How to Create a High-Converting Social Media Marketing Funnel

If you're trying to figure out how to build a social media or digital marketing funnel that actually brings in traffic, leads, and sales — you're in the right spot.

These days, social media is a big part of any marketing strategy.

No matter if you're running a service business, a B2B company, a startup, or even a local shop — if you’re not using social media marketing, you’re missing out.

People are spending around 2 hours and 24 minutes a day on social media. That’s a lot of time — and a big opportunity. That’s why smart businesses build a social media marketing funnel right alongside their regular sales funnel to grow faster.

In this article, I’ll show you how to create a powerful social media funnel that helps you get more traffic, leads, and sales.

Table Of Contents

• What’s a Digital Marketing Funnel?
• How to Create a Social Media Funnel in 6 Easy Steps
• What Is Retargeting, How Does It Work, and a Real Example
• 8 Important Questions to Ask When Making Your Own Social Media Funnel
• Real-Life Examples of Social Media Funnels
• Best Tools and Tips to Build a Social Media Funnel That Converts
• Boost Your Funnel Results with Smart Social Media Marketing

What is a Digital Marketing Funnel?

A marketing funnel is just a step-by-step path that helps guide people from first hearing about your business to becoming loyal customers. It’s like a journey where someone goes from not knowing you at all to becoming a fan who tells others about your brand.

A social media marketing funnel is the same idea, but it focuses mainly on using social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.

Let’s break down the 4 main stages of this journey and see what works best on social media at each step:

1. Awareness Stage 🚀

At this point, people don’t know your brand exists. They may not even realize they have a problem that you can help solve. Your job here is to get noticed.

Best social media tactics:

• Run giveaways or contests
• Post ads on Facebook and Twitter
• Share helpful or fun videos on YouTube

2. Consideration Stage 🤔

Now the person knows there’s a problem and is looking for possible solutions. They start comparing options and doing their research.

Best social media tactics:

• Join Twitter chats
• Start or join Facebook and LinkedIn groups
• Post IGTV or YouTube videos that explain how your product or service works

3. Purchase Stage 💳

The person has decided to fix their problem and is ready to buy. They choose the brand that offers the most value or the best deal.

Best social media tactics:

• Use Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter ads
• Use Pinterest buyable pins
• Add "Buy Now" buttons on Facebook or Instagram

4. Post-Purchase Stage 🎉

After buying, a happy customer can become a loyal one—and even help spread the word about your brand. This is your chance to turn them into fans.

Best social media tactics:

• Give out small gifts
• Set up a referral or affiliate program
• Create a loyalty rewards program

💡 Pro Tip: With tools like GetResponse, you can build a full marketing funnel using things like ads, landing pages, email campaigns, automation, webinars, and social media—all in one place. No need to pay for extra tools.

As Neal Taparia, founder of Solitaired, says:

“If you match the right social media platform with the right stage in the customer journey, your message will make more sense to your audience—and it’ll help you get better results.”

Which platform you use depends on things like:

• Who your audience is
• How they like to communicate
• Your budget
• What your campaign goals are

And don’t forget—different content works best at different stages.

• Use videos to promote new products
• Share blogs and guides when people are learning about their options
• Use case studies and comparisons when they’re ready to buy

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Digital Marketing Funnel Example: The Factory Carpet Outlet

A social media company called Inspire To Thrive helped their client The Factory Carpet get more people to visit their website through their Facebook page.

The company used to attract mostly older customers through newspaper and TV ads. But now, they wanted to reach a younger crowd online. Here’s what they did:

• They grew their Facebook page from 300 to 1,100 followers by sharing fun and interesting posts.
• They ran a Facebook ad aimed at younger people living near their store who were interested in home remodeling.
• When someone clicked the ad, they were taken to a page where they could sign up to shop from home. After signing up, they either got a call from a company rep or placed an order right away.

This smart move brought in 81 clicks to their landing page — and each click only cost them $1.23.

Because of this, they started getting new customers from those clicks.

In a similar way, my blogger friends over at WPKube are using Facebook Lead Ads to grow their email list and bring in targeted visitors.

Facebook Lead Ads help you collect contact info like names, emails, and phone numbers from people who may want to buy from you. And the best part? With just $17.75, they gathered 80 leads — that’s only $0.22 per lead!

Lead Ads are super easy for people to use because they don’t leave Facebook. Their info goes straight into your system, and you can follow up with them later.

