If you’re like me, social media has become a part of your everyday life, and it seems as if it’s here to stay. While many businesses dove right in and got their feet wet, there are still many others (especially in the B2B side of business) who are reluctant to jump on the bandwagon for one reason or another. There are also those who want to get their business into social media, but they often ask “Where do I start?”.
Enter the Social Media Funnel.
This social media funnel shows graphically how a user can most likely find your brand, become aware of your product or service, and eventually become a customer themselves.
Twitter – The “Introduction” Platform
Of the mainstream social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube) the channel that has the lowest barrier of entry would be Twitter. Twitter is simple to set up, easy to manage, and most importantly, it is probably the easiest platform for those who aren’t familiar with your brand to find you. If you were to search a broad term such as “engineering” in Twitter’s search box, Twitter does a fairly good job at showing you twitter handles related to that subject. Also, users can come across your company either by Twitter’s suggested follows or by looking through someone else’s “following” list.
YouTube – The “Show Me More” Platform
Next in the social media funnel is YouTube because, like Twitter, it is fairly easy for any one user to find you or your company if their searching for the right topic. I have YouTube below Twitter, however, because in this instance, I am focusing on getting a user to subscribe to your channel. When you post videos to YouTube, make sure they are relevant to your brand, interesting, and helpful. It’s a great way to start positioning yourself in your company’s industry and help others solve their problems (after all, the most searched term in YouTube is “How to”). If a user has subscribed to your youtube channel, it probably means that 1) they’ve seen your videos, 2) thought your content was useful and relevant to them, and 3) they want to see more.
Facebook – The “Let’s Be Friends” Platform
Once our John Doe user has found you on Twitter and/or YouTube, it’s probable that they will seek your company out on Facebook and “like” your page. The reason I have Facebook this far down the social media funnel is because there is no good way to browse or explore general topics or subjects on Facebook like there is on Twitter and YouTube; Facebook’s search box is mostly useful if you are trying to find a specific person or company. So, when someone likes your page, this means that they are most likely already aware of who you are and what you do, and they would like to continue getting glimpses into your company with photos, videos, status updates, and interesting articles.
LinkedIn – The “Let’s Do Business” Platform
LinkedIn is very similar to Facebook, but it differs in the sense that LinkedIn is definitely more formal and has more of a business-type setting. If a user connects with your company page on LinkedIn, you can assume that if they haven’t done business with you already, they are ready and willing to do so. This is generally why LinkedIn is 277% more effective for lead generation than Facebook and Twitter.
Company Blog – The “Keep Me Updated” Platform
Every company should have a blog, and unfortunately, most do not. A blog is a great way to keep your customers updated, position yourself as a thought-leader in your industry, and drive traffic to your website. When a user is a reader of your blog (or even better, a subscriber to it), chances are that they’ve done business with you and are an evangelist of your brand. They love your product, love what you have to say, and want to stay updated on what’s new.
–Lance Brown
I think social media is better represented as a spider’s web rather than a funnel. There you sit, in the middle of the web you build waiting to ensnare your next victim er customer.