Maximizing conversions is the name of the game for marketers in just about every industry. However, this is of course easier said than done. To be successful, you need to really drill down your content marketing campaigns with sales funnels for every step.

Noble Crawford, CEO of Video Social Creative, found a few content marketing assets a bit more valuable than others, such as social media marketing, blogs, newsletters, case studies, videos, infographics, white papers, and the the list goes on.

All of the mentioned marketing assets have value, but only when applied correctly at different stages of the sales funnel . . .

  • Top of the Funnel (TOFU)
  • Middle of the Funnel (MOFU)
  • Bottom of the Funnel (BOFU)

Not all marketing assets can be tethered blindly throughout the sales funnel, since some assets work better in specific scenarios. It’s like pairing wine with the perfect complimentary cheeses.

What goes best together? The following can serve as your sales funnel quick guide for maximum conversions. Let’s dive in!

TOFU Sales Funnel Content Marketing

Top of the funnel, or TOFU is where the sales journey begins for most consumers. Knowing what content marketing assets to leverage for TOFU customers is essential, because this is the first touch point. The following is the content types you can employ at the top of the sales funnel.

  • Video Content: Videos are now a must-do for marketers and businesses, mainly due to higher customer engagement. For instance, video use in emails have up to 300 percent open rates. And 73 percent of B2B marketers see serious ROI from videos.
  • Blog Content: Blogs are pretty common marketing assets at the TOFU sales funnel, since they are easy to create and share online. Blog content is also lighter, since the aim of blogs is to simply connect and raise brand awareness with your target audience.
  • Authoritative Content: One of the best ways to churn a potential customer or lead down the top of the sales funnel is authoritative content. This is often an executive in your company writing and publishing high quality content on high authority sites. It is great social proof that showcases your company in a positive, knowledgeable way.

MOFU Sales Funnel Content Marketing

If your top of the funnel content strategy was effective, your potential customers and leads will move down to the middle of the funnel, or MOFU. MOFU is a pretty important moment in the sales funnel, because this is where consumers are seeking a solution.

The main objective during MOFU is to bring your product or service under the spotlight for consumers to realize that you have a solution, and that solution is best. In this moment of the sales funnel, you are nurturing and educating your target audience using the following content marketing strategies.

  • Ebooks: To educate potential customers in the middle of your sales funnel, deploy an ebook that is informational and useful. The ebook can cover your industry, identify the common problem among your target audience, and showcase your company’s solution. You can also set up an email opt-in for people to download the ebook to further your lead generation efforts.
  • White Papers: Another great way to educate and nurture your potential customers mi sales funnel is with white papers. White papers can cover a number of topics, but the key is to highlight the product or service you want to sell. It could be data and stats on how your product helps.
  • Webinars: Lastly, webinars can be useful to educate your audience about how your company’s solution/product can have a significant impact on a problem. The best part about webinars is that they can live forever online, on your website, on your social media channels, and more.

BOFU Sales Funnel Content Marketing

By the time potential customers reach the bottom of your sales funnel, or BOFU, they should be conversion ready. They have been made aware of your brand from blogs and authoritative content in high authority publications, they had the chance to evaluate your products and/or services via white papers and webinars, and now it’s time to make the sale using a number of content marketing assets like the following.

  • Video Demos: You used video content to raise brand awareness, but now it is time to tailor a few videos for conversions. Videos that demo your solution and show social proof can be the last bit of content needed to tip a consumer’s confidence to buy. Be sure your demo videos are exciting and concise with a clear call to action to drive a potential customer to your sales page or checkout.
  • Influencers: Influencer marketing is a strategy you can combine with your overall content marketing strategy to close potential customers at the bottom of the sales funnel. Research has shown that consumers trust influencer recommendations more than marketing messages blasted out by brands.
  • Comparison Content: If you are in a competitive industry, there is probably a lot of noise surrounding products and/or solutions like yours. This makes objective comparisons a must-do to convert potential customers at the BOFU stage. Highlight your solution and showcase how it’s better than your competitors’ solutions.

Is Your Content Marketing Strategy and Sales Funnel on the Same Page?

Mapping out your content marketing strategy and sales funnel is an important step in order to maximize conversions. Tailor your content for each stage of the sales funnel; Awareness, Evaluation, and Conversion to quickly churn your target audience down the funnel for a sale in the most non-intrusive way. What’s your top content marketing tip for building out the perfect sales funnel? We want to hear from you.