How to Build a Social Media Funnel in 6 Simple Steps

Let’s Break Down the Key Steps to Building a Strong Social Media Funnel 👇

No matter what type of business you’re in, these basic steps will help you build a powerful funnel that works.

Step 1: Know What You Want to Achieve 🎯

Before you post anything, ask yourself: What’s my goal here?

• Are you trying to get more people to visit your website?
• Do you want more people to know about your brand?
• Is your goal to make more sales?
• Are you focusing on getting leads, nurturing them, or closing deals?

If you don’t set clear goals, you’ll waste time and end up going in circles.

Step 2: Think About Your Ideal Customer 🧍‍♀️🧍‍♂️

Before you go all-in on social media, take a moment to remember who you’re trying to reach.

Go back and review your customer avatar—that’s just a fancy way of saying your ideal customer. Think about:

• What are their goals and values?
• Where do they hang out online?
• What are they struggling with?

By talking to your current customers or paying attention to their feedback, you’ll understand what they truly care about—and how to connect with more people like them.

Step 3: Understand How Each Platform Works 📱

Every social platform is different. What works well on Instagram might not do so great on LinkedIn.

Take time to study the platform your audience uses the most. Ask yourself:

• What kind of content does well here?
• Which stage of the funnel is this platform best for?
• How often should I post?
• What hashtags or trends should I use?

This helps you create content that fits in naturally and gets results.

Step 4: Create Irresistible Offers 🎁

To move people from just looking to actually buying, you need to make small offers they can say “yes” to.

These can be things like:

• A free ebook or guide
• A free consultation call
• Signing up for your email list
• Watching a demo video

Make sure your offer matches what they just saw on your social media post. It should solve a real problem and sound exciting. Use emotional, persuasive language to get their attention.

Step 5: Send People to the Right Page 🔗

Here’s a big mistake: sending your social media traffic to your homepage.

Why? Your homepage has too much going on. People get distracted and don’t take the next step.

Instead, create special landing pages for each campaign. Each one should have:

• One clear message
• One goal
• One offer

This simple change can boost your conversions in a big way.

Step 6: Keep Testing and Improving 📊

Today’s marketing is all about data. You don’t have to guess what’s working—test and find out!

Use tools to track how your posts and pages are doing. Look at:

• Awareness: mentions, views, impressions
• Engagement: likes, comments, shares
• Conversions: click-through rate, cost per click, signups, sales
• Competitor insights: how often you're mentioned vs. your competitors

Try A/B testing different headlines, images, or offers. Small tweaks can lead to big improvements.

Real Example: Sam Ovens’ $20 Million Funnel 💼🔥

Sam Ovens, a well-known consultant, used a simple funnel with Facebook ads and webinars to build a $20M per year business. He followed the same steps: know your audience, make strong offers, send them to focused pages, and keep testing.

Building a strong social media funnel doesn’t have to be complicated. Stick to these steps, stay consistent, and watch your results grow 🚀

You can see the ad is getting a lot of attention. It’s the first step in the customer journey that can eventually lead to a sale.

Source: Devon Hennig

Look at how he uses Facebook ads in two smart ways:

• First, to help people learn about his business (top of the funnel).
• Then, to convince interested people to make a purchase (bottom of the funnel).

Here’s how this money-making funnel is put together step-by-step:

• A Facebook ad
• A sign-up page
• Automated emails
• A follow-up text message
• A free webinar
• Facebook ads to remind people who didn’t buy yet
• A free trial offer

If this powerful funnel doesn’t give you ideas, I don’t know what will!

Retargeting: what it is, how it works and example

This happens all the time.

Someone visits your website but leaves before buying anything. Some people even add items to their cart but don’t finish checking out.

That’s where retargeting comes in—it helps you bring those people back.

Retargeting is a smart way of advertising. It tracks people who leave your site and shows them ads while they’re on social media or browsing other websites. These ads are based on what they were looking at on your site.

For example, I visited OkDork a few minutes ago, and then when I went on Facebook, I saw an ad from them right away.

I clicked the ad and landed on their squeeze page:

That’s what we call retargeting.

It’s simple—but super effective.

You can learn more about it in this full Facebook Retargeting Guide.

OkDork used retargeting (also known as remarketing), along with other online marketing tactics, to grow their email list to tens of thousands of people.

Truelist shared some eye-catching stats about how well retargeting works:

• 17.5% of apps using retargeting see a 25% conversion rate.
• Retargeting ads on LinkedIn can boost click-through rates by 30%.
• Retargeting outperforms other types of ads with a 1,046% better efficiency rate.

