How does social impact your marketing funnel?
A full-funnel organic social strategy means using your social channels intentionally at every stage of the customer journey, from initial awareness to retention and advocacy. Rather than posting for the sake of posting, you're building content that serves a purpose at each stage.
Did you know: 47% of US consumers have purchased an item via social media. (Source: Mintel). This proves that social is no longer just an awareness and discovery tool. You should use this channel to drive conversions and long-term loyalty.
Audit your current social presence
Before enhancing your social strategy, you must first look at where you stand today. Audit your current social presence on whichever platforms you use (e.g., Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, TikTok, etc.) to get a clear picture of:
- What's working?
- Who are you reaching?
- Where are the gaps in your strategy?
More specifically, work through the steps below to complete your audit.
Review your last 30–90 days of posts. Does this content look and sound like your brand? Consistency builds trust and brand recognition. Check for: consistent colors and fonts, a recognizable tone of voice, and an up-to-date profile.
Review who is actually following and engaging with your brand, not just who you think you're reaching (say, via segmentation or custom reports). Look at demographics, location, active times, and which content drives the most engagement. Compare this to your subscribers for other channels. Are the same people engaging across channels? Are there omnichannel subscribers who do not yet follow you on social, and vice versa? Are there top customers or content creators who tag your brand regularly that you could work with on future content?
Look at top-performing posts on your social channels to identify what topics, formats, or posting times outperform the rest. Plus, see where you're under-investing. Are there social platforms where your audience is active but your presence is thin? Are there formats (e.g., video or carousels) you haven't explored? What are competitors (or brands that you admire) doing on social that you’re not? Gaps are also opportunities!
Map your recent social content against your recent omnichannel campaigns in Klaviyo. Are you telling a cohesive story across channels? Are there campaign themes that live only in email or text that could be extended to social, or vice versa?
Take steps to grow on social
Once you've completed your audit, you're ready to focus your energy on specific growth opportunities. Your next question is likely: What are those opportunities?
Explore the strategies below to get inspired and pinpoint the growth levers that make the most sense for your brand.
Acquire new omnichannel subscribers
Use your social presence to grow your omnichannel subscriber lists.
Unlike social followers, your email, text, and WhatsApp subscribers are yours, meaning you're not subject to algorithm changes or platform risk.
Best practices:
- Use Klaviyo’s Social Auto-replies:
Use Social Auto-replies to prompt someone to DM your brand on Instagram. This launches an automated response that encourages them to share their contact information, consent to marketing, and provide other preferences (via custom questions). - Promote sign-up incentives organically:
Use your organic posts to promote the value of joining your email or mobile marketing lists, such as exclusive offers, early access, or content available only to subscribers. Link to a Klaviyo-hosted sign-up form via stickers on a social media story. - Run giveaways and early access campaigns:
Giveaways or early access promotions that require an email sign-up as an entry mechanism are a proven way to grow your list quickly. The prize should be relevant to your ideal customer to attract high-quality subscribers via either of the above consent-collection methods. - Connect social to your campaign calendar:
Use your social content to tease what's to come in your emails, texts, push, etc. Conversely, use your omnichannel messages to drive followers to your social channels.
Pinpoint trends among followers
Organic social content is a testing ground. The posts that resonate tell you what your audience actually cares about.
These engagement signals can then help shape your paid ad and omnichannel messaging strategy.
Best practices:
- Post on organic social before investing in paid:
Post variations of your campaign messaging organically and see which angles drive the most engagement. Then put your budget behind the winning strategy, even if you also invest in paid ads. - Identify top content themes for omnichannel campaigns:
If a particular product, story, or topic consistently performs well on social, bring it into your email campaigns. Your subscribers are likely to respond to the same themes.
Build a brand community
Retention doesn't just happen in the inbox. Social media is an effective platform for building community and genuine connections.
Best practices:
- Create content that invites participation:
Ask questions, run polls, and prompt your audience to share their experiences. Engagement signals to social algorithms that your content is worth showing to more people, and their engagement can be logged back to their Klaviyo profile once their contact information is shared. - Respond and engage consistently:
Reply to comments and DMs to show there's a real brand (and humans) behind the account. This builds loyalty and trust over time. - Reward your most engaged followers:
Give your social community early access to launches, exclusive content, or behind-the-scenes moments. This reinforces the value of following you and deepens the relationship.
Spark brand advocacy and social proof
User-generated content (UGC) and brand advocacy are among the most cost-effective growth strategies available to you.
When your customers create content about your brand, they're doing your marketing for you. Not to mention, consumers tend to trust their peers more than businesses.
Best practices:
- Make it easy to share:
Create a branded hashtag, include social sharing prompts in your post-purchase emails, and design packaging or unboxing experiences worth photographing. - Amplify what your customers create:
Repost, reshare, and feature customer content regularly on social media. This validates the creator and signals to others that sharing is welcomed and rewarded. - Identify and nurture your advocates:
Use Klaviyo to identify loyal customers and give them a reason to become vocal social advocates. A personal outreach email goes a long way. (We’ll cover this in more depth later!)