Whatever business you’re in, you’ve likely heard the term ‘funnels’ before, perhaps you’ve even given it a go and created a sequence.
If you don’t know, a funnel is usually set up as a series of emails. You ‘hook’ people into the top of the funnel, and then take them through a sequence to nurture them, showing testimonials, case studies and promotions to warm them up to convert.
The main problem with email funnels is that you’re relying on your list actually opening them. If you manage to avoid the spam folder, you’re still looking at around 10% open rate for your emails if you’re lucky. This massively decreases your chances of then converting people further down the line to actually buy from you.
Another issue is that they come across as really ‘salesy’ and sometimes spammy. They are often very similar in format, with large blocks of text to build that relationship with the reader, but the problem is, they’re most likely busy when they get your email so don’t have time to do more than scan read it.
So how do you:
1. Increase visibility of your funnel content?
2. Ensure you’re reaching a relevant audience?
2. Cut through the noise with engaging messages and visuals?
Facebook.
I’ve written this blog because I’ve been speaking to several people in the past few weeks, all with this very similar problem. They have great USPs, are very inspiring people with genuinely good services, but their funnels are struggling to convert at the rate they’d like them to.
And it’s so simple to convert your funnel from email to Facebook & Instagram, here’s how:
1. Map Out Your Sequence
If you’re used to working with email sequences, this step will be helpful for you to lay out what you want to keep included. Look at what content you are sending out on which day and note it down. Here is a very rough example funnel:
– Thank you/welcome email – day 1
– More about you and your service – day 2
– Initial offer to join – day 3
– Customer testimonials – day 5
– Case study – day 7
– Stronger offer – day 10
– Newsletters – weekly
2. Convert To Ads
Now you’ve mapped out the important content you want to get across to your audience, you just need to convert this to Facebook. It’s important that you have pixels and lead events in place, as this information will be used to trigger the retargeting emails in the sequence.
Ad 1: Hook In Your Audience
Target: Use interests, behaviours and page engagement to build the audience
Run Days: Daily
Content: This ad would be in any sequence to ‘hook’ people in, except all you need from them is a click rather than an email signup. We usually still link people to a landing page from this first ad, and try to get their enquiry/conversion here, but it’s mainly to get the click. They are then signed up to your ‘virtual database’
You may still need a traditional ‘hook’ here, for example a signup to a free cheat sheet, and can still deliver that to them once they click through.
Ad 2: Build Awareness
Target: Custom audience – page visits in the last 3 days
Run Days: 0-3 (schedule to deactivate)
Content: Use this ad to explain more about you and your service, build up the credibility and trust in your service. Mention any awards you have, or points worth noting that make you stand out.
Don’t be too salesy, the focus here is on building that familiarity. Video works really well here, as over 90% will be clicking from mobile where videos autoplay and often with sound. Add subtitles where you can too – check our blog page for a free hack on adding subtitles.
Ad 3: Show The Proof
Target: Custom audience – page visits in the last 7 days
Run Days: 4-7 (schedule to activate)
Content: As per the traditional marketing funnel, your audience is now into the ‘consideration phase’. This is when you hit them with the proof that you rock!
Bring our your best case studies and video testimonials to showcase in your ads. This will be at least the 3rd ad they’ve seen on Facebook and Instagram for you, so don’t worry about taking up text introducing yourself again, just go straight in as if you’re on the 3rd or 4th email of a sequence.
Ad 4: The Big Finish
Target: Customer audience – page visits in the last 10 days
Run Days: 8 – 10 (schedule to activate)
Content: So you’ve hooked their interest, explained what you do, showed them why you are the best at your service, now it’s time to close!
This is where you push a limited time offer to work with you. You could also link to a landing page with a countdown clock to really add to the urgency and increase the chances of closing faster.
At the end of the sequence, you could drop them back to the beginning and alter the creatives for each phase, or drop them into your general ads on Facebook and Instagram. Just try to keep the content fresh, mix up the case studies and add new content to your sequence regularly.
If you’d like more tips on creating your own Facebook funnel, just drop us a message.
