Choosing the right content type for each marketing funnel stage will help you make the most of the content marketing funnel.
Some kinds of content perform better for enhancing customer awareness and others are better for MOFU education, while some perform best at the tail-end of the buyer journey. However, there are no hard and fast rules.
For example, most B2B blog content is geared toward customers at the top of the funnel, and because of the product cost, it may take longer for leads to convert. But for B2C audiences, customers can move pretty quickly from blog post to purchase.
With those caveats in mind, here are some recommended content types for each stage of the marketing funnel:
Effective TOFU Content Types
Most top-of-the-funnel content is geared toward building awareness by helping potential customers solve pressing problems. Some top choices include:
- Blog Posts (How-to, Guides): These do well both in the top and bottom of the funnel. Educating your audience and providing value highlights your expertise and creates a memorable experience for leads.
- Ads: Paid ads are an excellent way to grab attention both on search engine result pages (SERPs) and on web pages.
- Infographics and checklists: These highly distributable media assets travel farther than your blog post may go and can be an effective way to make a strong first impression.
- Ebooks and whitepapers: Ebooks are another kind of educational content particularly useful for diving into more complex topics. An ebook that tackles your audience’s pain points can be an excellent lead-generation tool. The same applies to whitepapers that shed light on an issue facing your target audience.
- How-to Videos: 79% of people say they’ve been convinced to buy or download a piece of software or app by watching a video. How-to videos are a great way to introduce your product.
- Webinars: According to ON24, 76% of marketers say that webinars help them reach more leads. This content marketing approach harnesses the power of video marketing in a cost-effective way.
