This is How You Prioritize Your Social Media Strategies

Social Media is not just about creating more Awareness.

There are some very specific things you want to accomplish when you engage your prospects and customers.

• You want them to use your product, service or communication.
• You want to help influence their opinion of your product, service or communication.
• You want to help them talk about your product, service or communication.

This is the Social Media Cycle as defined by Dave Evans. It has two distinct parts:

1. The pre-purchase funnel
2. The post-purchase funnel

The Social Funnel includes both the traditional and post-purchase funnels

It is important to define “purchase” for the sake of our conversation. Your customers may only have “purchased” a communication, paying with their time, attention and contact information if they want to continue the conversation. So, downloading a sample is modeled as a “purchase” in this scenario.

Just as it takes a series of “conversions” to move a prospect through the traditional sales funnel — to Awareness, then Consideration, then Action — you must likewise move them through the post-purchase funnel.

This is How You Prioritize Your Social Media Strategies

Yes, you have to convert a buyer into a user.

Then you have to help them form an opinion. Social media is great for this, because others’ opinions will shape their opinion. Focus on strategies that reveal what others are saying about your service or brand.

Finally, you must convert those with an opinion into talkers. Provide ways for them to share their experience. They will, in turn help you:

1. Convert more users into opinion holders
2. Direct new prospects to your funnel, often starting them in the Consideration stage

Would you like to know which social strategies lend themselves to each of these conversions? Would you like to know how to measure your success in the post-purchase funnel?

Vote for my SXSW Panel “What is your Social Conversion Rate?” Then attend.

Your vote will help educate business owners and marketers on a model that will make social media more helpful and interesting for all of us.

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Brian Massey

Conversion Scientist™ at Conversion Sciences

Brian Massey is the Founder and Conversion Scientist™ at Conversion Sciences. He is the author of Your Customer Creation Equation. His rare combination of interests, experience and neuroses were developed over almost 20 years as a computer programmer, entrepreneur, corporate marketer, international speaker and writer.

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