The idea of the marketing funnel is as old as the profession of marketing, but the internet has turned many things on its head, including the marketing funnel.
People interact with brands online in a completely different way from how they interacted with brands before there was a world wide web, which means marketers have had to shift the way they think about the marketing funnel, so let’s take a look at how you can go about doing that.
Table of Contents
- Know the Audience of Your Digital Marketing Funnel
- The First Part of Your Digital Marketing Strategy: Social Media vs SEO
- The Right Call to Action in the Right Part of Your Digital Marketing Funnel
- The Most Important Part of the Digital Marketing Funnel: Retarget and Follow Up
Know the Audience of Your Digital Marketing Funnel
The top of the funnel is wide for a reason: it’s where you cast your net and start leading prospects down the funnel. But if your net is too wide, it won’t catch anything.
Each day sees more people using the internet, which gives you an opportunity to get in front of them and convert them into buyers, but you have to be strategic about it. You have to know your audience, which means knowing where they hang out online, what their pain points are, and how your product/service can solve their problems for them.
It’s one thing to tell a business owner to “get to know their ideal client,” but it’s another thing entirely to actually do that. Many people don’t know where to start, especially if they’re a new business owner, so here’s what you need to do:
Take a Look at Your Existing Clients
If you’re already in business and you have some clients, take some time to think about where you got those clients. Did you meet them at networking events? Did they follow you on social media for a while before deciding to buy? If so, which social media channel(s)? Did they search for something and find your website? If so, what search term did they use?
If you’re just starting out (or getting ready to start out), and you don’t have any clients yet, think about your company’s unique selling proposition (USP): what problem does it solve and for whom? That will give you a starting point when it comes to identifying your target audience.
Look at Your Competition
Look at your competitors and their clients. Who gave them testimonials? Who follows them on social media? Look at the profiles of your competitor’s followers to see what other accounts they follow online and what kinds of things they talk about – not just related to business, but other things in popular culture so you can get an idea of what they like. Are they Trekies or Star Wars fans? Do they watch The Bachelor religiously? Learn as much as you can about them so you can create a fully fleshed-out persona for your marketing strategy.
The 1st Part of Your Digital Marketing Funnel: Social Media vs. SEO
The question of social media vs SEO isn’t really a matter of one versus the other. It’s more likely you’ll have to do some social media marketing and make sure your website is optimized for search engines. Remember that billions of searches happen on social media every day, so if you want to think about “showing up in searches,” you have to include social media in your content marketing strategy.
So think of social media and SEO like two funnels that lead into the same spout – you want some people to find your website through search and some people to find you on social media, with the ultimate goal for each being that they’ll end up buying from you.
How to Use Social Media in Your Digital Marketing Funnel
When it comes to the social media channels where you could potentially be reaching leads for your business, we currently have:
- YouTube
- Snapchat
- TikTok
And I’ve probably forgotten a few, especially since there are niche social media sites that target people who work in certain industries or are part of a specific demographic. If you try to cast your net over all the social media channels on the internet, you could easily spend all your time on social media marketing without having any time to run your business.
As if that weren’t bad enough, all those marketing efforts are unlikely to be effective because you’d be spreading yourself too thin. Each social media channel has its own algorithm, its own audience, and its own way of connecting brands to consumers, which means just posting the same content to each channel isn’t going to cut it. You need a different strategy for each platform.
So Step 1 is to figure out where your audience is hanging out online and devote your efforts to just those two or three channels. Spend some time on each of your chosen social media channels to get to know them and see what some of the most successful brands are doing there to gain followers and convert leads.
Keep It Social
Social media takes a lot of work because, of course the ultimate goal is for people to buy from you, but no one likes it when brands just hop onto social media and start promoting their stuff. They want to get to know you first, which is why it is vital for brands to remember the #1 rule of social media: that it was created to be social. It was not created for marketers or advertisers, and no one likes a brand that pushes their products/services without contributing anything of value.
So, once you’ve identified one or two social media channels where your target audience tends to hang out, spend some time on those channels just building a following. Start by following influencers in your industry, commenting on and reposting their stuff, and tagging them in your posts when relevant. You should also take the time to do a little research on relevant hashtags you can use in your posts to help improve your visibility.
Start by creating posts that add value, even if that value is just entertainment. Post things that are cute and/or funny to help drive engagement. Mix those posts up with posts that include actionable tips for how people can improve their lives in a way that’s related to what you sell. For example, I sometimes create social media posts with a few content strategy tips to help people improve their online visibility on their own. When they see that my tips work, they’ll know that I know what I’m talking about and they’ll be more likely to reach out to me when they’re ready to hire a content strategist.
