How to Build an Effective Content Marketing Funnel [Data + Guide]

In this article, we’ll explicate however to physique a contented selling funnel that generates marque awareness, leads, and sales.

We’ll besides stock information from a survey we conducted successful 2020, which polled 350 employees of integer selling agencies and different organizations from astir the world.

What Is a Content Marketing Funnel?

A contented selling funnel is simply a exemplary designed to make a postulation of contented that engages people audiences astatine assorted stages of the buying travel and usher them toward becoming paying customers.

The main contented selling funnel stages are:

• Top of the funnel (ToFu): Content that builds consciousness of the occupation you tin solve
• Middle of the funnel (MoFu): Content that generates involvement successful your products oregon services
• Bottom of the funnel (BoFu): Content that persuades prospects to go customers

Below is simply a ocular practice of a contented selling funnel. The funnel signifier represents the assemblage narrowing arsenic poor-quality prospects driblet out.

Let’s look astatine the stages much closely. And find retired which types of content are astir suitable for each stage.

Top-of-the-Funnel Content

The apical of the funnel is the starting constituent of the purchaser journey, and it's the astir populated stage. Here, radical aren’t yet acceptable to bargain and mightiness not person heard of your company. 

ToFu contented should pull your people audience’s attention, connection the champion reply to their queries, amended them, and past mildly present them to your brand. 

If you absorption connected selling astatine this stage, you mightiness thrust radical away.

Creating ToFu Content

To pull users astatine the apical of the contented selling funnel, take content ideas that are applicable to your business. But not overtly promotional.

In different words, code the problems radical person before they recognize they request your products oregon services.

That way, you tin pull invaluable audiences, commencement to physique affirmative relationships with them, and present your offerings successful a tactful mode aboriginal on.

Here are immoderate tips for ToFu contented creation:

• Focus connected solving the people audience’s symptom points
• Include internal links to different utile resources connected your site
• Briefly present your products oregon services erstwhile relevant
• Use on-page SEO (improving your webpages for hunt engines and users) to assistance your contented fertile higher successful hunt engines 

For example, mattress marque Casper has a station astir however to hole your slumber schedule. This attracts radical who mightiness request a caller mattress but don’t cognize it yet.

The marque establishes expertise and spot by sharing data-backed tips. And mildly directs readers toward applicable products oregon services.

One of the quickest ways to find contented ideas is with Semrush’s Topic Research tool. 

Just participate a taxable to find applicable subtopics you could cover.

Identifying the Best Types of ToFu Content

These are the apical 5 types of contented for attracting postulation to your site, according to our manufacture survey:

1. How-to guides: Text-based tutorials that assistance users execute circumstantial goals
2. Landing pages: Webpages designed to promote circumstantial actions (e.g., signifier submissions)
3. Infographics: Images that harvester information visualizations with informative text
4. Checklists: Resources that assistance users execute a extremity by checking items disconnected a list
5. Ebooks: Digital booklets (usually successful PDF format) that screen a circumstantial taxable successful depth

Distributing ToFu Content

The champion organisation tactics for ToFu contented are arsenic follows, according to our manufacture survey:

1. Organic hunt (SEO): Getting unpaid rankings successful applicable hunt motor results
2. Social media marketing: Sharing your contented via platforms similar Instagram and LinkedIn
3. Email marketing: Reaching retired to radical who’ve subscribed to your email updates
4. PPC/paid advertising: Paying to beforehand your contented done integer advertisements
5. Influencer marketing: Incentivizing applicable influencers to beforehand your content

Analyzing ToFu Content Metrics

The occurrence of ToFu contented is usually measured by these content selling metrics, according to our survey:

1. Number of visitors: The fig of unsocial users who sojourn your tract oregon content
2. Conversion rate: The percent of visits that make a desired enactment (e.g., a signifier submission)
3. Time connected page: How agelong the mean idiosyncratic remains connected a fixed webpage
4. Number of leads: The fig of users who explicit involvement successful your offerings (often by opting into communications from your business)
5. Bounce rate: The percent of unengaged sessions connected your site

You tin way metrics similar these with Google Analytics oregon another web analytics tool.

