In the realm of social media brand promotion, you can choose from a veritable plethora of tactics. These methods advise maintaining your audience’s interest through the use of content, a social media marketing calendar, and well-thought-out campaigns.

However, there is often a void in terms of developing a customer journey that converts first-time visitors to your site into raving fans and repeat customers of your brand.

Here, we’ll examine the marketing funnel’s five stages in detail. By the conclusion, you will know how each phase relates to social media.

When asked to define “social media marketing funnel,” what do you think of?

In marketing parlance, a “funnel” is the pathway your prospective clients take to reach you. Marketing funnels chart a course for potential customers from the moment they become aware of your company’s existence all the way through the final sale.

A marketing funnel, with some analysis, can help you figure out how to persuade customers at each stage of the buying process. The process begins at the first moment of exposure to your brand and continues until the customer has made a purchase. A brand advocate is the final stage of the social media marketing funnel.

The steps of a social media marketing funnel could be debated by various industries and specialists. There is a basic framework to a customer journey that culminates in a sale and long-term brand advocacy, regardless of what you call the phases.

Most businesses can benefit from a five-step framework for their social media sales funnel:

• The process of making your brand known to people who aren’t familiar with it.
• Important – Making a strong enough impression on new listeners to make them remember you.
• A call to action, encouraging readers to click through to your site and make a purchase.
• Customer engagement is maintained through continued social media interaction after a sale has been made.
• Advocacy refers to the process of gaining your audience’s trust to the point where they are willing to recommend you to others.

Where, then, do social media platforms fit into these tiers?

You can integrate social media posts into each stage of the funnel if social media is an important part of your marketing strategy. Your ability to naturally lead your audience through the customer journey is dependent on the platforms you choose to employ.

A cohesive whole, the marketing funnel gets the job done. When all of your sections are working together to achieve common goals, you’ll have a smoother journey and a happier customer. This will help you earn the trust of your target demographic and increase brand recognition over time.

Take advantage of Sprout Social to streamline your social media marketing procedure.

If you’re using Sprout, you’re already well on your way to streamlined marketing processes.

Make a plan for your posts and label them according to the different stages of your funnel to see what’s working and what needs more work.

Consciousness

Customers entering the social media marketing funnel have first become familiar with your brand and its offerings.

To succeed as a company, you need to zero in on a problem that your target market has and provide a solution for it. As long as you’re able to provide them with a solution to a problem they’re experiencing, you’ll be able to connect with them even if they’re unfamiliar with your brand.

Selling your wares too aggressively at this stage of communication is unlikely to go over well. The intent is to provide assistance and value. This data needs to be useful enough to make people think of your company and want to learn more.

Put your company’s worth on display with articles, videos, guides, and webinars. If you can provide the answers to the questions your target demographic is actively searching for, you’ll attract more qualified visitors to your site, where you can earn their trust and establish yourself as an industry expert.

Use paid advertising to raise profile if it fits into your budget. If you narrow your focus to a particular demographic or subset of consumers, you’re more likely to reach those who are experiencing the issue you’re trying to address.

Use search engine optimization (SEO) and content promotion (content creation) to naturally draw in new blog readers.

Canva does an excellent job of identifying the terms its intended audience is using in search engines and producing helpful content in response to those questions.

Snapshot of a Canva-created blog post that uses industry-specific keywords for SEO.
Canva uses their Twitter profile to promote blog posts extensively.

Additionally, video marketing is a potent tool during the awareness stage. You can improve your organic reach by making videos for social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, or creating helpful tutorials for users to follow on YouTube.

On their YouTube channel, Seattle Coffee Gear teaches users how to brew a variety of coffees. Even though their products are mentioned briefly, the main focus is on the coffee-making process.