It's all about keeping it practical, doable, and leading edge so you can grow more leads and sales online.
This week I fly solo and dive into the need and strategy to bridge social media with your web for an integrated sales funnel.
The online web and social media marketing strategy for a business needs to be integrated and cohesive, with all parts working in sync.
To often when I'm invited in do consulting or a digital marketing audit, one of the first findings I uncover is that the marketing is splintered. What is done on Facebook is not connected to the strategies used on the website, or what is tweeted has no connection to lead capture initiatives on the website, etc. It’s essential to get that corrected!
In this episode I dive into this in more detail and outline how social media can and should be integrated with your website within a overall online sales funnel strategy.
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Let's dig in!
By offering interesting, helping, and even entertaining content in a style that reflects the company's unique culture, a company can grow their online community.
Social is a 2 ways street! Not a once and done or one way!
Jay Baer says it well..."Content is fire, Social Media is Gasoline!"
To succeed your social must be integrated with web! This provides multiple touches to your ideal customer audience
1. Top of Funnel Content – Engaging & Attracting
Attraction and Engagement content needs to be broad, searchable, geared to do just what it says, “attract and engage,” and relevant. This is where you are seeking to grow your audience by reaching out, “planting seed and watering” or put another way it is “chumming the waters” to attract your desired audience. This is not the harvest! It is content that is helpful and serves your audience. It is NOT product specific to your business. Think of it as “chumming the waters” prior to fishing for sharks. It draws in a crowd and gets them excited about your site and the nuggets you are providing. Your content core resides on your website, you then amplify that to and with social media. Your social media engagement can serve by itself as attraction and engagement messaging as well.
2. Mid-Funnel Content – Incentives to encourage email list sign-up
This part serves to move visitors into the lead funnel, and from an unknown fan to a known lead. This type of content offers something useful and of value in exchange for a simple name and email sign-up. It can be access to a eBook, a video, a podcast, or a resource related to your products and services that that those interested in your offering would find of value.
The opportunity it provides a business is the ability to grow their email list, through which nurture campaigns to educate and ultimately offer a opportunity to buy can occur. The value is that these can be setup once and then run continuously to reach hundreds and even thousands of visitors. This is where integration is needed. Sign-up will not occur "in" social media, but is used by social to drive fans and followers to your website/landing pages.
I outline more on lead capture and nurture here >>
3. Closure Content – Specific offers and Sales opportunities
The final element of the 3-pronged content strategy to plan for is the “closure content” or specific sales offer content. This will likely be only 15-20% of your overall content plan mix. If it is more than that, your audience can get turned off from continual sales pitches, particularly on social media sites, but if you are adhering to the content strategy above then your audience will be ready for these timely and specific offers to purchase.
More detail on the online sales funnel here >>
I do a lot of writing, including having articles published with leading blogs including Social Media Examiner, AllFacebook.com and with Mari Smith.
As the co-founder and manager of TabSite, I understand the small business and start-up mindset. With over 7 years of consulting experience for small and medium sized businesses, I understand and can speak to those wanting to increase in-store traffic, elevate their online footprint, and those battling the challenges of juggling multiple priorities.
I speak the language of business. I understand the challenges – what it is like to meet budgets, to go out and get customers, and to keep them.
Those who hear me and follow my blog value my skill for simplifying technology and social business ideas to make them practical and useful.
You can view my complete bio at the About tab of this site.
I’m a Indiana Hoosier native where basketball is the top sport. Every team heads to the locker room at halftime to evaluate the first half and create a updated plan for the second half. That plan includes adjustments based on reviewing what worked and what didn’t.
