It is the ideal scenario where advertisers hope that the very first-time people see their ads, they will go in and purchase their products or take up the services they are offering. Unfortunately, this doesn’t happen so easily. It is a little more complex than that, involving ‘the rule of seven.’ This states that prospective buyers usually need to see or hear the same marketing message at least seven times before deciding that they will buy it. Specifically, social media sales funnels are a step-by-step process that considers thoughtful content strategy to engage customers at every level of the process in buying. This includes the audiences of those who are not in the market yet. However, it can also include those who have already purchased the product previously.
So… What Exactly Are Sales Funnels and How do They Work?
Essentially, sales funnels are a step-by-step process that allows you to move customers through the different stages in deciding to purchase a product or service. A ‘sales funnel’ is a term that is used to describe the ‘funnel’ that your potential customers slide through before reaching their destination. This right here is your ideal scenario, when they purchase your products or service!
Awareness
The main idea of this stage is to raise the question of what can be done to make people aware that this company exists? For the public to recognize your brand, you could advertise it through various forms of social media ads, such as an introduction video to tell your brand story, the user experience shared by your customers, going behind the scene to introduce your team members, or a how-to tutorial to showcase your expertise, just to name a few. Remember, it is important to understand your user profile and to target your potential customers accurately in the ads. Without the careful selection of your audience, you will only end up spreading your budget too thin and getting no results.
Relationship
The question in this stage is asking yourself the best way to establish a relationship, create trust, and position the company as the main authority present in the industry. How will I create this perception in the eyes of potential customers? You must decide the most effective communication method to connect with your potential customers. This can include looking at the target audience and providing your solutions to fulfill their needs. The last aspect of this step to consider is the type of beliefs that you want to instill in your audience. This is so that they believe that they really need to accept what you are selling.
Sales Stage
Once you have established a relationship with potential customers, and have a large audience, the next question is to ask yourself- what is the best way to get these people to pull out their wallets? One way to do this is with a sales technique called ‘scarcity.’ This tells customers that the product is running out and to purchase it quickly. Consequently, it will send an indirect message to them that it is popular because it is good. This falls under the broader idea of ‘compliance,’ which is a social influencing process used in marketing.
Upsell Stage
Once you have established a connection with these customers, you can begin to think of how you can loop in some of your other products and services.
Case Study
The reason why I chose this Facebook success story as an example is that it best describes how a sales funnel works in a real case and it is very easy to understand. Columbus Blue Jackets are a hockey team of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference of the Columbus National Hockey League. They utilised the sales Funnel method to capitalize on their single-game ticket sales. This is how:
Awareness
To reach the target audience and increase brand awareness – they sent a series of lead ads to Custom Audiences of sports fans and hockey fans. They ensured these audiences were within key designated market areas around the state. By providing the audience with the opportunity to win a contest for free tickets to a game, prospects are more willing to follow the company. The audience signed up in the hopes that they do win these free tickets. This is all done on Facebook ads. Pre-filling out the form to enter the contest, makes it much easier for potential customers to express their interest. The form also included a checkbox to learn more about ticket plans for the next season.
Relationship
Once they have gotten the attention of their desired audience, they attempt to communicate the benefits of ticket packages. In the retargeting campaign, they display ads to the target audiences who had demonstrated interest in the previous ads.
Sales Stage
To promote the upcoming games, the hockey business created a 33-second video of key plays and players. The video ads retargeted multiple Custom Audiences, including fans who had interacted with their content on Facebook and Instagram. Additionally, there were newsletter subscribers, recipients of its text alerts, and website visitors. The campaign successfully led to $225,000 in single-game ticket sales and 66x return on ad spend.
Summary
So, there you have it! Sales funnels are useful tools that really work in social media marketing. Read through the step-by-step guide and start your own outline today!
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