With retargeting, you bring people back to your funnel who already showed interest—so they’re more likely to take action than brand-new visitors.

The best part?

It’s all automated. Once it’s set up, it runs on its own. People come back to your site on their own to finish what they started—like placing an order or signing up for your email list.

Now that we’ve covered the basics of building a marketing funnel, let’s dig even deeper.

8 Questions to Ask When You Create a Custom Social Media Marketing Funnel

8 Simple Questions to Ask When Building Your Social Media Sales Funnel 🧲

How do my best customers go from just hearing about me to loving my brand?

Think about the journey your ideal customers take—from learning about you to buying again and even recommending you. Break it down step by step and use that path to shape your social funnel.

Where is my sales funnel losing the most people?

Find the weakest part of your sales process—the spot where most people drop off. Fixing that one thing can make a huge difference. Ask yourself how social media can help fix it.

How do people usually find me or hear about my business?

Focus on your biggest traffic source. If one method brings in the most people, make that part even better. That’s where you’ll get the best results.

Which social platforms does my audience love the most?

Go where your audience already hangs out. If they’re active on Instagram, TikTok, or LinkedIn, that’s where you should be too.

Which of my posts or content pieces do people love the most?

Share the content that already works well. If it’s popular, use it to guide people to the next step in your funnel—it’s proven to convert.

What helpful info should I share to get people to take the next step?

Think about what your best customers read or watched before they decided to buy. Share that kind of content again, or look for trending topics your audience already cares about.

How will I know if my funnel is working at each step?

Set clear goals for each stage—like clicks, sign-ups, or sales. Track what’s working and don’t be afraid to tweak what isn’t.

What are my competitors doing really well on social media?

Check out your competition. What’s working for them? What are they missing? Learn from both their strengths and weaknesses to stay ahead.

Social Media Marketing Funnel Scenarios

So, what does this actually look like in real life?

Let’s look at two examples of digital marketing funnels from two different industries. These examples will help you picture what a funnel usually looks like. Every business is a little different, but this will give you a solid starting point and make it easier for you to build your own.

Social Media Funnel For Coaches and Consultants

Social Media Funnel For Course Creators

Use these templates to inspire your funnel.

Digital Marketing Funnel Tools and Best Practices for Building Converting SMM Funnels

Putting together a high-converting sales funnel can sound complicated, right? Like you need a bunch of different tools to make it all work?

Wrong.

Not if you’re using GetResponse.

GetResponse is an all-in-one marketing tool that lets you build your entire funnel—from start to finish—in one place. Here’s what you can do with it:

• Show ads to people who visited your site by adding a Facebook pixel.
• Track your results and see which ads are bringing in leads or sales.
• Create, manage, and run your Facebook and Instagram ads directly inside GetResponse.
• Turn social media traffic into email subscribers using sign-up forms.
• Send automatic welcome emails, follow-ups, and helpful info to your leads.
• Build beautiful landing pages that are easy to use, rank on Google, and turn visitors into customers.
• Use the Social Ads Creator to find new followers, engage your audience, and drive more traffic.
• Quickly create your entire lead or sales funnel using ready-to-go templates designed to get results.

Conversion Funnel in GetResponse.

💡 In short: GetResponse gives you everything you need to build a smooth and successful social marketing funnel. And the best part? It handles most of the work for you.

Whether you go with GetResponse or use other tools, here’s the truth:

Now’s the time to build your funnel. Don’t let opportunities pass you by.

To make sure your funnel works well, keep these tips in mind:

• ✅ Integrations: Your tools should work together smoothly—email marketing, CRM, landing pages, Facebook/Twitter ads, webinars, SEO, and more.
• 📊 Analytics: Your funnel should show you the important numbers in a simple, clear way—no jumping between tabs to figure out what’s working.
• 👥 Teamwork: Don’t try to do everything yourself. Build a team to handle your social media marketing so you can focus on what matters most—growing your business.

Boost your funnel with social media marketing

Today’s customers are always on the move.

They shop and make decisions on their own time, using their phones, tablets, or computers—wherever they are. Social media plays a big role in their buying journey. It’s often one of the first places they go to learn about a product, check out reviews, or see what others are saying.

That’s why it’s so important to connect your social media marketing with your main sales funnel. When you add social media as part of your overall sales process, you guide more people step-by-step—helping them go from just being interested to actually making a purchase.

This can lead to more engagement, more trust, and higher conversion rates. ✅📈

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