USING INSTAGRAM IN EACH STAGE OF THE CUSTOMER JOURNEY
When entrepreneurs and freelancers think “marketing,” their mind usually goes towards visibility and bringing in new leads. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg, babe. If the only stage of the customer journey you focus on is visibility, then you’re missing out on referrals, repeat customers, and people on the cusp of committing.
A lot of biz owners see Instagram this way. They think she’s a top-of-funnel girlie who is only good for bringing in new customers. But you can (and *ahem* should) use Instagram for the entire customer journey. Let’s chat about how.
WHAT IS A MARKETING FUNNEL AND CUSTOMER JOURNEY?
A marketing funnel describes and models the customer journey. It’s called a funnel because as people go through the stages, people are naturally filtered out. You’re going to have more people in the awareness stage than you are in the conversion stage.
Your customer journey is the process someone goes through when considering a product or service. It starts with them becoming aware of a problem or a solution and then maybe ending with a purchase. An example of a customer journey would be someone finding you on Instagram, getting curious about your services, maybe joining your email list or chatting in the DMs, and then making a purchase with you down the road. This can take anywhere from days to months.
HOW TO UTILIZE INSTAGRAM IN THE CUSTOMER JOURNEY
Like I said, Instagram isn’t a one-trick pony, so if you’re only using the platform to gain visibility, you’re missing out, babe. Let’s look at how Instagram can be used in various stages.
IDEAL AUDIENCE
At this stage of the customer journey, you are trying to gain awareness and create desire around your offer. These are the people you want to work with, but they may not know you exist yet (or that you have the solution to their problem).
You can cultivate awareness and desire on the ‘gram with viral posts, using hashtags and keywords, connecting with people, and going live. The goal is to get visible but also poke at problems your customers are facing and offer solutions.
POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS
At this stage of the customer journey, people are starting to show interest and consideration. They may even be on the cusp of conversion. They know that you have what they want, but they are still working through some objections.
You can use Instagram at this stage by creating posts that help overcome those objections, like sharing social proof or stats. Keep engaging with people in the DMs and make it easy for people to interact with you, like in your stories.
NEW AND EXISTING CUSTOMERS
Finally, you have the stage of the customer journey where conversion has taken place, and people have committed to working with you. Yeehaw!
Businesses tend to neglect these people on Instagram big time. But if you want to keep these customers around, you have to continue nurturing them. You can do this by celebrating client wins in your posts and stories. You can also DM your customers, comment on their posts, and engage in their stories. To stay top of mind, you have to keep the relationship going.
Want help with your Instagram strategy, so you can utilize every part of the customer journey? Let’s meet for a 1:1 Disco Partner call. During the 90-minute intensive, I’ll walk you through your social media audit, and we’ll chat about your social media goals. This call is on your terms, disco queen. We can chat about anything from content ideas to planning your content calendar to hashtag research.
