A New Way to Think About Content Funnels

The concept of top-, middle-, and bottom-of-funnel content never made sense to me.

Here’s why:

Everyone draws these lines differently, and there is no clarity on what type of content each bucket needs and where to place it.

Here’s a more practical approach I use:

Outside-the-funnel and inside-the-funnel.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥?

These are people who fit your customer profile, but they:
- have either not yet heard about you and your company, or
- are aware of you but don't yet experience the pain points that you solve.

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭-𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞:

You need to post educational content that your target audience is looking for: questions they have, problems they’re struggling with, etc.

For example for us, we post educational content around… content marketing:
- how content marketing works
- how to create better content
- which software and tools to use, etc.

𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭:

You need to distribute that content in organic channels where your target audience hangs out:
- organic LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tiktok, etc.
- ads on the above channels.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥?

This includes anyone who:
- fits customer profile,
- is aware of you and your company, AND
- experiences the pain points that your product/service solves.

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭-𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞:

Inside-of-funnel content is anything that helps you convert people from the awareness stage to signed contract.

It answers why someone should work with you and not your competitor.

For example:

- How exactly do you work, and what does your process look like?
- How’s your onboarding process, and what’s the timeline?
- What results can customers expect?
- What are the different features of your product and service?

𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭:

- You should put it on your website because that’s what people check when they want to work with you.
- You can send it in an email newsletter for people who have shown interest in your offer but haven’t bought it yet for some reason.

Let me know in the comments if you found this helpful.