In marketing speak, the top of the funnel is a visual snapshot of all the activities and ways companies bring attention to their brand. Since the dawn of Facebook, social media has been a significant player in promoting brands. Social media has been great for those who know how to leverage the backend of the Meta platform. It is a great tactic, but the ease of usability has caused companies not to have a strategy.
Startups and eager entrepreneurs find social media to be the gateway to business ownership without the risk for several good reasons. With numerous platforms at the helm, one has multiple options. Buffer’s Tamilore Oladipo wrote 20+ Top Social Media and Platforms to Grow Your Brand in 2024.
She says that companies need to look at branding on social media from the lens of MAU (monthly active users) and ROI (return on investment). According to her report, according to Statista, 37 % of the world’s population is on social media.
From my experience, small businesses don’t understand how to leverage the best ROI for their company. For example, Facebook is the largest social networking site, with over 3 billion people using it monthly, but it’s not known for virality as TikTok. Plus, it’s not known to be an e-commerce platform compared to Pinterest or TikTok, which are both social and have simple ways to sell products.
Social media, unfortunately, has become their marketing department team for those who don’t understand algorithms, call-to-actions, and remarketing campaigns.
Most consumers are blind to the “magic sauce” created to identify buyers, attract them to the product or service, give them reasons to purchase, and close the sale. This process is outlined in a customer journey plan, which is part of an organization’s marketing strategy.
This article is directly related to LTM’s EP 230- Top of Funnel: Social Media Tactical Strategy. It’s important to understand that everything is going digital in some way, shape, or form, or a hybrid option exists.
Here are the three main takeaways for every company:
- Marketing is an investment, so plan your strategy to your strengths and minimize your weaknesses; use your SWOT analysis as a cheat sheet.
- Your marketing funnel is critical to your business operations and starts with understanding your customer.
- Social media should be a tactic if you’re not an influencer.
The traditional marketing funnel is AIDA, which stands for awareness, interest, desire, and action. You can also substitute attention for awareness and action for conversion. As the funnel has evolved thanks to our digital technology, a customer’s desire to purchase is much more of a singular experience. The product or service is promoted and celebrated by grabbing the prospect’s attention, so the whole funnel requires multiple ‘touchpoints’ to keep them engaged and happy.
On a personal level, with my own business, it took me three years to earn one customer, and I’m glad I did because they have been great. That client is phenomenal. It took an omnichannel approach without an intense sales engagement. We were initially referred to the client about their lack of social media management, but it came down to helping create a marketing ecosystem for the client.
Please remember that social media is more of a tactic than a strategy.
