How To Create a Facebook Sales Funnel That Makes You Money
By The BBS Agency
August 24, 2022
If you’re looking to improve your Facebook lead generation and conversions, you need to tweak your sales funnel. Your Facebook sales funnel should effectively guide your audience through the buying cycle stages. Each buying cycle takes users through the know, like, trust stages and also makes sure to include returning customers. This helps people at the top of your Facebook sales funnel are getting acquainted with your brand, products, and services. The content that tells them what your business does and why, and what you offer tends to be ideal. Then you can start to figure out who expresses interest, and reach out to warm leads through DMs or through another more personal approach. To reach more of your target audience, create a lead magnet that you can offer in exchange for prospects’ contact information. Once you’ve generated leads, you can guide prospects at the bottom of the funnel toward a conversion. At this stage, focus on getting people to make a purchase or sign up for a subscription. Then, you just rinse and repeat. If you have any questions about how to create a sales funnel or want us to handle it for you, reach out to us at Prebuilt Sites or The BBS Agency. We’d love to help you out!
Want to improve your Facebook lead generation and conversions? Wondering what types of content will make a Facebook marketing funnel work better?
In this article, you’ll learn how to develop a Facebook funnel with organic and paid content.
Source: Social Media Examiner
#1: Map Out Your Facebook Marketing Funnel
First, plan your Facebook sales funnel and think about the type of content you can create to guide people efficiently through the buying cycle stages. A typical Facebook sales funnel has three buying cycle stages, plus a bonus fourth phase for returning customers:
- Awareness stage: Introduce people to your products and services while getting them to engage with your branded content.
- Consideration stage: Get people to trust your business and think about how your solutions can address their needs and goals.
- Conversion stage: Prompt people to sign up for your services or purchase your products, often at an introductory rate.
- Retention: Encourage existing customers to switch from free to paid plans, extend their subscriptions, or make additional purchases.
#2: Build a Sales-Focused Toolset
In addition to a Facebook page and an Ads Manager account, you’ll need to add a few tools to your workflow. With these native and third-party tools, you can streamline conversions and retargeting audiences within your Facebook sales funnel.
Meta Commerce Manager
If your business sells physical items, you can use Meta’s eCommerce tools to promote your products. You have two options. You can use Facebook Shops to create a storefront on your page that you can use to sell via organic and paid content. Read more about how to set up Facebook Shops here.
Source: Social Media Examiner
Alternatively, you can create a catalog that works with Facebook ads. To set up a catalog, open Commerce Manager and click the Add Catalog button. Then add items manually, via a data feed, by linking your Meta Pixel, or by connecting a platform like Shopify.
Once you’ve created a catalog and uploaded your inventory, you have the option to place items in sets. With sets, you can use your Facebook sales funnel to advertise select groups of products rather than your entire catalog.
Meta Events Manager
If you want prospects to complete conversions on your website, it’s important to set up event tracking. Meta Events Manager can track virtually any ad-related conversion—from eCommerce sales to contact form submissions to new trial signups. You can even track upper Facebook sales funnel conversions like searches and content views.
To configure conversions, open Events Manager and select the Pixel and domain related to your page. Add up to eight standard events or custom conversions you want to track. (Note that purchase events take up four of the available slots so you can add up to five different events total.)
Source: Social Media Examiner
Drag and drop the conversion events in order of highest to lowest priority. Place bottom-of-funnel (BOFU) conversions in the high-priority slots and place top-of-funnel (TOFU) events at the bottom of the list.
In Events Manager, it’s also a good idea to set up the Conversions API. Taking this extra step can improve measurement, which can help Ads Manager optimize for conversions more effectively.
Email Marketing Service
It’s also helpful to choose a third-party email marketing service that you can use to connect with prospects outside of Facebook. Email is important for nurturing leads, driving conversions, and encouraging loyalty, and you can use it to market to specific segments based on their interests and activity.
You can incorporate your email marketing service into Facebook ads by asking prospects to sign up to your list or provide their contact information to access gated content. Then you can upload your list to Ads Manager and create a custom list for serving relevant offers via retargeting campaigns.
Source: Social Media Examiner
#3: TOFU Content Ideas to Introduce Your Business to Prospects
After mapping out your Facebook sales funnel and setting up tools, you can start creating content for the top of the funnel (TOFU). At this stage, focus on improving awareness and generating interest.
