Using Funnel Cakes to Create Yummy Communities
Let's talk about some tips and tricks on how to grow a following on social media from the lens of a marketing funnel (also happy Year of the Dragon, also I'm gonna be beboppin around Baltimore/DMV!)
Top 3 Hot Topics Today:
Social Media and Funnel Cakes
ChĂșc mừng nÄm má»i! XÄ«n niĂĄn kuĂ i lĂš!
GOOD MORNING BALTIMORE~
Social Media and Funnel Cakes
Marketing funnels are a lot different than funnel cakes, most notably that marketing funnels arenât deep fried to a delicious golden crisp that incapsulates pillowy-soft innards then drenched in powdered sugar⊠BUTâ
In marketing, there are different funnels used to track a customers journey so that you can be as strategic as possible when targeting your audience and meeting them where theyâre at. The reason itâs called a âfunnelâ is because the visual shape of where the customer is as it narrows down to a certain point that is the goal (maybe a sale, maybe a subscriber, maybe a new lead, maybe a loyal member of the community etc). You can google different types of marketing funnels but they all have the same jist, so you can also just look at my expertly made funnel below.
So now that weâre hungryâŠ
This will high level information will be focused on the goal of building a strong (and hopefully safe) social media following over time. Iâm gonna give you some ideas on how you can look at this funnel and come up with different ideas on how to engage an audience or community that may be in different stages of the funnel. Spoiler alert: all these tips are about how to be social on social media, you know, in the way you gotta interact with people online.
AWARENESS
GOAL: get people who donât know you yet to notice you and your brand
Meme-able/shareable content is the way to go here. These are lowlift, low effort posts that show off your point of view and humor.
Adding onto a âQuote Retweetâ QRT train (ie. QRT with 2 characters you relate to)
Use instagram âAdd Yoursâ templates (ie. pick 5 favorite 2000âs movies)
INTEREST
GOAL: attract like-minded/similar niche audiences that maybe now are aware of you to engage or interact
Ask questions!!! People love giving advice, their point of view, their experience in hopes to help others! (ie. whatâs a fun 2 player board game for someone who doesnât like conflict)
Use polls - this is an easy way and low-effort way for OTHERS to interact with you (also can drive engagement with how easy others can interact with it!)
CONVERSION
GOAL: go from a casual onlooker to a new follower and/or a new member of your community
Share things that are âedu-tainmentâ - educational and entertaining to people. Itâs a great way to merge your expertise (what you can provide value) and your personality (what makes you unique)!
Instead of âmemeâ content - itâs content featuring you! ie. funny takes, pictures of your board game/ttrpg collection, âa day in the lifeâ
LOYALTY
GOAL: have active followers/members of the community who seek you out to readily to support you
This is when you can open up a smaller group to a discord or private channel, collaborate, or use things like âfriends onlyâ or âclose friendsâ - think a bit more candidly
Push towards active Call to Actions (CTAâs) like subscribing to a substack or on twitch, or more personal projects
ADVOCACY
GOAL: For a community that has a high level of mutual trust and champions you/your ideals/your projects/etc.
Here is where you can have community game nights, watch parties, book clubs, etc with a smaller, more tight knit hang outs.
This is kinda where digital communities thrive. These community members are super excited and support you and see the change you affect, so they encourage other like-minded people to maybe be âawareâ or are âinterestedâ in the same things which could âconvertâ into more âloyalâ community members later on! (see what I did there?)
So whatâs the TL;DR? It does take time to build community and a strong social media following that not only keeps you safe but also those who support you safe. However, there are ways to raise your âbrand awarenessâ and get your eyes on your projects/streams/content. Try to look at it from a big picture strategically and then come up with some boundaries and structure on how you can turn it into tactics (ie. this month Iâll focus on relatable memes and 2 âhigh value edu-taintmentâ posts).
ChĂșc mừng nÄm má»i! XÄ«n niĂĄn kuĂ i lĂš!
Happy Lunar New Year (in Vietnamese, pronounced chook-moong num moy and in Mandarin, shin-nyan kwai leh)! And if you didnât know, 2024 is the Year of the Dragon, specifically the Wood Dragon.
I miss celebrating with my family back at home! Itâs always a good time to see friends and family in celebration of health and good fortunes ahead. Here are some traditions that remind me Lunar New Year:
Vegetarian meals on the first day that consisted of rice, stir-fried snow peas, and tofu. This is meant to purify the body and spirit to kick off the new year!
Burning incenses and praying to our ancestors. When I would pray to my grandparents, I would catch them up on my life and wish that they watch over my family. We also always got onto our knees and bowed 3 times.
Red Envelopes - these were usually passed from our grandparents and parents to all the kids and cousins. These red and gold hongbao (Mandarin for âRed Bagâ), represent prosperity and good luck for the upcoming year.
February 10th starts celebrations around the world and I encourage you to look up some Lunar New Year celebrations around your community! I can promise you music, laughter, GREAT food, and if youâre lucky, maybe even a little red envelope!
GOOD MORNING BALTIMORE~
Lastly, on February 17th, Iâll be a special guest at the grand opening of largest game store on the east cost, Games and Stuff! If youâre in the DMV area (thatâs DC, Maryland, and Virginia, not the one with the long lines and weird waiting roomsâŠ) and youâre free on Saturday, come on down to Games and Stuff from 10am-4pm! Other special guests include Elizabeth Hargrave (award winning game designer) and Eric Slauson (fellow dawg and designer of MonsDRAWsity, Tattoo Stories, Wacronyms + more). There will also be tournaments, how-to-plays, publisher showcases and more so come on out for a day of games and community!
And thatâs all for today, folks! As always thanks for taking the time to read and let me hang out in your inbox/on your phones/computer screens for a bit! If thereâs ever any questions or comments, feel free to leave them here or reach out to me! Iâm always looking for feedback to make sure I can provide some value and enrichment to your day (even if thatâs just a smile!). Have a good day/week/weekend and Happy Lunar New Year! Until next timeâŠ!
Stay strong. Stay thicc. *Big hug*
OOOOH YEAH!!!