Many brands think they have social media down to a science, but they are actually using approaches that keep their social profiles far too distant from other marketing channels. The result? Branded social media activities become more like a fan page than a business trying to use social media to convert customers. This is why an omnichannel strategy can be so important.

According to the Data & Marketing Association, 51% of social media marketers use the channel primarily for brand awareness campaigns, more than any other function combined. Additionally, social media purchase conversions remain extremely low, with 45% of people saying they’ve never bought something based on a social ad.

To amp up the marketing benefits your social media channels provide, you require a more top-down, omnichannel strategy that incorporates social media marketing into multiple components of the customer journey — not just the awareness phase. Map your entire customer journey and determine where social media fits at key stages.

Your brand can improve your approach and find greater social media success by employing the following tips below.

Top of Funnel — Brand Awareness
Most brands get this part right. Posting funny or interesting photos, highlighting certain product lines and generally driving engagement through social content is what social media platforms do best. Ensure that your posts are appealing to the right audience, though, by targeting both your content and your promoted posts towards high-value audiences likely to convert.

Audience measurement and segmentation is important at this stage, too. While it can “feel good” to have a post with hundreds of “likes,” you are better off having a few likes from high-value customers.

Middle of Funnel — Nurturing and Product Benefits
Middle-of-the-funnel campaigns usually cannot succeed through social alone. You must connect your audience to other content channels and wrap them into consistent messaging through website visits, email signups and more.

Focus on conversions to landing pages, completed form signups, blog visits and access to other content for MoF customers. Social posting offers just a morsel of information, and they should want the whole meal after a taste. Prioritize conversion metrics over pure engagement or awareness metrics. Measure and optimize your conversions, from social to landing pages and from offers to signups, to move away from indulgent posting and toward turning social traffic into business.

Bottom of Funnel — Closing
Social content is actually quite useful for BoF customers close to converting. Facebook ad retargeting and promoted posts can reach audiences known to be close to the final stages of a purchase.

Ensure that all social accounts are tied to your CRM. Platforms like Facebook and Twitter can provide email lists to help you confirm identity across channels. Give customers close to converting, based on CRM scoring, snippets of concrete benefits through social posting and retargeted ads. Direct them to offer pages and landing pages with strong calls to action.

Retention
Retention requires a few things:
● Social media customer support
● Social monitoring of brand mentions, with prompt follow-up for noteworthy mentions, both good and bad
● Conversions toward channels with recurring messaging like email and loyalty programs in addition to tailored retention offers. Use a marketing automation list and your CRM to track previous customers who have not purchased in a while, and incentivize recent purchasers to return soon with expirable coupons.

Further Steps for Tying Social Into an Omnichannel Strategy
Mapping your customer journey and responding to the unique needs of prospects at each stage is just part of making your social media marketing more lucrative. You also need well-crafted content that acknowledges audience tastes and preferences. You must prioritize key performance indicators (KPIs) over vanity metrics and focus on a segmented strategy, not a general one. You can employ social monitoring tools, an integrated CRM and marketing automation to make it all happen more efficiently.

Interested in taking the next step to become more effective? You can learn what else you need to do to succeed with a complete social media marketing audit, consulting and ongoing social media marketing services from Vonazon. Contact us today to start integrating social media into an omnichannel strategy and selling more.