8 min read
Last Updated on April 30, 2022 by Ibe Princewill
Today, the growing use of e-commerce and social media has evolved the application of the almighty sales funnel.
The funnel describes the journey that someone goes on from first becoming aware of your brand to conversion of any kind.
In this Perfect Guide to Social Media Marketing Sales Funnel, I’ll show you the journey your clients take by seeing or researching what you have to offer, then move on to buying your product and hopefully becoming a repeat customer.
So it’s pretty important knowledge if you’re in the business of selling.
But first, let us know what a sales funnel is:
What is a sales funnel?
A sales funnel is the marketing term for the journey potential customers go through on the way to purchase.
What is a social media marketing sales funnel?
A social media marketing funnel is a path (Funnel) that clients take through social media platforms to enable them archive their online interest and in turn, enables you to ultimately archive your desired business goal thus turning those clients into loyal customers.
A sales funnel can be said to be a step-by-step process that enables you to bring your potential client a step closer to your proposition and a purchasing choice through a progression of marketing actions like articles, videos, Product Demo, Webinars, Ratings & Reviews, Questionnaires, Contests & Giveaways, Surveys that will do the selling for you and convert them to loyal customers.
In its simplest form, a sales funnel consists of the following four stages.
- Awareness.
- Interest.
- Decision.
- Conversion.
- Loyalty
Awareness
Now, in traditional marketing, the first awareness stage was often referred to as above-the-line marketing or ABL.
This included anything that first made your target market aware of your brand or your offering.
In a social media or digital sales funnel, the awareness is done solely online.
Modern marketing strategies typically range from an ad on Google search results to a banner on a blog or a sponsored post by an Instagram, Tik Tok or Facebook influencer on social media.
I am not saying that you have to be on every platform out there to have a successful digital sales funnel.
Trying to be everywhere is very time-consuming, especially as a small business owner wearing numerous hats at the same time.
The point is to get in front of where your customers’ eyeballs are.
Let them know that you can solve a particular need that they have or provide a service/product that they want, and if you do well in this stage, you’ll successfully push them towards the next step in the digital sales funnel and edge them closer to a sale or conversion.
Interest
Moving to the next steps, stage two, which is interest or consideration.
Now, this stage in the digital sales funnel is where the customer moves from being a passive viewer to playing a more active role with your brand.
However, consumer behaviors vary in this phase of the digital sales funnel.
Clients may jump between different platforms to compare similar brands, which is why it’s crucial to advertise or display what you’re offering in a variety of different places with the help of Custom Retargeting Ads, through Social Media Ads and other platforms like Google and Bing Display Ad.
It is advisable to look beyond your own website and your own social media profiles and find online communities that tie in with your target audience.
You’ll also want to create opportunities for people to leave positive reviews about your business.
Try getting recent customers to leave reviews on sites like Angie’s List, ConsumerReports, Tripadvisor, Google Customer Reviews, Naijreview and Clutch or encourage them to post testimonials on their own social media profiles, this will act as a positive recommendation to your brand and to their friends and family.
It will also serve as a means of promotion to build customers’ interest in what you are offering.
Decision
Making a decision is never easy for your clients, especially when it comes to spending their hard-earned money.
Your goal is to help them make a positive decision and finally become your client.
As a business owner, if you take the time to do your research, craft the right words for your offer (copywriting), and put it in front of the right audience (Which we can help you do at So Cheap Agency) then, you can be confident that you’re making the best decision for you and your precious business to see conversions/sales.
Some actionable steps to further move your clients down the Social Media Sales funnel can be a free trial, demos, free estimated quote, free expert consultation service, coupons, and discount codes.
Conversion
Now, I’ll be talking to you about the purchase phase known as Action or Conversion Stage.
This is the moment of truth.
It’s the point of the digital sales funnel where your casual browser decides to become a customer.
But it’s also the point where a good checkout process can seal the deal in customer satisfaction.
Clear communication with your customer in this stage of the digital sales funnel is absolutely crucial because any unnecessary distraction at this stage will put off your customers and make them bounce off the sales funnel which will require retargeting action to bring them back.
You want to make them feel secure that their money will not just disappear into a black hole, especially if you’re a new brand.
Just imagine trying to make payment for a goods or service on an unfamiliar website and all of a sudden the website goes down and in a few minutes comes back online, will you proceed with the payment or leave that website with your precious money?
I’ll leave that for you to answer.
When the customer successfully places his or her order, a good way to keep in touch is by following up with confirmation emails, tracking numbers, or text messages with status updates on order fulfillment.
I love to see order confirmation messages because it makes me feel that my money went the right way. (Smile) and I can expect something coming to my mailbox.
Evolving technology has made the online checkout objectively better and it’s worth exploring different options if it means creating a smoother, more convenient experience for your customers, always.
Loyalty
The last phase of this journey is loyalty, and now, there’s no better ambassador for your brand than a happy customer.
Keeping in contact with your buyers after they’ve received your product can be really valuable.
This is especially true when it comes to building brand equity online.
One way to gain loyalty is to capitalize on those warm fuzzy feelings a satisfied customer feels after they make a purchase.
There’s no better feeling than that post-purchase glow of a happy customer.
And when asking for customer feedback, seek out customers that are happy with the product and the sales process, and you can ask them to leave a review or even to do a testimonial video.
A loyal customer can mean a steady income stream for your business if they buy on a regular basis.
Plus, they’ll become a loyal brand ambassador through word of mouth.
Yes, word of mouth still exists.
Presently, in light of the fact that things have gone advanced, doesn’t mean you need to work any less to demonstrate your value to clients.
Keep in mind, that keeping your clients drawn in with contributions that they love expands your possibilities of constructing and running a fruitful business.
So Cheap Agency offers you the chance to do what you do best – running your business and making profit, while benefiting from our years of collective experience to build solutions that will drive growth and new customers to your business day and night.
The Perfect Social Media Marketing Sales Funnel takes your clients through various sales paths while maintaining their interest and ultimately converting them to loyal customers
Begin the process of running a business with a high rate of conversions using our profitable Social Media Advert Service that will attract your potential customers and untimely lead to conversion/sales. Get Started Today.