From social media marketing to search engine optimisation (SEO), businesses have a wealth of digital marketing tools to boost their brand name and reach potential customers. This, however, doesn’t always address the real challenge—bridging the gap between brand awareness and the point of purchase.
When you align your marketing strategies with a digital marketing funnel, however, you can more strategically guide prospects through their entire journey from initial awareness to final conversion, helping to nurture leads, build trust, and ultimately drive sales.
In this article, we break down everything you need to know about digital marketing funnels, from exploring the different funnel stages to the appropriate digital strategies at each stage, equipping you with the knowledge needed to leverage this framework for success.
What Is a Digital Marketing Funnel?
At its core, a digital marketing funnel is a strategic model used to map out the various stages a potential customer goes through during a buying journey, corresponding to distinct digital marketing strategies at each stage of the funnel. The ultimate aim is to narrow down a large number of potential leads into a smaller group with an increased likelihood of conversion.
Traditional vs. Digital Marketing Funnel
Before the digital marketing funnel came to be, there was the traditional marketing funnel. However, its effectiveness has since been diminished due to its inability to address modern consumer behaviour and channels.
Today’s consumers prefer to take a non-linear, multifaceted approach, with a staggering 73% preferring to shop through multiple channels. Moreover, they prioritise personalised experiences.
Traditional marketing, however, takes a one-size-fits-all approach, using mass media channels like television, radio, and print advertising to reach a broad audience. This not only lacks the granularity needed to address individual customer preferences and behaviours but also offers limited insights into customer behaviour and campaign performance.
On the other hand, digital marketing funnels are structured to engage customers across today’s popular digital channels, from social media and mobile apps to e-commerce websites, ensuring a seamless experience from top to bottom. Furthermore, digital funnels enable comprehensive tracking and analytics, allowing businesses to create targeted, personalised marketing efforts for their target audience.
Stages in a Digital Marketing Funnel
To fully grasp the dynamics of a digital marketing funnel, we must first delve into its four key stages: Awareness, Consideration, Conversion, and Loyalty. As each stage would also call for a different set of digital marketing strategies, we will also outline the best channel-specific strategies for each stage. We have also incorporated another widely-recognised conversion funnel model (ToFu, Mofu, Bofu) into the current funnel model.
Awareness
The awareness stage—also often known as the top of the funnel (ToFu)—is where potential customers first become aware of a brand or product. Digital strategies for this stage involve creating high-quality contents with the goal of increasing brand awareness, website traffic and generating interest in the products or services offered.
SEO & Content Strategies
Search engine optimisation (SEO) and content strategies are designed to attract and convert leads through strategic, keyword-optimised content. To target customers at the awareness stage, create high-quality blog articles and website pages optimised for search engines to generate website traffic. Some examples of contents for the awareness stage include:
- Informative blog posts
- Downloadable PDFs and infographics, such as the Singapore Salary Guide by Adecco below.
- Informative YouTube videos
Capture the attention of your target market by creating content addressing their common questions and pain points. Start with keyword research to identify topics with high search volumes and lower competition to maximise chances of ranking at the top positions of the search results.
Social Media Strategies
Social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok & more) excel at driving awareness, making them an ideal part of the strategy at this stage. Create social media posts with entertaining or interesting, informative contents for your target audience. Be creative with your content (the sky’s the limit!) and promote interaction whenever possible– from hosting giveaways, product demonstrations to Q & A sessions, to initiating user-generated content.
For lifestyle brands especially, collaborating with popular influencers allows you to tap into their established followings, broadening your reach and attracting potential leads through their endorsements.
Utilise a variety of content formats, including short, informative video reels, eye-catching images and carousels to help to capture attention and introduce your brand to a broader audience.
Digital Advertising Strategies
The digital advertising funnel employs paid advertising platforms like Google Ads or social media advertising to reach target audience or drive traffic to specific landing pages.As organic reach can be limited, advertising is often necessary for more ambitious awareness-building goals. The recommended forms of digital advertising at the awareness include:
- Social media ads & boosted posts with Awareness or Engagement objectives
- Google Ads: Display, Performance Max (PMax)
- YouTube video ads
- Programmatic ads
Target Metrics: Impressions, Engagement
When the goal is building awareness, it is important to avoid hard selling at this stage. Instead, focus on piquing curiosity while introducing your products or brand. For relevant industries such as B2B, focus on delivering valuable information that positions you as a knowledgeable authority in your field, building trust and establishing credibility.
Consideration
Once potential customers move to the consideration stage, or the middle of the funnel (MoFu), they are nearly ready to purchase, but are still evaluating their options and possibly comparing your brand with competitors. At this juncture, your aims are to:
- Get your brand across the target market searching for the relevant product or service
- Showcase your unique features and benefits,
- Provide valuable information that establishes credibility and builds trust
- Positioning the brand as the ideal solution to the customer’s needs
- Engage prospects and provide them with the information needed to make an informed decision.
SEO & Content Strategies
At the consideration stage, target keywords with more commercial intent, such as, “bridal boutiques singapore”, “ top interior designers singapore” or “law firms reviews”. Also provide detailed information about your product or service, highlight your unique selling points (USPs) and explain what sets you apart from the competition.
Some examples of suitable types of content for the consideration stage:
- Service pages
- Product overview pages
- Product comparison pages
- Case studies
- Webinars
Digital Advertising Strategies
Suitable advertising formats for the consideration stage include:
- Google Ads: Search, Shopping, PMax, Local
- Social media ads, with a Traffic or Consideration objective
- Retargeting (or remarketing) ads
Target Metric: Click-Through Rate (CTR)
Retargeting ads are especially effective for this stage. As in the below example by Expedia, they are displayed to users who have previously visited your website or interacted with your content, reminding them of products they viewed but did not purchase or highlighting related products they might be interested in.
