The marketing funnel is a powerful concept that helps businesses understand and optimize the customer journey. The funnel is divided into four key stages: Awareness, Consideration, Conversion, and Retention. I like to think of the funnel as having a filter at each level that gets smaller and smaller. Not everyone that enters the funnel will exit as a loyal customer, and it could take a while for a customer to make it through the funnel.
Let's take a deep dive into each stage starting with the Awareness stage—what it is, how it works, and how you can master it to attract potential customers.
What is the Awareness Stage & How Does It Work?
The Awareness stage is the top of the marketing funnel. It's where your potential customers first learn about your brand, products, or services. At this stage, the goal is to capture their attention and make them aware of your existence. This is not about hard selling; it's about creating interest and intrigue.
At the Awareness stage, your potential customers might not even realize they have a need for your product or service yet. They are typically looking for information, answers, resources, opinions, and insights. Your job is to provide valuable content that addresses these needs, establishing your brand as a helpful and knowledgeable resource.
Strategies for Building Awareness
Here are some effective strategies to boost awareness for your business:
1. Social Media Marketing
Social media platforms are excellent for building brand awareness. By sharing engaging and relevant content, you can reach a wider audience and encourage social sharing, which amplifies your reach.
Examples:
Local Bakery: Use Instagram to post mouth-watering photos of daily specials, behind-the-scenes videos of the baking process, and customer testimonials. For instance, share a story about the creation of a new pastry, include a video of the bakers at work, and re-post happy customer reviews. This not only draws attention but also fosters a connection with the community.
Massage Therapist: Share facts and information about muscle health and at-home care. Create short videos demonstrating stretches or exercises that help alleviate common issues like back pain or tension headaches. Share customer success stories (with caution to HIPAA regulations) and tips on maintaining muscle health between sessions.
2. Content Marketing
Creating valuable, relevant content is one of the most effective ways to build awareness. This can include blog posts, infographics, videos, eBooks, social media posts, and more. The key is to provide content that solves problems or answers questions your target audience is searching for.
Examples:
Fitness Brand: Create blog posts about beginner workout routines, nutrition tips, or motivational stories. Develop a video series on YouTube demonstrating various exercises or sharing customer transformation stories. Offer a downloadable eBook with a 30-day fitness challenge.
Accountant: Share tips and tricks to staying organized and curated content to help their audience gain a better understanding of write-offs. Write blog posts explaining the most common tax deductions for small businesses or create an infographic that breaks down the differences between business expenses and personal expenses. Host a webinar to answer frequently asked questions during tax season.
3. Optimization
Optimization is crucial for making your content discoverable. By utilizing Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for your website and content with keywords and phrases, you can attract organic traffic from people searching for topics related to your business. Google Trends is helpful for discovering what people are searching for. Additionally, you can go to Google, type in your industry, press enter, and then find the "People also ask" section to see what other topics are related.
Examples:
Home Renovation Company: Create optimized blog posts about DIY home improvement tips, common renovation mistakes, or cost-effective remodeling ideas. Include keywords like "DIY kitchen remodel," "affordable bathroom renovations," and "home renovation tips" to attract organic traffic.
Real Estate Agent: Optimize house listings with keywords that potential buyers are searching for, such as "affordable homes in [City]," "luxury apartments," or "family-friendly neighborhoods." Additionally, create content about the local real estate market trends, moving tips, and neighborhood guides to attract and engage potential buyers.
4. Networking
Networking is a highly underestimated form of building awareness. It involves connecting with people face-to-face or virtually to create genuine relationships and make a lasting impression. Networking helps you introduce your brand to new people and expand your reach organically.
When networking, it’s important to be genuine and interested in others. Share your story, your passion for your business, and how you can help others. The more people you meet and connect with, the more opportunities you create for word-of-mouth marketing and referrals.
Participate in local business events, join industry-related groups, and attend conferences or trade shows. Engaging in your community and industry helps you stay top of mind and build a reputation as a knowledgeable and reliable resource.
Remember, networking is a two-way street. It's not just about promoting your business but also about listening, offering help, and building meaningful relationships that can lead to long-term business opportunities.
Examples:
DJ: Offer your services for a few hours at a networking event, providing music and entertainment while subtly promoting your services. Hand out business cards or flyers and engage in conversations with attendees about your DJ services.
Marketing Consultant: Attend various events in surrounding towns and ask each person you meet to introduce you to someone they know. Offer to give a free consultation or a short presentation on effective marketing strategies. This approach not only expands your network but also establishes you as a knowledgeable and approachable expert.
5. Influencer Partnerships
Partnering with influencers can help you tap into their established audience base. Choose influencers who align with your brand values and have an engaged following. This can be risky, so you need to do a lot of research on the influencer. Check out our blog "Influencer Marketing 101: Tips & Warnings" for more information.
Examples:
Skincare Brand: Collaborate with beauty influencers to review and showcase your products. Send them a package with your latest skincare line and ask them to share their honest review and skincare routine featuring your products. This introduces the brand to a larger audience and builds credibility through trusted voices.
Complementary Businesses or Town: Band together to hire an influencer to highlight the businesses in the area. Arrange a day for the influencer to visit each business, take photos, and share their experiences on their social media channels. This collective effort can attract more attention and visitors to the area.
6. Paid Advertising
While I generally support organic strategies as best practice, paid advertising can play a role in building awareness. Platforms like Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and Instagram Ads allow you to target specific demographics and interests.
Examples:
Online Course Provider: Use Facebook Ads to promote a free webinar on a relevant topic. Create a compelling ad with a clear call-to-action, encouraging potential students to sign up for the webinar to learn more about the course.
Local Dog Trainer: Advertise to a local audience with life events that sometimes equate to getting a puppy (moving, marriage, etc.). Use targeted ads on platforms like Facebook and Instagram to reach newlyweds, new homeowners, or families with young children who might be considering getting a pet.
Measuring Success in the Awareness Stage
To ensure your awareness efforts are effective, it’s crucial to track the right metrics. Here are some key performance indicators (KPIs) to consider:
Website Traffic: Monitor the number of visitors to your website and which pages are most popular. You can use a URL builder like Google Analytics Campaign URL Builder to create easy-to-track URLs.
Social Media Engagement: Track likes, shares, comments, and followers on your social media platforms.
Search Engine Rankings: Keep an eye on where your content ranks for relevant keywords.
Content Performance: Analyze metrics like page views, time spent on page, and bounce rate for your content.
Conclusion
The Awareness stage is the foundation of your marketing funnel. By focusing on creating valuable content, leveraging social media, optimizing for search engines, and networking, you can effectively capture the attention of potential customers. Remember, the goal at this stage is not to sell but to inform, engage, and build a connection.
Stay tuned for the next blog in this series, where we’ll explore the Consideration stage and how to nurture your newly aware audience into potential customers.
If you need help creating a sustainable marketing plan that includes effective awareness strategies, feel free to reach out. I’m here to help you build a marketing funnel that works for your business.
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