How To Monetize Your Social Platforms

“Social marketing doesn’t work.”

I hear this frequently from small business owners. They’re frustrated, pouring time and energy into social media with little return. But here’s the thing—social marketing can be predictable and profitable when you have the right systems in place.

It’s not always about chasing viral fame or building massive followings. Instead, the focus should be on strategic execution.

In this blog, we’ll break down how to monetize your social media platforms and turn your objections into opportunities.

What is Monetization?

Let's keep it simple: monetization is the process of turning something into money.

When it comes to social media, this means converting attention into revenue. To achieve this, you need to build a funnel.

But before diving into that, let’s clarify what a touchpoint is: a touchpoint refers to any interaction—whether from an existing customer or a potential one—where someone engages with your brand.

A graph that depicts what a marketing funnel could look like and includes physical and digital touchpoints.

Why Funnels Matter

Creating a funnel will make your life a thousand times easier. It takes a lot of the guesswork out of the sort of content you need to create and gives you structure. You’ll also be able to automate it, which is crucial to being able to scale.

It also allows a more personalized experience for your audience. Rather than forcing them into a rigid path, you’re aligning with their natural behavior, allowing them to experience your platform in a way that feels authentic.

How It Works

The concept of a funnel is universal, but the tactics you use are unique to your business.

Every consumer goes through these stages:

1. Awareness: They become aware of your existence, but they may not fully understand what you offer yet.

2. Consideration: The customer is interested and begins to explore your products or services. They’re comparing options, reading reviews, and deciding if you’re the right fit.

3. Desire: Here, the customer moves beyond interest and develops a genuine desire to work with you. They see the value and start envisioning how it will benefit them.

4. Purchase: They’ve made their decision and are ready to complete the transaction.

5. Loyalty: Building a lasting relationship that encourages repeat business and brand advocacy.

The specific tactics you use and the length of each stage depend on several factors:

• Industry: Different industries demand different strategies.

• Business Stage: A startup might need a simple direct funnel, while an established business may require a more nuanced, multi-layered approach.

• Price of Your Offer: The higher the price point, the longer the funnel may need to be, as consumers take more time to make decisions.

• Your Clientele: The behaviors and preferences of your target audience heavily influence how you structure each stage.

A Balanced Approach

As you can see, social media plays a role in each stage of the funnel, but it’s most effective in the awareness and consideration phases.

I recommend having a minimum of three components in your media mix. These don’t have to be extensive. For small businesses, a combination of networking, social media, and a website can be the right blend to meet your goals.

The First Stage of Monetization: Define Who You Want to Reach

Now that we understand funnels, we can discuss the ingredients needed to build one.

I’d argue that defining your audience is the most important stage. If you don’t understand who you’re talking to, you won’t be able to connect with them.

Take the time to thoroughly research and gather insights about who they are, what they need, and what motivates them.

If you’re wondering where to start with your research, here are some tools with free versions that can help you better understand your audience and market trends.

• Ask the Public: Great for understanding common questions and concerns in your niche.

• Government Databases: Provide insights into demographics and other relevant data.

• Google Trends: Track what’s trending in real time.

• Trade/Industry Associations: Offer detailed reports on trends within your industry.

• Amazon – Trending Categories: Get a sense of what's popular in consumer markets.

• Social Media: Viewing and engaging with the accounts you want to connect with.

The Information You Want To Gather

I'm a firm believer that you can never have too much information. Every insight is a valuable data point that helps you engage your audience better. Social media is all about self-interest—think of your own feed. You likely only see content that aligns with your personal interests, whether it's sports, hobbies, or a favorite show.

Algorithms use this data to keep users engaged, so the more you know about your audience’s preferences, the better you can create content that resonates. This boosts visibility, and engagement, and builds the trust needed for sales.

For small business owners, I always recommend setting up a system to track and store audience information. Whether it’s a simple spreadsheet or a tool for customer personas, organizing this data allows you to refine and scale as your business grows.

Before starting any marketing campaign, there are four key things you must know about your audience.