Middle-of-the-Funnel Content

In the mediate of the contented selling funnel, users person identified the request for a peculiar merchandise oregon service. And they’re evaluating their options.

MoFu contented should assistance people audiences recognize the options disposable to them and presumption your solution arsenic the best.

Creating MoFu Content

To travel up with ideas for MoFu content, see what factors your customers probe earlier buying.

For example:

• Which marque should I bargain from?
• What merchandise oregon work benignant is close for me?
• What are the benefits of upgrading?

By helping radical reply these kinds of questions, you tin physique spot with high-value prospects. And usher them toward a buying decision.

For example, mattress retailer Dreams has a mattress types guide:

You tin spend to beryllium self-promotional astatine this stage. Where appropriate, item the benefits of your offering. And however it differs from competitors’. 

But, you should supply impartial advice, too. To physique spot with your audience.

The mediate of the funnel is besides a bully spot for lead generation. Because users astatine this signifier are much consenting to springiness their interaction accusation successful speech for entree to high-quality content.

You tin past nurture the leads you acquire. This means maintaining relationships with them and guiding them toward the bottommost of the funnel.

Identifying the Best Types of MoFu Content

These are the champion types of contented for generating leads, according to our survey:

1. How-to guides: Text-based tutorials that helps users execute a circumstantial goal
2. Product overviews: Detailed accusation astir merchandise features, benefits, specifications, etc.
3. Case studies: Data-led reports astir customers’ successes with a merchandise oregon service
4. Landing pages: Webpages designed to promote circumstantial actions (e.g., signifier submissions)
5. Webinars: Online, interactive presentations astir topics related to your business

And these are the champion types of contented for nurturing leads:

1. Success stories: Story-driven reports astir customers’ successes with a merchandise oregon service
2. Product overviews: Detailed accusation astir merchandise features, benefits, specifications, etc.
3. Case studies: Data-led reports astir customers’ successes with a merchandise oregon service
4. How-to guides: Text-based tutorials that helps users execute a circumstantial goal
5. Customer reviews: Positive testimonials from erstwhile customers

The contented types are much solution-oriented to assistance nurture prospective customers into seeing the existent benefits of your products oregon services.

For example, lawsuit studies tin amusement however your products oregon services person affected different customers successful affirmative and measurable ways. 

But arsenic information varies a batch astatine this stage, you should connection a wide prime of convincing materials and amusement antithetic ways of utilizing your products oregon services. 

Distributing MoFu Content

The champion channels for generating leads are arsenic follows, according to our manufacture survey:

1. Organic hunt (SEO): Getting unpaid rankings successful applicable hunt motor results
2. Email marketing: Reaching retired to radical who’ve subscribed to your email updates
3. Social media marketing: Sharing your contented via platforms similar Instagram and LinkedIn
4. PPC/paid advertising: Paying to beforehand your contented done integer advertisements
5. Influencer marketing: Incentivizing applicable influencers to beforehand your content

The champion channels for nurturing leads are the aforesaid but successful a somewhat antithetic order:

1. Email marketing
2. Social media marketing
3. Organic hunt (SEO)
4. PPC/paid advertising
5. Influencer marketing

Analyzing MoFu Content Metrics

The occurrence of MoFu contented is usually measured by these metrics, according to our survey:

1. Conversion rate: The percent of visits that make a desired enactment (e.g., a signifier submission)
2. Number of leads: The fig of users who explicit involvement successful your offerings (often by opting into communications from your business)
3. Number of visitors: The fig of unsocial users who sojourn your tract oregon content
4. Time connected page: How agelong the mean idiosyncratic remains connected a fixed webpage
5. ROI/ROMI: Return connected (marketing) concern is however overmuch gross your selling activities make compared to their costs (e.g., a run that outgo $10 and generated $20 had a 100% ROMI)

Bottom-of-the-Funnel Content

At the bottommost of the contented selling funnel, prospects are acceptable to marque a purchase. And they whitethorn oregon whitethorn not person chosen a provider.

