It’s difficult to point to the most important part of the sales funnel, but MoFu is undeniably where a lot of content marketing magic happens.
In the Middle of the Funnel stage, you nurture your relationship with your potential customers further and nudge them closer to becoming prospects. You convert interest into intent by suggesting the distinctive value of your offering.
What is MoFu content about? How do you show prospects that your solution will solve their problem? And lastly, how do you create a successful content marketing strategy?
Let’s find out!
Understanding the Middle of the Funnel (MoFu)
We’ve already covered the basics of the sales funnel in our previous guide. Having checked that, you should know that the middle of the funnel is a little tricky.
On one side, you’ve just shifted the potential customer’s intent from directly informative to transactional. Conversely, you do not want to push too hard on a direct sale as that could scare them away.
Your lead generation efforts should still be largely focused on educational content – you want to take the information and insights garnered from the top of the funnel (ToFu) and expand upon them, gently pushing your target audience towards making a decision.
Turning Leads into Prospects with MoFu Content
At this specific stage of the sales funnel, you should still nurture leads with content but be more focused on solutions.
In other words, you want to keep presenting yourself as an expert in your field (as you do in your ToFu content). Still, you should slowly guide potential customers toward the realization that your product or service might be just the solution they’re looking for.
Now, the important part: middle-of-funnel content shouldn’t sound too salesy or pushy – try to strike a balance between educational and promotional content.
You can do so by showing your potential customers informative blog posts and case studies or sending out newsletters to let them know that you care about their problems and have solutions.
Robert SurdelCase studies are a goldmine for demonstrating expertise and authority, something that Google loves. By detailing successful client stories, you can showcase the capability of your company to solve complex problems and prove yourself as a thought leader in the industry
Lead Editor/Content Coordinator
Through these resources, you showcase the allure of your offer. As a result, potential customers will get to know how you can help them – and, with it, drive conversions in the process.
Types of MoFu Content
The most effective types of MoFu content are those that allow you to expand more on the topics discussed in your ToFu content.
Oftentimes, your MoFu and ToFu content overlap. For instance, your target audience may download an e-book or white paper because they wish to educate themselves, which is typical for ToFu.
However, suppose the content is well-designed and provides clear next steps that guide the reader through the process while also discussing your offer. In that case, it also becomes MoFu content – creating new potential customers.
Some may argue that this is limited to only certain types of content, like webinars or guides. The truth is, you can turn most content types into MoFu content. Here is a brief list:
- Webinars – This form of educational content helps to bridge the gap between awareness and decision-making by diving deeper into the potential solutions.
- Guides – Guides provide a detailed exploration of a topic, solution, or product and explain to potential customers how your offer may resolve their problem.
- Product Comparisons – Typically a BoFu type of content, product comparisons can work effectively in the MoFu stage, too. You can use them to subtly highlight the advantages of your offer over those of competitors.
- Case Studies – Real-life success stories show how your product/service worked for others, which can help persuade leads to become prospects.
- Newsletters – Regularly sent to the leads, they contain curated content or new insights about industry trends, keeping your lead engaged and subtly nurturing them toward conversion.
- Industry Reports – In-depth reports on current trends or the state of the industry prove that you’re an expert, building trust while also providing valuable information.
- E-Books – A longer format than a blog post allows you to educate your leads about your industry and suggest solutions in less obvious ways.
- Interviews – Featuring discussions with industry professionals or satisfied customers can enhance the authenticity and trustworthiness of your product or service.
- Podcasts – A series on a complex topic could provide value and keep potential customers engaged over a longer period of time.
- Online Surveys or Quizzes – Interactive content can engage your leads, allow you to get feedback, and provide personalized insights.
How Much Middle of Funnel Content Do You Need?
Deciding on how much MoFu content you need isn’t a straightforward process. Ideally, you want to evaluate your lead nurturing process and determine the weight of each part of your sales funnel.
This usually results in approximately 30-40% of your content being MoFu materials.
This, of course, assumes that you have a clear-cut distinction between ToFu, MoFu, and BoFu content. As we’ve mentioned in our main guide, they very often overlap and change their ‘status’ based on the intent of the person consuming your content.
You may also want to keep the following tips in mind when developing your ToFu/MoFu/BoFu content plan:
- Not all content is equal, which is why you should take a holistic approach when creating your strategy – plan for some pieces to have high exchange value (like downloadable resources or webinars), and follow them up with lower-volume pieces like blog posts or newsletters.
- Adding more and more content is not the answer to low conversion rates. Always remember: quality over quantity. It’s more about nurturing your existing leads and providing real answers, not purely about attracting new audiences.
- Check your metrics regularly! Looking into the analytic data you have, you can adjust your content strategy according to what works best. More on this in the final section of this article.
Crafting Compelling MoFu Content
The key to producing MoFu content that resonates with your leads and prompts conversions is understanding where your prospects are in the sales funnel.
As part of a well-thought-out B2C or B2B lead generation strategy, your MoFu content should be informative, engaging, and subtly persuasive, helping your target audience make the move from lead to paying client.
But you probably know this by now. However, what is the magic formula that turns a piece of content into a lead magnet?
First and foremost, it needs to be uniquely yours.
Everyone in the market has some type of digital marketing in their marketing funnel, but your content should be different – reflecting your unique value proposition.
Przemyslaw PuternickiWith AI-generated articles flooding the internet, the value of being unique has only increased.
People are naturally attracted to individuals and brands they consider genuine. Because of that, you should keep your messaging clear and establish an easily approachable brand voice that reflects who you are and what you do.
Content Specialist
Your MoFu content should reflect this. Don’t just provide generic information; rather, teach your audience something new or provide them with a fresh perspective.
Next, you should establish an emotional connection with your audience. People are increasingly interested in the companies they do business with, and they want to feel as though the businesses they choose genuinely understand and care about their needs and wants.
This doesn’t have to be something profound. Sometimes, a good chuckle can make a potential customer feel closer to your brand. They will remember you better when making a purchase decision.
Measuring the Success of MoFu Content
Okay, so how do you measure success after you’ve developed and implemented your MoFu content?
The obvious answer is leads.
If your MoFu content is all about nurturing, then the measure of success is new leads generated or existing ones nurtured to the bottom of the funnel (BoFu) level.
This requires a proper tracking system in place. Most CRM systems will allow you to do this, with the support of digital marketing tools like Google Analytics, to view your content’s performance.
Most Leads Never Convert to Sales
Most leads you get on your website never convert to sales – this may sound like stating the obvious, but it’s a key point to remember when reviewing your MoFu content’s performance.
This doesn’t mean, however, that this content isn’t working. Remember that MoFu content supports lead nurturing, not just conversion.
In this way, it serves as a guiding light, igniting interest and subtly (or not) promoting your brand.
After all, engaging and converting leads into prospects and, eventually, into sales is one major facet of a successful marketing funnel strategy, but building a loyal audience and becoming an influencer can often be just as significant.
Wrapping Up
When done well, MoFu content encourages prospects to move along the sales funnel and get closer to making a purchase decision.
Yet, getting it right can be nothing short of an art.
After all, you need to strike just the right balance between education and promotion, appeal to a range of audiences, and somehow persuade potential customers to take that all-important next step.
So why not expand on that blog post or e-book idea lingering in the back of your mind? It might just be the insider knowledge that pushes potential clients over the line!
