The AIDA model in Social Media Marketing

AIDA? OMG another acronym?

Oh yes, we marketers thrive on that stuff! And AIDA is nothing if not a marketing model that will get your strategy into the right direction.

First off: What is the AIDA model?

What AIDA stands for:

• Attention – getting your audience’s eyes and ears.
• Interest – because there’s a difference between hearing and listening.
• Desire – when your marketing actually got them and the supply has become demand.
• Action – When demand has become getting one’s ass into the car and going to stand in a line outside of your store for three days to buy your product.

Oh, and it gets worse!

Of course we’re gonna look at this schtick from a social media point of view, which is not so different, since social media is a channel for digital marketing.

The AIDA model in social media would suggest that gaining your audience’s attention on social media means you need to have the best graphic design on Facebook or the most attractive photograph on Instagram so that the user stops scrolling his feed and stays on your post long enough in order to develop an interest, reading your post’s text and maybe even getting interested on what’s behind the link.
Desire builds to click the link, since your offer, product image or news title have created an urge to know more, and once your post is clicked, our desired Action has been taken and we have our click.

AIDA is all about conversion

But conversion does not necessarily mean clicks to your website, even though your main goal on social media is to convert fans into leads.

With the advent of social commerce and online shopping, using the AIDA model in social media is actually even more sought after now that conversions on social media area more horizontal than vertical.

That said, with the right strategy, enough research and some A/B testing, the AIDA model will be easy to achieve and should help you boost your conversions sky high.

Nothing more than a marketing schtick?

Even so, remembering a few key ingredients is never a bad thing, and using acronyms might be goofy but if it gets the job done…

A. Attention – capture your audience with intriguing copy and eye catching graphics and photography.

I. Interest – make sure your posts are being seen by the right people so that advertising budget is not wasted. Use your social media’s interest filtering for that.

D. Desire – deliver honest and useful offers and information, otherwise even an award-winning photograph won’t help you achieve a conversion.

A. Action – write clear and direct call to actions, try to guide your visitor through your marketing funnel and measure, measure, measure.

Got any AIDA success stories? Share them with us in the comments section.

Still not sure how to apply the AIDA model into your marketing efforts? Give me a shout!