Evolution of the Sales Funnel with Social Media

In 2019 the traditional sales funnel has stayed alive and well, but thanks to the social media age we live in, it has evolved. Has your marketing adapted?

Forward-thinking brands fully embrace the interactive world of social media and capitalize on ways to make FB, IG, Twitter, Pinterest, and even LinkedIn work more efficiently to close sales and meet their business goals.

Historically, Marketing spent most of its tactical efforts in the Awareness stage of the purchase funnel. In 2019, Marketing has expanded to encourage and support customers almost all the way through conversion. The area for sales is much smaller, but more loyal.

Here are four steps to capitalize on the “new” purchase funnel.

STEP 1: AWARENESS

Awareness has been one of the traditional uses for social media, but the decrease in organic reach and engagement make it harder to break through with organic messages. As a first step, you should allocate media budget towards awareness activities. The primary goal from this stage should be to maximize reach and expand your target audience (so they can be retargeted down the sales funnel later).

Tip: photos are good. Videos are great! They perform better and help advance customers to the next step. Let me know if you need creative production support!

>> Passing through Interest <<

STEP 2: CONSIDERATION

Consideration is in the middle of the funnel and has traditionally been the most neglected on social. The main goal at this stage should be to retarget the awareness audiences with more in-depth posts that showcase more specific benefits of the product or service.

Tip: Test different creative in this phase - social has the unique ability to quickly change creative, copy, etc. In just a few days (and with a modest spend), your brand can have a good sense of what messaging is resonating best with your target audiences. Let me know if you need creative support and Sunday Brunch can engage or make a referral

>> Passing through Intent <<

STEP 3: CONVERSION / PURCHASE

Conversion is the most crucial step. By this point, you should have a receptive audience that is more likely to convert into sales. New prospects should also be easier to find thanks to the testing and data gathered through the use of technologies like Facebook’s Pixel, Instagram Checkout or through your media buying partner – who should give you 100% transparent access to a dashboard with a live data feed.

Tip: Ask me if you need a media buying partner and I can make a great recommendation

STEP 4: LOYALTY & ADVOCACY

Loyalty and advocacy have long been the bread and butter of all sales. Smart brands nurture and build relationships with their biggest fans: they turn customers into loyalists and influencers.

Word-of-mouth is still the most powerful marketing tool for most businesses. And with social media the micro-influencers, nano-influencers and even macro-influencers are taking this to new commanding levels.

Fun Fact: According to a recent study by Nielsen, 83% of people polled said they trust the recommendations of friends and family and 92% of people trust recommendations from others – even strangers (influencers).

Overall, 20-50% of all purchases are influenced by word-of-mouth marketing!

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