1. What do they need?

2. What do they want?

3. What’s their biggest pain point?

4. What are their daily habits?

Avoid the Temptation to Target Everyone - One Segment At a Time

As small business owners, trying to target everyone is a common mistake that leads to wasted time, money, and burnout. Mass marketing requires major resources, which only big brands can afford. Instead, focus on incremental growth—small, targeted steps lead to big results.

Take Liquid Death as an example. They started by targeting heavy metal concertgoers, offering a unique alternative to alcohol. By honing in on this niche, they built a loyal following and eventually expanded into the mainstream.

For your marketing funnel, aim for focused campaigns, each targeting one segment over 3 to 6 months. If you have limited resources, start with one campaign, build capital, and reinvest into the next to grow steadily.

Deciding On What Segment and Offer To Start With

The PVP Model by Allan Dib

Allan Dib’s model simplifies the process of choosing which market segment and service to focus on by ranking options from 1 to 10. Here's how to apply it to your business:

1. Personal Fulfillment: Consider whether working with a specific type of customer brings you joy. Reflect on your current or potential clients—do they align with your passion? Enjoyment in your work can lead to long-term commitment and effort.

2. Value to the Market: Assess if there’s a demand for your product or service within this segment. Determine whether your offering addresses a real problem or fulfills a specific need.

3. Profitability: Finally, evaluate if you can make money serving this audience. Regardless of fulfillment or market value, profitability is essential for sustaining and growing your business.
   

The Second Stage of Monetization: Determine Your Message

Now that we’ve identified who we’re speaking to and what product or service we’re offering, it’s time to focus on crafting the offer itself.

An effective offer highlights the features and benefits of your product or service that resonate with your audience's needs and interests. It serves as the foundation for your content strategy, blending organic posts and promotional material.

Key Aspects of a Good Offer:

1. Targeted Audience: Clearly define who your offer is for to filter out unqualified prospects and speak directly to your target market.

2. Credibility: Establish yourself as an expert or trusted resource in your field.

3. Pain Point Resolution: Tie your offer to a specific challenge your audience faces, demonstrating that your solution meets their needs.

4. Clear Instructions: Ensure your call to action is obvious and easy to follow.

Copywriting Tips for a Strong Offer:

• Clarity Over Cleverness: Choose clarity every time—confusion leads to lost prospects.

• Be Authentic: Share your unique perspectives and stand out.

• Focus on Benefits: Highlight what your product or service does for the audience rather than just how it works.

• Emotional Motivators: Use feelings like love, fear, and pride to engage your audience, but do so ethically and genuinely.

• Emotional Language: Incorporate impactful words like "Free," "You," and "Easy" to create resonance.

• Test and Tweak: Small adjustments in messaging can lead to significant impacts; continuously test your approach throughout the campaign..

An example of a social media funnel. 

The Third Stage of Monetization: Create The Steps of Your Funnel

Now that we know who we want to reach and what we want to offer, the next step is building a lead-capturing system.

This system automates parts of your digital marketing, guiding your audience through each stage efficiently. By mapping out their journey—from an ad to a landing page, or a freebie to an email list—you save time and boost your chances of converting visitors into loyal customers.

For your audience, this creates a smoother, more personalized experience. They get relevant content that meets their needs, making them feel understood and valued, while you're able to focus on refining your marketing with real-time data.

The Following Steps To Include In Your Funnel

1. Initial Touchpoint: This is where potential customers first encounter your brand—through social media, ads, word-of-mouth, or articles. The goal is to grab attention and spark curiosity.

2. Understanding Your Offering: Once aware, audiences need to know how you can help them. Use your website to educate them on the benefits and value of your product or service, addressing their specific pain points.

3. Lead Capture System: Collect valuable data through sign-up forms, newsletters, or lead magnets. This helps you gather email addresses and preferences for personalized marketing.

4. Addressing Questions/Objections: Use FAQs, case studies, or customer service to proactively address any concerns, reassuring potential customers that your offering is the right choice.

5. Transaction Platform: This is where the sale occurs—whether on an e-commerce site, booking page, or physical checkout. Ensure the platform is user-friendly, secure, and streamlined.

6. Re-engagement Opportunities: After a transaction, re-engage your audience. For successful purchases, offer upsells or loyalty programs. For those who didn’t buy, use retargeting ads or follow-up emails to nurture the relationship and encourage future engagement.

