The Digital Marketing Funnel

COVID-19 has brought an increase in screen time across all consumers and has led marketing teams to prioritize their digital real estate. Marketers have to navigate and prioritize platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, TikTok, Snapchat, LinkedIn, Google Ads, Email, Websites, Analytics, and so many more. Where do digital marketers start? This will take you through the digital marketing funnel to ensure your priorities align with your business objectives.

Awareness and Interest: In these categories, we have consumers who are in the learning phase of the marketing funnel. This is where consumers are becoming knowledgeable and familiar with your brand. This part of the funnel has the largest reach. Content Marketing, Social Media Marketing, and Video/Display Advertising all fall within this category. If your business objectives are to build brand awareness and obtain new consumers/audiences this is where you would want to invest.

Consideration and Conversion:This part of the funnel is where we have potential consumers who are doing research, comparing, and purchasing. It is important to note a couple of things here. The first and most important thing to understand is the intent in this stage. Consumers are intending to fix a problem they have and they are considering your brand to solve it. This brings me to my second point, your brand is not the only one these potential consumers are considering. This is the most competitive part of the funnel. Paid Search, SEO, and remarketing are the key touchpoints to focus on if your business objectives include driving sales and/or increasing customer data. It is very important to understand that remarketing, from a digital perspective, utilizes data to understand consumer intent through platforms like Social Media, Paid Search, and Display/Video Advertising. This data is then used to feed consumers the exact content they are looking for to ensure the best possible chance of a conversion.

Retention and Advocacy: If your business objectives align with creating a community of raving fans then this is the section you need to prioritize. In the retention and advocacy part of the funnel, we have consumers/users who have made the decision to utilize your solution to fix their problem. They have experience with your brand and your goal is to connect with this group of people to build a community. This is where you will study behavior, have individual direct communication channels, and bring them into the “brand experience.” Email marketing, analytics, and automation all fall within this part of the marketing funnel. 

This increase in screen time is an opportunity. Utilize it efficiently.