Organic TOFU Content Ideas for a Facebook Sales Funnel
People at the top of your Facebook sales funnel are getting acquainted with your brand, products, and services. Content that tells them what your business does and why, and what you offer tends to be ideal. Here are a few ideas for organic TOFU posts:
- Highlight your brand values and explain why they’re important to your business and your customers.
- Showcase your products and services and discuss how they help your customers solve common problems.
- Announce new product launches and share retail outlets where customers can purchase what you make.
- Introduce your team and help prospects get to know the faces behind your brand.
For example, the @Dropbox Facebook post below creates awareness of the cloud storage platform’s integration with @Canva. The post shares a list of benefits users can leverage with the two apps, helping them understand the value the integration delivers. The post includes a link to the @Dropbox website, where prospects can learn more.
Source: Social Media Examiner
Paid TOFU Content Ideas for a Facebook Sales Funnel
Ads geared toward the top of the Facebook sales funnel don’t usually generate revenue or result in high-value conversions. But they give you valuable opportunities to create audiences you can retarget further down the funnel.
It’s helpful to start building your ad funnel with the awareness objective, as this type of campaign lets you maximize your reach for the lowest cost per thousand impressions (CPM). Awareness campaigns align well with broad targeting, allowing you to connect with as much of your target audience as possible.
Source: Social Media Examiner
How can you add interested prospects to your Facebook sales funnel automatically? Use the engagement objective to get people to watch your videos or interact with your ads. In Ads Manager, you can create custom audiences based on people who engaged with your ads or watched specific videos, and then retarget them with consideration-focused content.
Source: Social Media Examiner
#4: MOFU Content Ideas to Strengthen the Consumer Connection
Next, create more specialized content for middle-of-funnel (MOFU) prospects in a warm audience. At this stage, focus on getting prospects to express interest, and use DMs and lead magnets to connect with potential customers.
Organic MOFU Content Ideas for a Facebook Sales Funnel
People who’ve moved past the awareness stage are actively considering your brand—and your competitors, too. At this stage, prospects typically research solutions actively. By sharing comparisons and case studies, you can assist with the research process and help prospects make a decision.
For example, the @getdonedone Facebook post below addresses prospects who are considering a project management solution like the brand’s software. The post clarifies that there’s a difference between task management and project management platforms, and it encourages people to click the link to read the brand’s blog post.
Source: Social Media Examiner
Another way to guide prospects through this stage of the funnel is to give them a clear reason to trust your business. By sharing social proof or client spotlights, you can reveal some of the results you’ve achieved or the number of customers you’ve helped.
For instance, the @bringgapp Facebook post below includes a video that shares a client story. Prospects can watch the video to understand how the logistics company has helped customers like them and see proof of @bringgapp’s success.
Source: Social Media Examiner
Getting people to watch your videos and click through to your site can help you build a retargeting audience. Another way to add to this audience of interested prospects is to encourage people to direct message (DM) your page.
Visualizing this, you can tell your audience you have a valuable resource to share. To access the resource, you can invite people to DM your page with a specific keyword. Then you can automatically send them the resource and add them to a custom retargeting audience.
To automate DMs, go to your page’s inbox and select Automated Responses. Switch on the Comment to Message option and enter the keywords you want to trigger the automated DM. Then write your automated response and include a link to the resource.
Source: Social Media Examiner
Paid MOFU Content Ideas for a Facebook Sales Funnel
To reach more of your target audience, create a lead magnet that you can offer in exchange for prospects’ contact information. White papers, comprehensive guides, and webinars all work well, as long as they address a question or issue your target audience has.
For example, the @nexthink Facebook ad highlights a guide that uses proprietary research to make recommendations for workplace success. People can click the ad to open the @nexthink website and download the report in exchange for sharing their contact details.
Source: Social Media Examiner
To create an ad like the one above, use Ads Manager to set up a campaign with the leads objective. You can optimize the ad set for one of the conversion events you set up and encourage prospects to click through to your site to access the lead magnet.
You can build a custom audience to retarget people who have already engaged with paid or organic content. Video and website activity make good data sources for MOFU audiences since you can use them to retarget people who watched certain videos or visited specific pages of your site.