Remember that the ultimate goal is to convert social media followers into customers, so you do want to lead them to your website eventually, but you don’t want all your posts to be attempts at selling something. Link back to your blog posts, as well as blog posts of influencers (not competitors) to build your authority before asking them to trust you with their money.
Social Media Ads as Part of Your Digital Marketing Funnel
Social media ads can be a great way to build visibility and gain new followers, but you have to be very strategic about how you do it. For example, Facebook has made it harder and harder to increase organic reach, which means Facebook ads are just about your only way of getting in front of new viewers on that channel, but don’t expect them to buy from you right away. Ask them to like and follow your Facebook page or join your group so you’re more likely to show up in their feed. Then post valuable content on your Facebook page and in your group before leading them back to your website.
At this point, just about every social media platform has an opportunity to advertise, so do your research ahead of time to make sure you know where your audience is hanging out before you invest any money in ads. Then figure out both the ultimate goal of the ads, as well as how you can lead your viewers from the ad to the end goal (hint: it’s likely going to be a multi-step process to get them from your ad to buying from you).
Optimizing Content for Your Digital Marketing Funnel
SEO is more complicated than a lot of people realize. In addition to understanding the metrics of each keyword (search volume, competition, CPC, etc.), you also need to understand your audience in relation to those keywords. First you have to understand what search terms they’re using, then you need to understand when they’re using them – i.e. what stage of the buying cycle they’re in when they use that search term.
For example, someone searching for something like “how can I get the most out of my 401(k)?” is more likely to be looking for actionable tips they can use on their own rather than looking to hire a financial advisor. If you decide it makes sense to use that search term for your financial firm, you’d be better off using it in a blog post than a sales page.
On the other hand, someone searching for something like “financial advisor in my area” or “financial advisors for women” is more likely to be looking to hire, in which case those search terms should lead to your sales pages.
The Right Call to Action in the Right Part of Your Digital Marketing Funnel
I started to talk about calls to action in the last section, but I’ll really dive deep here. Let’s start with social media.
Social Media Calls to Action
As mentioned above, not every social media post is going to lead people to your site. First, you want to build your following, which you can do by using the right hashtags and following and reposting content from influencers in your industry. Getting likes and comments on your social media posts is also a great way to increase your visibility, so don’t forget to ask people to like and comment on your social media content.
Once you’ve built up your following, you want to lead them back to your website, but start with something valuable, like a blog post that’s full of actionable tips they can use on their own.
Blog Post Calls to Action
Whether they found your blog post through social media or by using a particular search term, chances are they are not yet ready to buy from you, so rather than leading them straight to a sales page or a contact form, encourage them to sign up for your newsletter or follow you on social media (if they don’t already). Remind them that, if they liked the content they just finished reading, you have lots more just like it on the way and they won’t want to miss all that great content. By getting them to subscribe, you have a chance to keep putting your content in front of them, thereby keeping your brand top of mind for your industry.
If you do think they might be ready to buy, lead them to a sales page, never straight to a contact page. The content on your sales page should be able to convince them to take that final step in the buyer journey.
Whether they followed a link to your sales page, or found it through a search result, that’s the place where you can go for the hard ask and encourage them to click the buy button or reach out to you for more information about your offerings.
The Most Important Part of the Digital Marketing Funnel: Retarget and Follow Up
Not only have the stages of the marketing funnel changed, but the shape of the funnel itself has changed. That is to say, it’s no longer a funnel, it’s more like a circle.
If your call to action doesn’t work the first time, try, try again. Most people who visit your site will leave without buying anything, and that’s where a retargeting campaign can help.
For the leads you successfully convert into customers, the buyer journey doesn’t end when they give you their money. They use the product/service they got and they either love it, hate it, or feel indifferent about it.
Some people buy it and never use it, and that could be their own fault, or it could be a problem with what you’re selling. For example, if it’s too complicated or involves a lot of time to set up, that could deter buyers from using it, in which case, they’ve effectively wasted their money and they’re unlikely to buy from you again or refer their friends or colleagues to you.
If, on the other hand, you make it easy to install/set up your product or get started with your service, they’ll be much more likely to use it and recommend it.
If someone uses the product/service and doesn’t like it, be sure to get that feedback and follow up on it if at all possible. If there’s something you can change to improve their experience, then do so immediately. Otherwise, offer to refund their money – the goodwill you’ll gain by doing so will be well worth the investment. You’re never going to please everyone, but you can do your best to try.
It’s Time to Develop Your Digital Marketing Funnel
Hopefully, this post gave you all the information you need to go forth and develop your killer digital marketing funnel, but if you need any help, we’re here for your.
Whether you need help coming up with a strategy to convert your online leads into buyers, or you need a professional to create content that can effectively convert those leads, I’m here to help.
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