Posted by The content you create for each stage of the social media marketing funnel is of utmost importance. You must know how to create enticing content for every stage of the funnel so that buyers smoothly move from one stage of the funnel to the next.
If you are wondering how to create and deliver content that converts prospects into buyers, don’t worry! We have got you covered.
But first, we need to discuss in brief what a social media marketing funnel is, especially for those who are unaware of the term:
Almost all of us know the traditional sales funnel consists of 3 stages — Awareness, Consideration, and Conversion. However, where does social media fit in?
It is important to know that the tactics to obtain social media goals are not necessarily similar to the tactics in traditional marketing. We require a new and updated version of the marketing funnel to account for social media. The stages of this funnel will be:
- Awareness: Attracting new people who currently don’t know your brand exists.
- Consideration: Standing out from your competitors so that those who have discovered your brand remember you.
- Conversion: Compelling your audience to make a purchase.
- Engagement: Staying top-of-mind and engaging your audience even after they have purchased from your brand.
- Advocacy: Building trust with your audience so that they recommend your offerings to others.
Now that we know what a social media marketing funnel looks like, let’s come back to our subject. To create content for every stage of the social media marketing funnel, consider the following pointers:
1. Awareness
As we discussed before, the social media sales funnel begins with potential customers discovering your brand and becoming aware it exists.
Your objective at this initial touchpoint should be to provide value and support. Your content should be such that it makes your brand memorable to your audience. So, here’s a thing you should do at this stage — ensure you relate to them by providing a solution to a common issue they face.
Now, to address the more important question — how to create content for this stage of your social media marketing funnel?
Thought leadership articles and blog posts are great forms of content to create for this stage. Social media platforms can effectively disseminate these types of content to your audience in an easily digestible and shareable way (for instance, infographics).
In addition to this, video marketing works well in this stage. As per the latest statistics, 86% of consumers would like to view more videos from brands. If you can craft videos for Instagram and Facebook or upload video tutorials on YouTube, you increase the likelihood of new users organically discovering you.
For instance, Seattle Coffee Gear uses YouTube to post educational videos about how to make various types of coffee. The videos they create primarily focus on how to make coffee while lightly mentioning their products.
Another way you can create content for this stage is by working with macro or micro-influencers (who are present on all social media platforms today!). The content should discuss problems that your target audience faces. This way, you get noticed by a wide audience without coming across as “salesy.”
2. Consideration
After the awareness stage, buyers move to the next stage, called the consideration stage. At this point, buyers research what your brand offers. They also compare your offerings with your competitor’s offerings. Providing in-depth information about your products and features should be the focal point for all kinds of content you produce for this stage.
Useful, information-rich content types include white papers, webinars, and case studies. Use social media platforms to drive registrations and downloads. Do so by addressing pain points and engaging with your potential customers. Take this post for instance:
Also, when you talk of the consideration stage, creating tutorials that feature your products in action helps build more confidence and trust in your products. Take the makeup brand “The Quick Flick,” for instance. On its Instagram Business Profile, you can find a variety of makeup tutorials that feature its products.
3. Conversion
The conversion stage is one of those stages of the social media marketing funnel where a buyer initiates and ideally makes the purchase. At this stage, you can encourage your potential customers to make a purchase by offering incentives like free shipping or a new customer discount.
Use customer feedback to understand the common hesitations occurring among your audience while deciding to purchase from you. By allowing hesitations to inform social copy, buyers get the required confidence to make the purchase.
Lastly, do visit the analytics section in the social media platforms you are using. You can see your performance in this section, and you can check if your audience found your content appealing so far or not. You can even get to know how many individuals clicked to visit your site’s landing page. All of this information lets you know which types of content worked and what changes you can make to further improve it.
4. Engagement
Remember, do not forget your audience once they complete the purchase. A lot of brands do not focus on retaining their customers. To keep your customer retention rate high, it is important to nurture them on social media. Be in touch with them and maintain a healthy relationship.
For this stage, concentrate on creating social media content that encourages existing customers to make a repeat purchase. For doing so, consider Instagram hashtag campaigns. These campaigns make your existing customers feel a part of your brand community and may encourage them to buy from you again.
Instagram hashtag campaigns are important because they get a great amount of User-Generated Content (UGC) from your followers, who need to use a hashtag in order to become a part of the campaign. They may share a picture while wearing your clothing, reading your ebook, and so on. Also, once they hit “share,” the post becomes visible to their network as well (another added benefit!).
As per the latest statistics, about 72% of brands are of the view that UGC helps them connect with their customers and foster their trust in their brand.
Also, for this stage, less-visual brands can consider running hashtag campaigns on their Twitter account. They can even organize a Twitter chat. Many businesses can also create a private Facebook Page for users at this stage so that they can connect with them and with other purchasers.
Note: SaaS and B2B companies can also share tutorials at the engagement stage.
5. Advocacy
The advocacy stage is one of the stages of the social media marketing funnel when you transform your customers from fans to brand advocates. For this stage, show your gratitude to your customers and provide incentives that encourage your customers to share their journey with their pals. Gathering testimonials and reviews is also essential at this stage.
When it comes to creating content for this stage, we recommend that you continue producing valuable content and nurturing the relationship with your existing customers. A thing that you can do at the advocacy stage is to power users for content creation. For instance, Shopify works with existing customers to create blog posts that tell stories of how they use the website. Pretty cool, isn’t it?
Conclusion
Armed with this knowledge, you are now in a more informed position to create content for every stage of the social media marketing funnel. Carefully following the above-mentioned steps will help you gain more visibility for your business and increase your sales as well as revenue.