You request to absorption connected giving prospects information to bargain from you.

Creating BoFu Content

BoFu contented should halfway astir your products oregon services.

You request to stress immoderate unsocial selling points, reply last-minute questions shoppers mightiness have, and usage science to your advantage.

For instance:

• Create a consciousness of urgency: Discourage prospects from delaying their acquisition by making them alert of debased banal levels, limited-time deals, etc.
• Leverage societal proof: People look to the actions and opinions of their peers earlier making a decision. So, it’s a bully thought to speech astir the fig of blessed customers you have.
• Establish authority: Showcase accreditations (e.g., manufacture certifications) to guarantee prospects that you’re trustworthy and springiness them the assurance to marque their purchase
• Use a telephone to action: Prompt visitors into enactment by telling them precisely what to bash (e.g., “Start Your Free Trial”) 

This Serta merchandise leafage provides elaborate accusation astir the mattress’s features and benefits:

It besides highlights galore of the company’s unsocial selling points:

And displays reviews from blessed customers:

Identifying the Best Types of BoFu Content

According to our survey, the top-performing contented types for the BoFu signifier are:

1. Product overviews: Detailed accusation astir merchandise features, benefits, specifications, etc.
2. Customer reviews: Positive testimonials from erstwhile customers
3. Success stories: Story-driven reports astir customers’ successes with a merchandise oregon service

Distributing BoFu Content

These are the astir businesslike ways to get BoFu contented noticed, according to our manufacture survey:

1. Email marketing: Reaching retired to radical who’ve subscribed to your email updates
2. Organic hunt (SEO): Getting unpaid rankings successful applicable hunt motor results
3. PPC/paid advertising: Paying to beforehand your contented done integer advertisements

Analyzing BoFu Content Metrics

Our manufacture respondents accidental the apical BoFu contented ratio metrics are:

1. Conversion rate: The percent of visits that make a desired enactment (e.g., a signifier submission)
2. Number of payments: The fig of income transactions made by users who sojourn a fixed page
3. ROI/ROMI: Return connected (marketing) concern is however overmuch gross your selling activities make compared to their costs (e.g., a run that outgo $10 and generated $20 had a 100% ROMI)

5 Tips for Building a Content Marketing Funnel

Here are 5 tips to assistance you physique a robust contented selling funnel:

1. Understand Your Target Audience

It’s important to recognize your target audiences’ needs, preferences, and behaviors astatine each signifier of the buying journey.

Only past tin you make and administer contented successful the astir effectual ways possible.

For example, let’s see however young professionals mightiness prosecute with a mattress brand’s contented astatine each signifier of the funnel:

• ToFu: Follow different site’s nexus to your blog station astir reducing nightly surface time
• MoFu: Look astatine mattress recommendations from their favourite influencers connected TikTok
• BoFu: Make a determination based connected cardinal factors similar terms and instrumentality policy

By comparison, here’s however older adults mightiness prosecute with the aforesaid business:

• ToFu: Follow a Google effect to your blog station astir reducing backmost pain
• MoFu: Take a quiz to find if it’s clip to regenerate their aged mattress
• BoFu: Make a determination based connected marque accreditations and reviews

To larn much astir your assemblage segments, effort One2Target.

Enter a fewer competitors’ domains and click “Analyze.”

You tin past spot details astir your competitors’ corporate audience. Broken down by demographic, socioeconomic, and behavioral information.

You tin adjacent spot which societal media platforms this assemblage uses most. To pass your organisation efforts.

For much information, cheque retired our in-depth usher to larn how to bash assemblage research.

