What is a digital marketing funnel & how to create one?

Without any doubt, digital marketing benefits businesses by broadening their audience and influencing more people on a regular basis. But revenues and conversions won't increase unless a well-designed digital marketing funnel is implemented.

As a matter of fact, 570,000 websites currently employ one or more marketing funnel-building technologies. On that, you don't want to fall behind, do you?

Let us now look at what a digital marketing funnel is and how to develop a high-converting funnel for your business or clientele. Follow along!

What is Funnel in Digital Marketing?

A customer's journey is illustrated by a marketing funnel. It's a strategic model that depicts the personas' whole buying process, from discovering your brand to completing a purchase.

The funnel normally contains four stages:

• Awareness: The buyer is familiar with your product or service.

• Interest: The buyer indicates an interest in a particular type of product.

• Consideration: The buyer investigates the products on offer.

• Action: The buyer makes a purchase.

The four stages of the digital marketing funnel are as follows for a buyer:

1. Awareness

Also known as TOFU (Top of the Funnel). The buyer learns about your company through organic search, email, social media, or links from other websites.

2. Interest

This is also known as MOFU (middle of the funnel), and it occurs when a buyer discovers your brand's offerings through social media content or your website.

3. Consideration

Also referred to as BOFU (bottom of the funnel). The buyer spends more time studying your company's offerings, including watching YouTube videos, reading online reviews, and subscribing to your email newsletter.

4. Action

However, the digital marketing funnel continues after a purchase. Savvy digital marketers recognise the importance of client connection building and retention. 

Three Types of Digital Marketing Funnels and their Respective Operate

The modern digital marketing funnel depicts the non-linear consumer process from brands to customers. Multiple variations of the new internet marketing funnel exist since each user follows a distinct path.

These are the top three variations of the 2024 website marketing funnel.

1. Digital Marketing Hourglass

The steps of the client journey are approached in detail by this internet marketing funnel. The hourglass digital marketing funnel, in contrast to earlier models, places more emphasis on the value of establishing and preserving client relationships. The hourglass-shaped funnel is the result of this strategy.

This marketing funnel's pre-purchase phases consist of the following:

• Engagement: Increasing brand exposure through engagement

• Education: Recognising an issue

• Research: Finding an answer

• Evaluation: Figuring out how a good or service fixes a situation

This funnel's post-purchase phases consist of:

• Adoption: Making use of a good or service

• Retention: Ensuring the contentment of a user

• Expansion: User upselling

2. A digital marketing funnel that loops

The looping digital marketing funnel has a less rigid format than the hourglass online marketing funnel. Because there are just six steps, each user's journey to buy may be customised. 

This marketing funnel has the following stages:

• Awareness: Being conscious of an issue or necessity

• Taking into account: Identifying a fix

• Investigating and Finding Loop: Discovering brands and possible remedies

• Buy: Purchasing the good or service

Because of its versatility, the looping Internet marketing funnel may be used by businesses in any industry. 

3. Digital marketing funnel for micro-moments

The Google-developed notion of micro-moments serves as the basis for the micro-moments digital marketing funnel. Using this online marketing funnel, your company concentrates on the factors that influence a user's decision to enter the funnel.

Your elements in this funnel of marketing consist of:

• Want-to-Know Moment: Responding to an inquiry

• Moment of Desire: Taking Action

• Want-to-Go Moment: Visiting a location

• Want-to-Buy Moment: Purchasing an item

The micro-moments digital marketing funnel, in contrast to the hourglass or looping online marketing funnel, does not investigate the behaviours of people who follow a micro-moment.

New vs. Old Digital Marketing Funnel

New Digital Marketing Funnel

1. Fresh Funnel for Digital Marketing

2. Emphasises a non-linear encounter

3. Includes a maximum of ten stages.

4. Considers the actions that motivate a user

Old Digital Marketing Funnel

• Prioritises a linear experience

• Consists of four stages.

• Considers common user behaviours

All things considered, the new digital marketing funnel prioritises each user above the previous one. Although adopting a non-linear journey is more of a barrier for organisations, it enables you to give the market you are targeting a better experience.

What Differentiates a Marketing Funnel from a Sales Funnel?

Who engages with the consumer at each stage of the journey is the primary distinction between a sales and marketing funnel.

When a lead passes through the marketing funnel and into the sales funnel, a salesperson takes over. It's time for more personal contact. 