The Fourth Stage of Monetization: Create Content That Nurtues the Lead

Now that we know our audience, our offering, and the spaces to connect, it’s time to focus on the content that drives results.

In any sales or marketing funnel, there are four types of people we engage with:

1. Cold 1: One person who doesn’t know you. This involves one-on-one conversations with individuals who haven’t connected with your brand yet, often through cold-calling. While important, we won’t focus on it here as it doesn’t involve direct content.

2. Warm 1: One person who knows you. These individuals are familiar with your brand and engage with you, making this ideal for social selling and nurturing relationships.

3. Cold Many: A broad audience who doesn’t know you. Reaching this large, unfamiliar audience requires investment through lead magnets, paid ads, or contests to introduce your brand to potential customers.

4. Warm Many: A group of people who know you. This is your existing audience, where organic content works best to reinforce relationships and build trust.

During your campaign, ensure you address each group. Not everyone enters the funnel simultaneously, so your content should cater to all stages to maintain engagement and momentum.

Building Out Content for the Funnel

Examples of some common pillars in social marketing.

Awareness Stage

The goal of the awareness stage is to present your offering to as many people as possible, requiring a monetary investment. This content is both promotional and informative, highlighting product benefits and guiding potential customers.

1. Paid Ads: These ads grab attention with a clear value proposition and call to action. Although only about 3% are ready to buy immediately, even 1.5% of 1,000 views can yield results for small businesses. Prioritize value over discounts to strengthen your brand.

2. Lead Magnets: Offer valuable freebies (like quizzes, eBooks, or webinars) in exchange for personal information. These increase the likelihood of purchases and help build a relationship with your audience. Set limits on giveaways to create urgency.

3. Contests/Giveaways: Engage your audience by requiring them to share or comment for a chance to win something valuable. This boosts reach without significant monetary investment.

4. Testing for Virality: Occasionally create posts aimed at going viral, experimenting with trends without focusing on engagement metrics.

5. 1 to 8 Ratio: For every promotional post, follow it with eight organic posts. This balances content and maintains trust, as users prefer social interactions over constant ads.

6. Always Collect Data: Gather personal information (with consent) to retarget potential customers later.

7. Start Small: Test your paid posts with a small budget and various versions to identify what resonates with your audience before scaling up.

Collecting data is crucial for refining strategies, and many users are willing to share information for rewards, especially with evolving privacy laws.

Consideration & Desire Stage

This stage centers on organic content, which focuses on connecting with your audience without direct sales offers. Think of it like film and television genres—each designed to evoke emotions and transport viewers. Choose a theme or aspirational state for your brand and create content around it.

Treat social media like a TV programming schedule: your goal is to entertain and spark conversations rather than sell. Craft engaging media that captivates your audience without any sales copy. This approach fosters genuine interactions and makes your platform a vibrant space for dialogue.

Ultimately, the aim is to build connections, immerse your audience in your brand’s world, and provide real value.

These interactions will help your content gain organic visibility through algorithms favoring engagement.

Common Content Ideas

• Behind-the-Scenes (BTS): Show the inner workings of your brand to humanize it and build trust.

• User-Generated Content (UGC): Feature customer-created content to highlight real-life use of your product or service.

• How-To Guides: Offer valuable tips, positioning your brand as an expert.

• Recaps: Share highlights from events or milestones to foster community.

• Case Studies: Showcase customer success stories to demonstrate your product’s impact.

Loyalty Stage

Engage in meaningful conversations that address your audience's needs while subtly upselling your products. This personal approach builds trust and makes customers feel valued.

Social Listening

Actively respond to customer feedback, as brands like Fenty do. This enhances community ties and helps identify new market opportunities, making customers feel heard and appreciated.

Community Engagement

Encourage audience interaction through Q&A sessions, polls, and discussions. This strengthens community bonds and reinforces loyalty.

Exclusive Content and Offers

Reward loyal customers with exclusive content, early access to products, or special discounts. This insider status enhances their connection to your brand.

Celebrating Milestones

Acknowledge significant moments for your community, such as customer anniversaries or company achievements, fostering a sense of belonging.