To illustrate, the @WaybookApp Facebook ad below invites prospects to a webinar about efficient remote employee onboarding. People can click the Sign Up button to open the @WaybookApp website and provide contact details to register for the webinar.
Source: Social Media Examiner
With lead ad campaigns, optimizing for website conversions isn’t your only option. You can also use Facebook’s native lead form to get people to share their contact information without leaving the app. In exchange, you can offer them something of value like a lead magnet.
#5: BOFU Content Ideas to Guide Potential Customers Toward a Conversion
Once you’ve generated leads, you can guide prospects at the bottom of the funnel (BOFU) toward a conversion. At this stage, focus on getting people to make a purchase or sign up for a subscription.
Organic BOFU Content Ideas for a Facebook Sales Funnel
Your BOFU audience is likely to be smaller than the potential customers you targeted at the top of the funnel. Naturally, some of your prospects will have exited the funnel as they opted to purchase from a competitor, seek an alternative solution, or pause their search.
Prospects who are still with you at the bottom of the funnel are primed for a purchase. To get them to convert, create content that links to:
- Product or service pages
- Long-form sales pages
- Free trials or product demos
- Special discounts
- Time-sensitive or limited-quantity sales
In some cases, prospects may need more than one touchpoint at the bottom of the funnel. That’s why it’s a good idea to test different offers to see what works best. It’s also helpful to encourage people to provide their contact details when they click through to your site. If you offer them a discount in exchange for their email, for instance, you can add them to your customer list and retarget them with a sales ad later.
Paid BOFU Content Ideas for a Facebook Sales Funnel
To appeal to prospects at the bottom of the funnel, create content that encourages them to act now. Creating a sense of urgency or fear of missing out can be particularly effective. Offering discounts or freebies can help get results, too.
To illustrate, the @Simple-Feast Facebook ad below offers an irresistible incentive: sizable savings on the first meal kit box. The ad also uses the carousel format to showcase the brand’s range of options, encouraging people to scroll through and click on the meal they like most.
Source: Social Media Examiner
To reach the right people with your BOFU ads, use Facebook’s custom audience options. You can retarget people who already visited your product page or downloaded your how-to guide.
Source: Social Media Examiner
If you use the sales objective for your BOFU ad campaigns, you can advertise items from your catalog. You can also use Facebook’s dynamic ad options to customize the creative and copy for each person, based on the algorithm’s understanding of their activity and preferences.
#6: Attract and Reengage Existing Customers to Support Loyalty
Finally, you can encourage loyalty and invite existing customers to make repeat purchases. Upselling and cross-selling tactics can be particularly effective at this stage of the funnel.
Organic Content Ideas for Retention
One of the best ways to activate loyal customers is to reshare the user-generated content (UGC) they post. For instance, customers may share photos of your products or write reviews of your services. With their permission, you can share their content to your Facebook page.
Posting UGC acknowledges your top customers and gives you a chance to make a deeper connection with them, which can reaffirm their loyalty. Since positive UGC can encourage other prospects to buy, it can convert prospects at other stages of the funnel, too.
Paid Content Ideas for Retention
Ads Manager’s catalog retargeting options are ideal for cultivating loyal customers. When you use your catalog with the sales objective, you can automatically retarget your ads to people who have interacted with items in your catalog.
Source: Social Media Examiner
To illustrate this, you can cross-sell products to people who already purchased from the same or another catalog during a set period of time. You can also set up your own custom segment so you can retarget existing customers who are due for another purchase.
When you use this built-in retargeting option, Ads Manager also allows you to create an automated lookalike audience. That way, you can drive more revenue by reaching other people similar to your loyal customers.
Conclusion
From awareness to retention, your Facebook marketing strategy can nurture Facebook users into becoming prospects at every stage of your Facebook funnels. With a solid toolset and a mix of organic posts and Facebook ad campaigns, you can guide customers through your sales funnel automatically so you can meet your goals more efficiently.
Get More Advice on Facebook Advertising:
- Discover how to use Facebook and Google Analytics together to reveal how your Facebook customers engage with your funnel on their path to purchase.
- Learn how to create a sequence of Facebook and/or Instagram ads based on your email marketing funnel.
- Find a funnel framework that any type of business can apply to Facebook ads, how to use remarketing as part of a funnel, and more.
Orignally published on Social Media Examiner.
