Role of Social Media in the Buyer’s Journey
Categorized in: B2B Digital Marketing, Social Media
When we think of social media, we often consider it as part of a bigger digital marketing strategy. While this is true, it also can be treated as a separate entity. The entirety of the marketing strategy is composed for the greater good of the company, and this means that it has to appeal to buyers at any given state of the buyer’s journey.
Consequently, the same is true for social media. It also needs to be aligned with the buyer’s journey. Here’s a closer look at the role social media plays on the buyer’s journey and how this can be applied to your overall marketing initiatives.
Awareness is the First Point of Contact
The awareness stage of the buyer’s journey is when your company achieves its first point of contact with someone who could become a paying customer. Once the first point of contact is made, they then work their way through the various stages of the buyer’s journey, but only if the first point of contact was a positive one.
There are a few ways the first point of contact can occur, and one of them is through social media. That is why it is helpful to think of social media as more than just simply trying to get attention. Social media, when the posts are composed thoughtfully, can be designed to reach customers at different stages in the journey. This includes those that are in the awareness phase. Here, it is all about getting people’s attention, but of course in a way that is on brand.
Consideration Builds Trust and Credibility
Once the potential customer moves past the awareness phase, they move into the consideration phase. During this phase, it means that someone is more than curious about you. They want to see if they can trust your content, and therefore your business. This is a crucial phase because if a potential customer, or audience member, likes what he or she sees, they could be on their way to becoming paying buyers.
People in this phase are looking to see if they consider you to be an expert. This is where you will be sharing educational content, trust factors such as customer feedback, and other important pieces of information that will strengthen your bond with your potential customers.
Decision Helps Potential Customers Make their Choice
In this crucial phase, those in the decision phrase of the buyer’s cycle are sincerely wondering if they want to become paying customer or not. Content you share on social media can help them with their decision-making process. In fact, they may be very close to making a purchase – but might still need a nudge. Your content can help them.
This is where sharing specific and detailed information about your products can be helpful. It also might be good to show results-oriented customer feedback, FAQ pages, behind the scenes content, and guides on how to choose the right product.
As you can see, social media can help propel potential customers through the buyer’s journey – as long as you know what to do!
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