Source: https://blog.wishpond.com/post/106410011352/5-great-retargeting-remarketing-examples-and
Conversion
During the conversion stage, or the bottom of the funnel (BoFu), potential customers are ready to make a purchase decision but still needs to be convinced to take the step.
SEO & Content Strategies
When your prospects are ready to make a decision, your website pages need to be designed to encourage the final step of making that purchase or contact. Ensure that your website is user friendly to reduce any friction and be sure to include these important conversion elements in your service, product and pricing pages:
- Calls-to-actions (CTAs) such as, “Buy Now”, “Get Your Free Quote Today” or “Book an Appointment”, prominently displayed throughout your key pages.
- Case studies & customer testimonials to build social proof and trust
- For lead generation, include the lead form in all your important pages, as well as alternative avenues of contact, such as whatsapp, phone call to chatbot.
- For e-commerce, a streamlined checkout process is crucial for customers to complete their transactions
- When possible, include a first-time offer or free trial/consultation to provide that extra “push”
Digital Advertising Strategies
At the bottom of the funnel, use conversion-focused ads utilising the following channels and strategies:
- Google Ads: Search (targeting transactional keywords), Shopping
- Social media ads with Sales, Leads or Conversions objectives.
- Dedicated Landing Pages (DLPs)
- Special offers, free trials or consultations
Target Metrics: Conversion Rates (CVR), Cost per conversion (Cost/Conv), Cost per Lead (CPL), Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)
Google Shopping ads can display product images, prices, and reviews directly in search results, making it easy for users to compare and make a purchase decision.
Facebook Lead Ads is an example of a suitable social media ad at this stage. You can collect contact information from potential customers directly within the platform, facilitating follow-up and conversion.
Whenever possible, offering limited-time discounts or special offers in these ads can create a sense of urgency, encouraging prospects to act quickly and complete their purchase.
Social Commerce
E-commerce brands and suitable industries such as fashion can leverage built-in shopping features in social media platforms such as Instagram Shopping and TikTok Shop. They allow integration of shoppable posts or product tags to direct purchases through the social media app. This streamlines the purchasing experience and increases the likelihood of conversions.
Loyalty
After a purchase is made, the focus shifts to the loyalty stage, where the goals are to nurture a positive relationship with your existing customers to encourage advocacy or repeat purchases when possible.
Email Marketing
Nurture existing customers by sending them personalised content, new products information, exclusive offers or valuable insights.
Social Media
Consistent, engaging social media posts reinforces brand presence, keeps your business at the forefront of existing customers’ minds and fosters brand loyalty. Cultivate a vibrant community around your brand, engaging customers with exclusive content, interactive experiences, and responsive support to foster long-term relationships and encourage brand advocacy.
Why Use a Digital Marketing Funnel?
Understanding the different funnels empowers you to craft a well-rounded digital marketing strategy that engages customers via different touchpoints, guiding them through every stage of their buying journey. This offers a host of benefits for your business, such as:
- Targeted Engagement
A well-designed funnel helps you tailor your marketing efforts to specific stages of the customer journey. Knowing where prospects are in the funnel allows you to deliver content and offers that align with their current needs and interests. This increases the likelihood of prospects moving through the funnel and reaching conversion.
- Enhanced Tracking and Analytics
Digital marketing funnels facilitate the tracking and analysis of your business’s performance at each stage, helping you gain valuable insights into what strategies are working and where improvements are needed. This ensures that you make data-driven decisions, continually optimising your marketing efforts for better results.
- Cost Efficiency
Understanding the funnel stages also enables you to allocate marketing budgets more efficiently. Focusing on strategies that effectively move prospects through the funnel reduces wasted spend and drives better results with your marketing investments.
- Increased Conversion Rates
Ultimately, the main benefit of implementing the funnel is its ability to increase conversion rates. With more effective and targeted marketing strategies, efficient use of resources, and reduced cost per acquisition, you can drive higher sales and improve your return on investment (ROI).
Master Digital Marketing with OOm
Understanding and integrating a digital marketing funnel is essential for the effectiveness of your marketing efforts. By mapping out the customer journey and employing targeted strategies at each stage, you can effectively engage prospects, nurture leads, and convert them into loyal customers.
Ready to elevate your marketing? Let OOm experts design tailored, funnel-optimized digital strategies that drive results at every stage of your customer journey. From SEO and content marketing to digital advertising and social media, we’ll help you create a well-rounded digital marketing strategy that aligns with your unique business goals.
SMEs in Singapore may qualify to receive up to 50% subsidy of our services under the Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG), for which OOm is a pre-approved vendor for Digital Marketing and E-Commerce solutions.
Contact us for a complimentary digital marketing consultation today.
About OOm
OOm has been a leading digital marketing agency in Singapore since 2006, with expertise in Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), social media marketing to website design and development. Our clientele comprises small and medium businesses (SMEs) to enterprises.
OOm has won over 30+ marketing awards for the results we have delivered to clients over the years, including ‘Agency of the Year’, ‘Lead Generation Agency of the Year’, ‘Independent Agency of the Year’, ‘E-Commerce Marketing Agency of the Year’, ‘Excellence in Search Marketing, ‘Excellence in Performance Marketing’ to ‘Excellence in Data-driven Marketing’ among others. OOm is also a Google Premier Partner (reserved for the top 3% agency partners in Singapore), as well as an official Meta Business Partner.
