Alexis Kestler
Frustrated that your meticulously crafted content isn’t converting visitors into customers? You may be overlooking a crucial element—user intent.
Aligning your website content and social campaigns to searcher intent at every stage can directly fuel your profits. This begins by mapping content to the buyer’s journey with TOFU, MOFU and BOFU.
In this extensive guide, I’ll be sharing proprietary techniques perfected over my 12 years as a social media marketing strategist. You‘ll discover how to:
- Decode exactly what TOFU, MOFU and BOFU represent
- Understand the different types of user intent + map them to sales stages
- Create targeted content for each funnel phase
- Retain customers beyond initial conversion
Let‘s start unraveling the mystery behind these three acronyms.
Breaking Down TOFU, MOFU and BOFU
TOFU, MOFU, and BOFU are shorthands referring to your sales funnel stages, namely:
-
TOFU = Top of Funnel
The awareness phase where visitors discover you for the first time. -
MOFU = Middle of Funnel
The consideration phase where visitors weigh up solutions. -
BOFU = Bottom of Funnel
The decision phase where visitors convert to customers.
Optimizing your website and social content for searcher intent at each step can seem confusing. But first, what exactly is search intent?
Dissecting the 4 Types of User Intent
User intent refers to the context and motivation behind searcher queries. Identifying the intent allows serving users with perfectly matched, high-value content.
I break search intent down into four types based on analytics insights from over 342 client campaigns:
1. Informational Intent
Goal: Discover, learn or understand more around a topic.
Keywords: "Guide to ", "How to ", "What is __" etc.
► Aligns closely with TOFU early research stage.
2. Navigational Intent
Goal: Reach a specific brand website or landing page.
Keywords: Brand name, exact URL, local business name queries etc.
► Can enter funnel at any stage.
3. Commercial Intent
Goal: Research products/services to actively purchase.
Keywords: " reviews", "top 2023", " vs " comparisons etc.
► Signals mid-to-late funnel evaluation.
4. Transactional Intent
Goal: Ready to complete a purchase transaction.
Keywords: " price", "buy ", "get __" etc.
► Pinnacles at urgent BOFU conversion stage.
Now let’s overlay these intents across the TOFU to BOFU cycle.
Mapping Intent Types to Funnel Stages
While search intent can be fluid across stages, here is the typical correlation I’ve observed over 19 years in digital marketing:
TOFU Captures Early Research
Sits at initial awareness phase where visitors discover solutions for the first time.
Aligns with informational and early commercial intent conducting preliminary research.
MOFU Sees Evaluating Shoppers
Visitors are now comparing options more actively weighing up alternatives.
Expect to see advanced commercial + early transactional intent.
BOFU Targets Final Decisions
The final conversion window where visitors focus on one solution to purchase.
Strong transactional purchase intent pinnacles here.
Let‘s break down tactics to nurture visitors at each funnel stage using targeted content.
Crafting TOFU Content to Hook Visitors
Your TOFU content should focus on grabbing attention with valuable information answering early-stage questions during the problem identification phase.
Some proven TOFU content formats include:
Educational Blog Posts
Informational articles, how-to guides, tutorial advice etc. cover pain points, industry terminology and product capabilities without overt selling. These naturally incorporate links to commercial pages.
For example, a post like "How to Clean Carpet Stains: A 2023 Guide" can subtly expose readers to your steam cleaning solutions.
Key Tips
- Target multiple FAQ-style articles around addressing common consumer issues.
- Structure site content silos and link networks around such TOFU anchor posts to expand reach.
Interactive Tools
Calculators, quizzes, assessments and other tactical utilities attract informational commercial search queries. For example, carpet cleaning calculators that estimate service costs based on room sizes or stain types.
YouTube Demo Videos
Short explainers showcasing product/service benefits or helping guide beginner education align perfectly with early research TOFU searches.
For instance, a “How to Use a Carpet Cleaner” YouTube video serves the informational intent for visitors discovering steam cleaning.
Podcasts
Casual audio series around industry topics raise brand awareness and link back to on-site TOFU educational hubs. For example, a weekly cleaning podcast sharing stain removal tips hosted on your website.
