Digital Marketing - Study Notes:
How social media influences the customer journey
Social media plays an important role in omnichannel marketing. People use social media for various reasons, including for entertainment purposes, to chat with friends, to keep up with the latest news, trends, and events, and to ask questions. They may check their favorite channels at multiple points in the day, using many different devices, from desktop computers to laptops to smart phones.
Social media interactions can influence the customer journey by helping the customer to develop their knowledge of your products, offerings, brand values, and customer service, all of which can influence their decision to proceed to the next stage of their buying journey.
Impact of social media content
The content you share on social media can have a direct impact on omnichannel performance. For example, you might upload a handy infographic or a high-quality image for potential customers just starting out on their journeys and a long-form demonstration video and website links to detailed product information for those further down the purchase funnel who are actively looking for information to help them decide to purchase.
When you know what people at different stages of the buyer's journey are looking for, you can share the most appropriate content with them to encourage them to convert and purchase.
Helps you create awareness and close sales
As social media is used so frequently by potential customers, it's a great place to build meaningful relationships with them at various stages of the buyer's journey.
Social media is particularly effective at the awareness stage, where it can make people aware of your products and encourage them to find out more about your brand.
However, it can also be effective in driving sales and conversions. Thanks to social commerce, people can now buy directly from social media shops on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and WeChat.
So, depending on the product price, the audience, and their preferred social networks, you can deploy social media at various stages of the buyer's journey to help drive omnichannel excellence.
Helps you engage audiences
You can engage audiences with impactful omnichannel experiences on social media.
From a digital marketing perspective, consumers can see and read ads and engage with a rich variety of content formats on social channels. They can also ask questions, comment, share, or like the content.
From a sales perspective, consumers can use social channels to find out more information about your products and services before they commit to buying them. Social media also provides you with a golden opportunity to showcase your excellent customer service to existing and prospective customers.
For example, you can use automated chatbots or social media management tools to efficiently answer the most common sales queries and provide real-time responses to customer questions. When you offer a fast, efficient, and seamless customer service, it can encourage customers to make the decision to purchase and move to the next stage in the customer journey. This can positively impact sales and revenue.
It’s important to manage your social media community effectively to keep your audience happy and engaged, to grow your followers, and to foster customer loyalty and retention.
Using data to improve your social media performance
You can use data from a range of touchpoints to improve your social media performance. For example, by leveraging insights from email and customer segmentation, you can target specific audiences with bespoke messaging to advance their customer journey on social channels.
Logged-in environment
That’s because social media is a "logged-in environment." People log into social channels with their email address. As a result, all their behaviors and interests are associated with that address. So, when you segment your customer database by email address, you can target customers who log in to different social networks.
Email identifiers
Think of the email address as an identifier that can be used across your own website, app, and social channels. When you segment your customer database, you can upload and recreate these segments in your social channels. When customers log into a social network with this email address, you can target them with specific messaging and updates that are tailored to their needs.
Back to TopMatthew Santos
Matthew Santos is the Vice President of Products & Strategy at Neil Patel Accel. He initially built the four major product offerings they provide to customers, and continues to oversee three of those: SEO, CRO, and Email Marketing. He has been in the industry for almost 10 years, primarily focused on Earned Media digital tactics.
Clark Boyd
Clark Boyd is CEO and founder of marketing simulations company Novela. He is also a digital strategy consultant, author, and trainer. Over the last 12 years, he has devised and implemented international marketing strategies for brands including American Express, Adidas, and General Motors.
Today, Clark works with business schools at the University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, and Columbia University to design and deliver their executive-education courses on data analytics and digital marketing.
Clark is a certified Google trainer and runs Google workshops across Europe and the Middle East. This year, he has delivered keynote speeches at leadership events in Latin America, Europe, and the US. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, and Slideshare. He writes regularly on Medium and you can subscribe to his email newsletter, hi, tech.
Neil Patel
Neil Patel is the co-founder of NP Digital. The Wall Street Journal calls him a top influencer on the web, Forbes says he is one of the top 10 marketers, and Entrepreneur Magazine says he created one of the 100 most brilliant companies. Neil is a New York Times bestselling author and was recognized as a top 100 entrepreneur under the age of 30 by President Obama and a top 100 entrepreneur under the age of 35 by the United Nations.
Brooke Hess
Digital Marketing Strategist and VP of Paid Media (NP Digital)
Brooke Hess is a highly skilled and passionate digital marketer with an extensive background in the paid media space. While leading a team of Directors across strategy, paid social, paid search, and programmatic media, Brooke oversees paid media strategy for priority clients and develops effective strategies for new clients. Brooke is also recognized as a high achiever in providing effective educational opportunities for paid media professionals to ensure they get the most from their paid media strategies.
