Ad. Set. Go. What Now?

Nowadays nobody disputes that marketing and business development have evolved with the rise of numerous social media platforms.

Although we still see the occasional billboard, poster, bus wrap and printed advert, the undisputed truth and reality is that people are spending much of their time on their desktops or smart phones. Businesses have long since realised this and the fact that social media giants such as Google, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. continue to grow exponentially is proof of this.

The above platforms have all contributed towards the coining and birth of Digital Marketing. Google Ads and Facebook Ads have become so synonymous with this new era that whenever a marketer utters the words "Digital Marketing", a client immediately thinks, "ah, you're talking about Facebook ads" or "we already do Google Ads".

Entrepreneurs who seek to employ the services of a marketing professional put social media marketing on the top of their wish-list. They usually inquire about the skills the person in front of them has regarding managing social media; from content creation to content planning, from SEO to Ads, from email marketing to campaign management. That is all well and good. But once those are in place, what now?

Boosting Facebook posts - is it enough? Placing Google ads - is it enough? Unfortunately, the majority of entrepreneurs and business owners believe having a presence on popular social media channels is enough.A few of these people believe that having a good front end is enough to drive people (traffic) to their website and get them to purchase. But that is just the very tip of the iceberg.

Many are familiar with the concept of sales funnels. Generating leads, nurturing the relationship, the first sale and then trying to upsell. This formula works because it is inbuilt in human psychology. Any business owner who knows their market understands the human psyche and can attest that this formula works. This is why any successful organisation has a funnel. Even brick and mortar stores and service-based companies employ this tactic.

But! Very few companies are using digital marketing to drive traffic towards their online funnels! That's right! Funnels should not only be used offline (in stores or in person). Nor should they be used exclusively in a fragmented marketing campaign that is spread all over the internet!

Think of a digital funnel where you can create ads, target the right audience in your market, collect leads, make the first sale, upsell, downsell and nurture the relationship all in the space of a few hours or minutes! This is possible if and when a business has a profitable funnel that is working and generating revenue. Boosting a Facebook post, creating an ad, creating a google ad campaign or filming a YouTube ad is not enough for expanding and growing your company.

Your website or online store acts as the first line of communication between you and a possible buyer! The average person's attention today is 7 seconds! 7 seconds! Now imagine you create an amazing ad creative and you push traffic to your website. Out of 100 people who visit your website, only 2 spend more than 12 seconds before closing the window. Why is this? Could it be because of information overflow? Could it be that your message isn't riveting enough?

Without a proper sales message integrated with an appropriate funnel, you are leaving money on the table every day! That is why having a good advertising campaign is not enough if you are not pushing people to a funnel! And remember - a website is not necessarily a funnel! If your landing page does not lead the customer down the path we spoke about above, then you do not have a funnel!

Your profitability depends on your Cost per Acquisition (CPA) and Average Order Value (AOV). In order to grow and expand your business, your AOV needs to exceed your CPA by a good margin (AOV > CPA). This increase in AOV can only be achieved if the customer is enticed into spending more with you after the initial transaction but during the same purchasing session. If you have a correctly designed funnel, which gives people what they want when they want it, then your back end sales will skyrocket, your revenues will go up and your profits will explode!

Remember: The company that can spend the most on acquiring customers, is the company that wins.

Every business needs to be efficient with their money. So start spending your money wisely and more efficiently. What if for every dollar/euro/pound you put in, you get 5 back? You get 10 back? You get 15 back? This is all possible with the right sales message, to the right people, at the right time, in the right funnel!

Get in touch today for a free consult on your social media marketing strategy or for more information regarding the content in this article.