How to Implement an Effective Marketing Funnel
If you’ve spent any time researching or working in analytics, website or digital marketing, then you’re probably familiar with the term “marketing funnel.” But what is a marketing funnel? And how can it help you?
When we first begin working with clients, we go over this information and make sure there are clear steps or actions we want each audience to take when they see an ad or visit the website. Because when someone does something you want them to do, that’s a conversion.
A funnel is the set of steps we want prospects to go through before they convert.
The Marketing Funnel: Audiences
But first, we need to understand each of your audiencesin the funnel. So let’s break them down… 1. Qualification audience. This is a saved audiencetargeting a broad group of people who might be interested in your product or services. We use interest targeting and make sure you are reaching the right target market.2. Awareness audience. This is a custom audiencetargeting anyone who has been anywhere on your website in the last 180 days.3. Consideration audience: This is a custom audience targeting people whose website activity over the last 90 days indicates that they’re in the “consideration” stage. This might mean they’ve looked over your products and services, features, or testimonials/reviews web pages.4. Decision audience. This is a custom audience targeting people whose activity on the website of the last 30 days indicates they’re in the decision makingstage. This means they’ve probably gone as far as visiting your pricing page or even put things in their cart.
So now that we’ve separated out your audiences, we need to talk about the content that makes up your marketing funnel. Here is the content you will need to create to get started…
Content is key
You’ll need to create at least four pieces of content before you start:
1. A Qualification stage blog post. Make sure this will only appeal to your target market. This content exists to get likely customers onto your remarketing list. The more specific the topic is, the less money you’ll spend on wasted clicks further down the funnel.2. An Awareness stage downloadable offer. This will be used to collect first names and email addresses.Essentially, you will offer a whitepaper, article or other piece of important information, in exchange for their personal information. This is an effective way to collect leads and use landing pages to track results.3. A Consideration stage downloadable offer. This is similar to the awareness stage downloadable offer, except it will allow you to collect more information (e.g., company size, job title, etc.) and determine when they’ve moved down the funnel.4. A Decision stage downloadable offer. This offer will be used to gather any other information you need to make the sale (e.g., phone number) and to determine when they’re ready to buy.
Plot your content mix
Another important aspect of the funnel is scheduling and plotting all of your content. Make sure your daily, weekly or monthly calendar reflects the mission statement you’ve assigned to each social profile so that every post is working to support your business goals.
For example, you might decide that:
• 50 percent of content will drive traffic back to your blog• 25 percent of content will be curated from other sources• 20 percent of content will support enterprise goals (selling, lead generation, etc.)• 5 percent of content will be about HR and company culture
Placing these different post types in your content calendar will help ensure you maintain the ratio you’ve planned. If you’re starting from scratch and you’re simply not sure what types of content to post, we recommendthe 80-20 rule:
• 80 percent of your posts should inform, educate, or entertain your audience• 20 percent can directly promote your brand
You could also try the social media rule of thirds:
• One-third of your social content promotes your business, converts readers, and generates profit.• One-third of your social content shares ideas and stories from thought leaders in your industry or like-minded businesses.• One-third of your social content involves personal interactions with your audience.
You can check out this PDF from our partners at Constant Contact on How to Focus on Your Funnel. Download it here. So although it might seem complicated, or like there are several steps to your marketing funnel, we can help you get started.
Together we will build an effective marketing funnel alongside building a strong marketing and advertising base, beginning with your establishing your brand identity(if needed).
Contact us today if you’re interested in learning more about:• Brand identity: logos, colors, fonts, etc• Content planning• Content curation• Digital ads• Video marketing and more!
Recent Comments