Increasing Funnel Velocity = Content + Retargeting + 1:1 Social

It's true what they say: in business, the best and biggest successes are a result of good timing and some old fashioned luck. That being said, it's also possible to intelligently predict (and in some cases, to engineer) a little of both.

One theory we're experimenting with right now is that the combination of original content, retargeting ads and one-to-one social engagement will increase our funnel velocity over standard email drip marketing and follow-up phone calls. While it's a bit too early to call, we're seeing some very positive results. Think of all of this as a formula for your social selling strategy.

Content

Each week, Hillary, our Content Marketing Manager, creates 2-4 new blog posts and plans ahead for at least that many more in the coming weeks. As you likely know, it's a never-ending cycle. Our content strategy is based upon a few key ideas, and Hillary is the brains behind all of it.

1. We share guidance and insights that we know our target customers will be searching for. The latest studies all seem to agree: 60+% of the buying journey is done before a prospect ever talks to a sales rep (Tweet this). As such, inbound strategy is big for us, and we want to be proactive about providing content that brings prospects our way. Takeaway: create content that answers prospects' questions. To do this well, you first need to understand their pain points and the questions they're asking that led them / will lead them to you.

2. Different parts of the funnel require different types of content. For general brand awareness, we'll produce high-level content around industry trends, news, best practices, new strategies, and the like. To target leads in the Evaluation phase, we'll create more thorough content -- eBooks and Case Studies -- that go into greater detail and help a lead envision exactly what we'll do for them. It also helps them differentiate us from our competitors. Takeaway: create content that serves a specific purpose for each phase of the buying journey. To do this well, it's imperative you know general parameters around what your prospects' goals are and how your solution helps them achieve it.

3. You might have heard it said before: If content is king, distribution is queen. It should go without saying that the content your marketing team is producing needs strategic, tactical distribution so that it reaches your target audience. While the brand should be handling most of the heavy lifting here, it's your job as the sales pro to share in the dissemination responsibility. Use it to show off your expertise. Use it to build your personal brand. Use it to discover new leads. Use it to provide value in conversations with existing leads. 

Retargeting

Getting a prospect to our site [the first time] with well-produced content is one thing. Getting them back subsequently is another. With all the content being produced, it's more common than not that we'll consume something from one website and then never return. Huge opportunity loss, here. To combat this, we use multi-channel, multi-device retargeting ads through a vendor partner, Terminus, and social retargeting ads through Facebook and Twitter. Each channel has its own strategy that goes back to what we know of our leads.

1. Leads enter a retargeting campaign by visiting the site and viewing an existing piece of content. Using Terminus, as well as dynamic audience segments within the social networks themselves, we're able to use the retargeting ad to serve up the next logical piece(s) of content that our prospective buyer needs to see. Example: if they saw a blog post about creating a social selling strategy, the next piece of content we'd serve would be a case study around how an existing client used our platform and the exact results they saw. Takeaway: every retargeting ad should move the prospect towards the next stage in their buying journey, even before you've had a first contact with them. To do this well, you need to have a strategy for intelligently segmenting prospects. Lead scoring, anyone? 

2. The best analogy I can think of to describe a successful retargeting strategy is that of a monkey swinging on vines from tree to tree. Get the monkey (your lead) to grab ahold of one vine (piece of content), and through retargeting, you strategically position the next vine in front of them at exactly the right time: when they're done with the first and ready for the next. Takeaway: Don't stop at just creating the high-level, awareness content; create the next piece that will swing them from there to consideration, and from there to decision. To do this well, you'll rely on your knowledge (from above) about what your prospects are out to accomplish and how your solution helps them achieve those results.

1:1 Social Engagement

I touched on this in a previous post, and since then, I've only become more firmly resolved that this is the right approach for B2B social selling: the brand itself shouldn't be the the sole source of interaction; rather, the salesperson for that specific lead. After you've gotten a lead progressively down the funnel -- past awareness and well into the evaluation phase -- have the salesperson engage one on one with the lead with their own online identity. For us at Insightpool, our sales pros do this a lot with Twitter. Remember: people do business with people, not logos. 

1. Kick off a 1:1 social engagement campaign by leveraging what you know of a lead, their needs, a potential use case, and how your solution solves those needs. Maybe you share a new piece of content. Maybe you make an introduction to another person in your network. Maybe you have a few leading questions to help move the prospect through the funnel. Maybe you respond to a piece of content they've shared, or jump into an existing conversation where you can add value. Whatever the approach, this should be personalized, not automated like the drip emails they're already getting. As it just so happens, we use our own tool -- the Insightpool Sales Platform -- to nurture leads in exactly this way. Takeaway: be a human, not a robot. Don't forget that the keyword here is social, not selling. Approach 1:1 engagement on social the way you would a conversation at a cocktail party or any other networking event. To do this well, you actually have to care about your prospect, their needs and their goals. 

2. Use the one on one opportunity to build trust and rapport with your prospect. Early on, it doesn't make sense to go for a hard sale. You're just being pushy, if so, and putting your own desire [to close the deal] over the needs of the person you're trying to sell. Don't be that guy / gal. Takeaway: social selling is a marathon, not a sprint. Consistency wins out over speed.

Bringing it All Together

Each of these three activities -- creating original content, serving relevant, timely retargeting ads, and nurturing leads with 1:1 engagement -- are important in their own right. It's strategically using the three together that will help accelerate your sales process. Here's a full, concise rundown of today's takeaways: 

• Create content that answers prospects' questions and that serves a specific purpose for each phase of the buying journey. (Tweet)
• Every retargeting ad should move the prospect towards the next stage in their buying journey.
• Don't stop at creating high-level, awareness content; create the next piece that will take them from there to the next step, and so on.
• Be a human, not a robot. Approach 1:1 engagement on social the way you would a conversation at a cocktail party. (Tweet)
• Social selling is a marathon, not a sprint. Consistency is more fruitful than speed.

Have you tried something similar? I'd love to hear your thoughts on how social selling can be most effective at increasing funnel velocity.

Related Reading:
- Managing Relationships at Scale: A Practical Guide to Social Selling
- Thinking Out Loud: The Conundrum of B2B Social Selling
- The Definitive Guide to Facebook Retargeting & Custom Audiences

Did you like this article? Please share it on Twitter! Also, if we aren't connected on LinkedIn already, feel free to send me a request. All are welcome. 

Web: MikeBeauchamp.me | Twitter: @mbchp
Email: mike.beauchamp@insightpool.com