want to use your socials to drive traffic to your site as well. So, on your website, create content clusters<\/a> to ensure a good user experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Integrate your site with marketing tools. This can help you still nurture leads who get to your website from your socials, but leave without taking action. If you\u2019re an eCommerce site, for instance, eCommerce marketing solutions can help you promote your content to them via email marketing or SMS, even after they leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For those exploring social media management platforms to power their funnel, here are detailed breakdowns of pricing and features:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Sprinklr Pricing Guide<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Meltwater Pricing Guide<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Brandwatch Pricing Revealed<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
These resources can help you compare enterprise-grade platforms based on cost, feature sets, and support levels \u2014 especially useful if you\u2019re scaling your funnel operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As for your social media platforms, see which ones best drive your KPIs at each funnel step, and craft your social strategy accordingly. Test your funnel and make improvements based on your findings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
5 Stages of a Social Media Marketing Funnel<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
With the theoretical knowledge that you have gained this far, it\u2019s time to look at how you apply all this in practice: Let\u2019s look at each stage of the funnel closely:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Awareness Stage<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
In this stage of the social media funnel, target audiences get to hear about your brand and get interested in what you have to offer. They seek to know the use cases of your products, and the benefits they get if they purchase from you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A pro-tip to build brand awareness on social media is to make quality content that addresses the challenges and setbacks\u2014both professional-related and personal\u2014your target audience faces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since they\u2019re probably already looking for a solution to the problem you stated, they\u2019ll be attracted to your posts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s an example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n How to run a social media audit is a question every business owner and marketer has.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mention gives their target audience seven steps to help with that. Clicking the link leads to their website. So, this solves their audience\u2019s problem, while boosting web traffic for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Take time to do in-depth research into who your target audience is, and the challenges they face that center around what you offer. Relevance is key<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After attracting your target audience, it\u2019s time to reel them in by providing solutions to these problems. This helps build their interest in learning more about your brand, and how you can help them solve their problems. Let\u2019s discuss that further in the next section.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. Consideration Stage<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
At this stage, your generated leads are seeking more information about your company and your products. They\u2019re trying to decide whether buying from you would address their pain points comprehensively, or at least enhance their lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your leads are trying to decipher how your products or services are different from other similar companies and brands in the market. Therefore, make sure you communicate your competitive advantage<\/strong> effectively to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Give your leads information that nudges them toward the next stage – the action stage<\/strong>. You can use strategies like customer testimonials, case studies, and product reviews to achieve this. They have been proven to work wonders in the past, and are even a great way to get more Instagram followers, Facebook likes and retweets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Check out the example below. Charlotte Tilbury uses their Instagram account to show how their products look on various celebrities and people of all walks of life. They also share tutorials on how to use their in-house products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since their target audience can see how the product looks on real people, it makes it easy for them to decide and buy Charlotte Tilbury products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Bottom line, give your leads information that is beneficial to them at the consideration stage<\/strong>. Show them why they should choose your products and not your competitors. This will greatly boost your chances of having them move on to the next step of the social media funnel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. Action Stage<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
If you have had a successful run with the first two stages of the social media funnel, then the conversion stage should be a breeze! This is where the lead finally commits and buys from your business. Your leads can do this by clicking on the link that leads them to your landing page<\/a>, or adding an item to their cart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here, content such as product demos, webinars, video customer reviews, social proof, and white papers can come in handy. Apply a bit of marketing psychology at this stage by helping your leads cross from promising prospects to paying customers. Use strategies like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Time-limited special offers and coupons on your social media ads<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Other purchase incentives like bonuses and discounts<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
This will create FOMO (fear of missing out) on your prospects. Getting into their head will greatly pay off in the end. The following stages of the social media funnel are equally crucial to business\u2019 success and goal attainment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4. Engagement Stage<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
You must, by all means, remember that retaining your customers needs the same amount of effort as attaining them. So be careful not to let your guard down or drop the ball.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Make use of your social media platforms to continuously nurture your customers and turn them into loyal customers. This helps you prevent the scenario where a customer buys once, forgets about you, and never buys from your store again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To maintain your relationship with one-time buyers and keep them interested in your products, continuously create content that encourages them to buy again. For instance, you can create hashtag campaigns as a way to get user-generated content<\/a> (UGC). Buyers can showcase themselves using your product, and share the photo or video on their own social media profiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not only will they have helped your hashtag gain traction, but they will also have shared your brand with their followers. This will help you boost your brand\u2019s reach, consequently growing your social media following. Here\u2019s an example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Lay\u2019s ran a social media contest with the hashtag #DoUsAFlavor, where they asked their audience to suggest which Lay\u2019s flavor they would love the company to create. By the end of the campaign, the company received 3.8 million submissions, and its Facebook page grew to 1.2 million followers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
5. Advocacy Stage<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Once you have closed the deal, made the sale, and given value to your customer, the next step is to turn them into brand ambassadors. Making sure your existing clients are happy is key. It is the sole determining factor whether they will recommend you to their friends, family, and colleagues or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is also a great time to request a customer testimonial from them. You can keep this as social proof and use it in your next ad campaign. You can also incorporate it into the customer testimonial list on your landing page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Encourage customers to share about your brand by giving them juicy incentives. Try giving them discounts on their next purchase every time they bring in a new customer who completes the sales cycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is also a great social media marketing strategy to get more UGC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Meltwater Pricing Guide<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Sprinklr Pricing Guide<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Advocacy<\/strong> – Where they become your brand ambassador to their friends and families<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Consideration <\/strong>(or Interest) – Potential customers get captivated enough to read your ad, for instance, and click the link to your landing page<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Why Social Media Marketing Funnel Is Important<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
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