2. Perform Keyword Research

Conducting keyword research helps you find retired what radical hunt for successful hunt engines similar Google. 

You tin usage it to find retired what your people audiences are funny successful astatine each signifier of the marketing funnel. And optimize your content accordingly.

To get started, spell to Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool.

Enter a wide word related to your business, take your people country, past click “Search.”

The instrumentality volition contiguous a database of keywords that incorporate your starting word oregon a adjacent variation.

In the “Intent” column, you’ll spot the benignant of search intent down each keyword. (The wide intent down the mean user’s search.)

This gives a beardown denotation of wherever the idiosyncratic is successful the selling funnel:

We besides urge that you look at:

• Volume: The mean fig of monthly searches for the keyword
• KD %: The keyword trouble score, which measures ranking trouble retired of 100

When you place a keyword of interest, click the icon to the close of the fig successful the “Com.” column.

This lets you spot the Google hunt results. So you tin find what benignant of contented is astir apt to execute well. And get a amended knowing of your imaginable visitors.

For example, the results leafage for “best steadfast mattress” is dominated by examination guides (MoFu). Rather than merchandise pages (BoFu).

This suggests that radical who hunt “best steadfast mattress” aren’t yet acceptable to buy. So, you should usage that keyword successful a MoFu portion that helps readers measure their options.

3. Analyze Your Competitors’ Content

Get insights and inspiration for your ain contented selling funnel by analyzing competitors’ content.

Doing this helps you:

• Identify contented gaps: Find retired whether your assemblage has unmet needs you tin address. By filling these gaps, you tin nonstop much prospects into your contented funnel.
• Gather show metrics: Learn from your competitors’ successes and mistakes. And make benchmarks for your ain contented strategy.
• Differentiate your content: See what your competitors are already doing truthful you tin find ways to basal out

One of the champion ways to stitchery competitory insights is with Semrush’s Traffic Analytics tool.

Choose your people location, participate up to 5 competitors’ domains, and past click “Analyze.”

In the “Top Pages” report, you tin place pages with increasing oregon declining postulation volumes. And recently detected pages.

Further down, you’ll find information for each listed URLs. Including:

• Number of visitors
• Average sojourn duration
• Traffic sources

4. Get the Balance Right

Generally, it’s a bully thought to enactment connected lower-funnel contented earlier upper-funnel content. Because there’s small constituent attracting prospects you’ll conflict to convert.

But don’t autumn into the trap of focusing excessively overmuch connected BoFu content. 

Not lone volition this earnestly bounds your reach, but it’ll harm your quality to physique spot with prospects. 

To maximize conversions, you request a bully equilibrium of ToFu, MoFu, and BoFu content.

How bash you find the close balance?

By measuring metrics successful each signifier of the contented selling funnel. And taking corrective enactment if you spot a weakness successful immoderate area.

The easiest mode to bash this is with the ImpactHero app. 

It shows whether your show is declining successful immoderate funnel stage:

And it besides lets you spot which postulation sources bring the most/least visitors, idiosyncratic activities, and leads:

For the afloat workflow, cheque retired this ImpactHero guide.

5. Build Customer Loyalty

Loyal customers tin spell done your contented selling funnel again and again. They mightiness adjacent nonstop different radical to your funnel.

So, you should besides make contented that builds lawsuit loyalty. Meaning it’s aimed astatine those who’ve already gone done the determination phase.

For example:

• Product oregon work updates: Ensure customers cognize astir the newest features
• Exclusive content: Create contented that’s accessible to erstwhile customers only
• Tutorials: Walk customers done however to usage your products oregon services astir effectively

Make Your Content Funnel a Success

There’s a batch that goes into creating a robust contented selling funnel. But you tin streamline the process with the close content instauration tools.

For example, a free Semrush trial lets you:

• Identify fashionable contented topics and keywords
• Learn astir your people audience
• Optimize your contented for hunt engines
• Analyze competitors’ content

And overmuch more.