There's no denying that the world of influencers can be a bit of a mixed bag. While some big names regurgitate dull and uninspiring content, there are a few who have truly nailed it. One of those is Gary Vaynerchuk, who once said, "Attention is the Asset." And when it comes to marketing and sales, that statement couldn't be more true.
Marketing is all about gathering attention, growing your audience, and gaining social currency. Sales, on the other hand, is about converting that social currency into real money. The exchange rate between the two is dependent on market conditions, but just like a good investment strategy, a cohesive, company-wide effort to capitalize on this currency provides a much better return than part-time, smaller deposits.
The funnel of successful growth starts with wider, top-of-funnel brand awareness and evergreen content marketing. From there, it's about targeted outreach to selected audiences that fit your ideal customer profile and are likely to have problems you're able to solve for.
Finally, it's about direct contact with bottom-of-funnel prospects, shining light in the areas of need and providing a solution.
Let's break that down again: you start at the top of the funnel by trying to gather attention and grow your audience.
A simple and effective way to do this is to create engaging and memorable content that resonates with a wider audience while also growing your brand awareness.
At the second stage of the funnel, you drill down and focus your efforts on reaching the ideal customer profiles. By focusing on this particular demographic, you will be able to attract qualified leads and increase your chances of conversion.
And at the bottom of the funnel (having already captured attention and built your social currency), it's important to nurture those leads and provide a solution to their needs.
For example, if you're a software company, you could offer a free trial of your product to interested prospects, providing them with a hands-on experience and an opportunity to see the value of your product firsthand. By providing a solution to their needs and building a relationship with your prospects, you will be able to increase the chances of converting them into paying customers.
Think of it like this: the more social currency you acquire, the more investments you're able to make. Not all of them will return a massive profit, but like the markets, the longer-term trend is always up and to the right. So if you want to drive growth and success in your business, focus on gathering attention and capitalizing on it.