Middle-of-the-Funnel Marketing Explained (And Best Practices)

When planning anything, we always emphasize the first and the last step: the initial action and the expected outcome. Whatever is in the middle gets less attention—the middle child syndrome.

We see this pattern in funnels. Many marketers focus on the top and bottom of their funnels, not giving the middle segment the same love.

Are you guilty of this too? Do you focus on grabbing your audience’s attention (ToFu) and encouraging your existing community to purchase your offerings (BoFu)?

The middle of the funnel plays a crucial role—it’s the part that warms up your top-funnel audience. It’s where you nurture your leads. In this article, we take a closer look at why that matters, the content you can create, and the best middle-funnel practices.

What is MOFU?

MoFu (middle of the funnel) is all about consideration, value education, and relationship building. This is the stage where you nurture your leads by giving value and strengthening your relationship with them.

Think of it like reading a new book: The first chapters were fascinating, so your nose is stuck. But the story becomes dragging after a while. Instead of finishing the book, you shelve it and move on to another.

No matter how great your introduction is, no one will reach the end if you don’t follow through.

Consideration

Just because you managed to introduce your brand to prospects doesn’t mean it’s an easy ride. They might consider your brand as a solution to their problems, but are you the best one out there? Your solution is not the only answer; there are many competitors. MoFu is where you prove that your solution is the best fit for them.

Value Education

To give your brand more ammo, position yourself as the expert (and make sure you are an expert). Your mid-funnel content should present facts, solutions to their problems, and actionable tips. Provide insights on their concerns, highlighting your product or service’s key features and benefits. Remember to add value to what they already know. This proves your authority on the subject and increases their trust in you.

Relationship building

Your audience will likely listen to you if they trust you. Make them feel part of your brand by engaging them in discussions and encouraging their participation in brand events. Nurturing your relationship with your audience will give you an advantage in their decision process.

Middle-of-Funnel Content Ideas

The goal of the middle funnel is to nurture leads (so that they become buyers later) through a series of contents. You want to keep entertaining your audience and ease them towards your offerings.

Here are the content types that best fit the job:

• Social media posts

• Blog posts

• Case studies

• Email newsletters

• Webinars and videos

• Product reviews

MoFu Best Practices

Now that you understand the importance of the middle of the funnel and what content to create, let’s look into ways to optimize it.

Segmentation

Not everyone in the middle of the funnel has the same thought process about your brand and what you offer. Some might have little to no idea if your solution would work for them, while others might scrutinize its benefits.

Rather than churn out content aimlessly, it’s better to segment it based on the engagement and behavior of your audience. Newsletter subscribers may seek more in-depth content than those who follow you on your social media accounts. Those who rarely open your emails can also receive a different newsletter from those who frequently read it.

Segmentation allows you to provide a personalized buyer experience and pace them into having a stronger buying intent.

Lead scoring

In score-based tournaments, participants who have a higher number of points move to the next round. Lead scoring is the same (minus the competition). It’s a way to rank potential buyers to see who can move down the pipeline.

The last thing you want is for prospects to move to the conversion stage when they aren’t ready yet. Lead scoring tallies your audience's engagement with your brand. Did they download your free ebook, comment on your post, or answer a poll?

Higher points = quality leads = high-paying costumers

Social proof

Imagine surfing the net for hypoallergenic dog food and two brands appear. Brand X has no reviews, while Brand Y has 156 reviews (plus cute videos of pups munching it).

Do the reviews make the brand feel more trustworthy? That’s the power of social proof. It’s part of our psychology as social beings—what is trusted by the majority compels us to trust it too.

Let real customers tell the story of your brand. Ask them to write testimonials and reviews or encourage social media engagement such as likes, follows, and shares.

Refined CTA

The construction of your call-to-action is more important than you think. It is not just a button to tell your customer to “buy now” or “purchase here”—it should depend on where your audience is in their buyer journey.

Refine your CTAs by using verb choices that tell them what to do next. In the middle of the funnel, use CTAs like “read our FAQs,” “download the free guide,” and “click to learn more.”

Simplifying MoFu

Optimizing your middle of the funnel can be a lot to take in, especially with the never-ending updates on digital platforms. But through the algorithm changes and the new apps popping up, two things will always remain clear and relevant:

• At the MoFu stage, the goal is to get prospects to like you and increase trust so that when they’re ready to purchase, they’ll choose you.

• To do that, you have to nurture your relationships with them by giving them immense value.

Let those two things guide your tactics, whether on social media, email, or other forms of content.

And at your next strategy meeting, don’t forget to give your MoFu much-needed love.