A sales representative can answer inquiries, give additional resources (e.g., tutorials, pitch decks), and offer promotions or rebates to assist complete the transaction.

So, while both funnels work together to convert prospects into customers for life, they must also work together to give the same message. 

If there is a discrepancy between what marketing claims and what salespeople deliver, potential consumers may become dissatisfied.

Why is a Digital Marketing Funnel so Important?

In practice, why is the funnel concept so important in any digital marketing strategy?

The first and most obvious benefit is improved targeting in marketing, which allows you to direct content, adverts, and other methods with messages that will be relevant to your audiences throughout the buyer's journey. 

The digital marketing funnel benefits organisations in the following ways.

1. Better segmentation

Funnel in digital marketing contributes to improved categorization of your advertising efforts, allowing you to give relevant material to your clients at various stages of the purchasing experience.

2. Improve Lead Generation

Accurate marketing generates more qualified leads at the bottom of the funnel, making conversion considerably easier. An excellent funnel provides value, not just the hard shell.

3. Make better use of company resources

The digital marketing funnel can help your digital marketing team develop accurate content for your buyers while saving you important time and money on unproductive marketing initiatives.

4. Better ROI

You can deploy resources by focusing on buyer demands at different stages. This decreases marketing spending while increasing digital marketing ROI.

5.Focused and Customised Marketing

Create content that will connect with your target audience throughout their journey. With data, you can tailor messaging to increase interaction and drive sales.

How to Create a Digital Marketing Funnel?

Finally, let's build the dang thing! Ready to achieve marketing mastery? It's a piece of funnel cake!

Follow these ten simple steps to create a successful digital marketing funnel. Prepare to increase your conversions and build your business.

1. Create an objective

What do you want to accomplish? What is the purpose? Are you attempting to sell more of a specific product or to significantly extend your consumer base? It's vital to develop and lay out your aim, because it will lead your entire funnel strategy.

2. Construct the Funnel

It's time to design the funnel structure and establish the steps in the sales process. This is also where you choose which form of funnel is ideal.

3. Create initial understanding

The solution for effectively increasing brand awareness is to market your business or product using outbound marketing strategies. During the phase of awareness, the potential customer may be dimly aware of an issue or problem, but they are unlikely to actively seek an answer. 

4. Define Each Step

With the funnel type and digital marketing funnel phases established, outline what you should do to bring in the necessary traffic for each step.

5. Create a content optimisation strategy

A content optimisation plan is required to generate and publish material that your ideal customer profile (ICP) will desire to read. This keeps your content fresh, accessible, and important, while also increasing your search engine rating, which provides you inbound visitors. 

6. Create instructional content

Part of optimising your marketing funnel is providing instructional material that informs people about your product, provides them with relevant information and actionable advice, and encourages them to continue connecting with your brand at all stages. 

7. Focus on your product's unique selling factor

You've educated your audience, but how can you persuade them that your product solution is perfect for them? Emphasise your unique selling point (USP) to highlight what distinguishes your product or brand. 

Best Digital Marketing Funnel Strategies

Let's  get started and look at the best digital marketing tactics for structuring your digital marketing funnel for maximum conversion and reach.

1. SEO

Search engine optimisation (SEO) boosts your digital presence by optimising your website's content and design for search engines and visitors.

2. B-to-B Marketing Funnel

Look for lasting relationships and complex processes for making choices that are frequent in business-to-business contacts.

3. B-to-C Marketing Funnel

Motivate individual users by highlighting simplicity, personal benefits, and connections with others.

4. Content Marketing Funnel

Communicate and influence your audience. Provide useful, valuable, appropriate content at each point of their purchasing process.

5. Video Marketing Funnel

Use video content to illustrate the positive aspects of your products/services to attract those who are your target market.

6. Email Marketing Funnel

Build customised emails to guide your target audience from attention to engagement.

7. Click Funnel Marketing

Use a succession of web pages. Guide visitors to a certain activity, such as purchasing a product or service.

8. Advertising Funnel Marketing

Use tailored advertisements to increase awareness, attention, and conversions.

9. The Social Media Marketing Funnel

Utilise social media networks. Interact your audience and build relationships that will lead to purchases.

Conclusion

A digital marketing funnel visually depicts a customer's journey. The most important phase in the buyer journey is understanding your audience's pain points and determining ways to assist them while conveying their worth. An effective marketing funnel can assist businesses in targeting the proper clients, tracking progress, and better planning and executing marketing campaigns.