Use social media and email to flip the sales funnel, turning existing customers into your greatest advocates and sales people.

Understand the facts:

42% of U.S. adults use one or more social media platforms.

92% of consumers trust word of mouth above all other advertising.

70% chose online customer reviews as the second most trusted source.

82% of small businesses say word-of-mouth marketing is the most effective way to find new customers.

Take actions to build your funnel:

Step 1: Do your research to determine which social media platforms are best for your business. Choose these platforms according to social media demographics. You can find these demographics at the end of this post.

Step 2: Create social media accounts. Click here to reference an earlier article that notes the recommended current graphic dimensions for each platform.

Step 3: Develop an editorial calendar and get in the habit of posting on a consistent schedule.

Step 4: Make sure you respond and connect with your customers. The key to social media is to be “social” and connect to develop relationships.

Measure your impact:

Note specific cases where social media impacted sales.

Make statistical comparison, such as Facebook likes compared to sales over a certain period.

Compare sales or conversions between one group exposed to social media verse another exposed to an alternative way of marketing or no social media.

Track platform specific user interaction – stats, likes, tags, shares, URL click-throughs, etc. to measure impact.

Use integrated marketing tools to track performance.

Measure direct conversions from platform based sales, or email signups.

Below is an infographic depicting how to build a social media marketing funnel.

How to Build a Social Media Marketing Funnel [Infographic]