Overwhelmed by choice when it comes to which online marketing method to use? Does your conversion rate stay the same despite the hours you devote to social media campaigns? Well fret no more! Welcome to the last marketing guide you will ever need to read. Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll take you through creating a marketing roadmap, choosing social selling structures and measurement through analytics to ensure you are getting the most bang for your marketing buck.
Why have Marketing when you can have Funnel Cake?
A marketing funnel is a collection of all the tools you utilize to direct people to your product or service. From old school brochures and flyers to your website and social selling techniques like Facebook and G+, your marketing funnel helps you to introduce your product to consumers and then shifts them through your marketing process to conversion.
An effective funnel will have a hook at the start to garner attention and then calls to action at every step along the way so that prospective clients know exactly what they should do next.
Anatomy of a marketing funnel
The top of your marketing funnel is where you cast the widest net. This should never employ the ‘spray and pray’ method of mass marketing to everyone and no one at all. Although the content at this level should be general, it should still be targeted. Once you have the first show of interest from your audience, your content becomes more specific; think case studies, white papers, drip campaigns, videos, social media, newsletters and other informative posts. Lastly, the final push to purchase comes with free trials, special offers, coupons, discounts and demonstrations which lead to sales.
Spoiled for choice
In social media alone, there are hundreds of options; should you use Facebook and Twitter ads? Is Google Plus worth the effort? Should you make Vine videos or get a YouTube channel? Add to that traditional advertising methods and you may be stretched too thin. Your advertising funnel should utilize the most efficient and effective methods that suit your audience and your product. You should be spending time and money only on those marketing techniques that expedite your sales process. So how do you determine which ones to use?
How long is a piece of string?
The answers is some of them all of the time and all of them some of the time. Your marketing funnel should be dynamic, growing constantly with technology and your changing demographic. If you are still using the marketing funnel you created in the late nineties, in 2006 or even two months ago, you need to get with the ever-changing program.
Where to start
Feeling a little freaked out? Then take a deep breath and relax. Over the course of the next few weeks, we will be helping you to create a plan and a marketing funnel that suits your business perfectly. We’ll also show you how to keep tabs on what’s happening in your marketing funnel so that you can see what’s working and what’s not. This will enable you to only spend your precious time and money on those marketing avenues that deliver.
Don’t try this at home
While our guide will help you to master the basics, the success of your business may depend on the efficacy with which you construct and execute your marketing funnel. If you don’t have the time or expertise to tackle social media or analytics, then seek the services of a trained professional.