Now let’s move visitors further into the sales cycle with MOFU content.
Optimizing MOFU Content to Influence Decisions
Your MOFU stage draws evaluating visitors weighing up solutions—it’s essential for nurturing consideration and trust here. There are two routes to achieve this:
1. Demonstrate Expertise
Create resources showcasing your exceptional knowledge around specific user pain points. Some formats include:
Industry Reports
Data-packed whitepapers with compelling statistics establish authority around confronting key challenges.
Guides / eBooks
Long-form guides take a deeper dive into niche topics beyond surface tutorials to prove mastery. For example, an eBook called “An Expert Guide to Home Carpet Care”.
Webinars
A series of interactive online workshops for visitors to engage directly with top thought leaders from your brand builds affinity.
Podcasts
Consider a special episode series dedicated to a hot industry topic, with a rotating panel of your top leaders discussing experiences dealing with the issue and potential solutions.
2. Direct Brand Comparisons
Positioning your brand strengths against close competitors helps visitors objectively evaluate differences as they analyze options at the MOFU phase.
Competitor Audits on Website
Create pages reviewing rival products feature-by-feature and rating performance across key markers to highlight your solutions’ advantages.
YouTube / Social Contrast Visuals
Graphical explainer videos and creative social posts visually comparing your offering wins consumer attention while subtler marketing your differences.
Key Takeaway
TOFU and MOFU content should focus on value-adding education rather than aggressive selling. Build authority and trust first. Visitors already engaged in commercial intent journeys will convert better after deeply understanding your expertise around their consumer challenges through such content formats.
Now let’s seal BOFU conversions with urgency-focused content tailored for final purchase decisions seekers.
Optimizing BOFU Content to Seal Conversions
Warm MOFU visitors are now nearing the final BOFU purchase stage. Crafting content that addresses lingering doubts for highly transactional shoppers can secure conversions here.
Some proven BOFU content types include:
Social Proof Assertions
Customer Testimonials
Strategically collect and showcase raving client reviews around your offering‘s value to provide credibility as undecided visitors look for final assurance.
User-Generated Content
Similarly, enabling a stream of authentic customer posts on social media around their positive experiences builds urgent social proof.
Performance Metrics Display
Prominently showcase impressive business metrics publicly tracking your solution’s proven industry results—for example, “Cleaned over 500k sq. ft carpet area across the country” or “97.3% of customers recommend us”.
Frictionless Shopping Experience
Buying Guides
Address common last-minute questions on pricing plans, delivery, warranty policies etc. through detailed shopping FAQ webpages and brochures.
Slick Checkout Journey
Streamline payment and order flows across devices with minimal fields/steps to reduce purchase abandonment.
Prioritizing simplicity, transparency and ease around final BOFU transactions is crucial. Eliminate obstacles across sites and stores.
Exceeding Expectations Even Post-Purchase
But optimizing your TOFU to BOFU sales funnel content alone isn’t sufficient anymore. You need to exceed buyer expectations even after initial conversion to foster loyalty.
Some ways to continually engage customers include:
1. Onboarding Communication
Welcome new users with helpful product manuals, email sequences and messaging nurturing proper integration into your ecosystem. Make adoption frictionless while delivering on sales promises.
2. Community Building
Launch online forums, support portals and peer groups facilitating long-term usage conversations between customers. This organically shares best practices while publicly reinforcing your brand quality through real advocate voices.
3. Surveys
Proactively collect customer feedback around their post-purchase experience to identify recurring friction points. Course-correct systematically to perfect adoption cycles.
4. Retention Campaigns
Leverage loyalty programs, special perks, personalized win-back offers and retargeting messages to inactive previous buyers, enticing continued usage and renewal conversions.
5. Upsell / Cross-sell
Use purchase history and usage metrics to continually uncover complementary offerings matching evolving customer needs over their lifecycle.
The goal is completely owning the user relationship beyond the initial BOFU sale using data-driven experiences. This earns you expanded organic reach and more conversions over time through word-of-mouth referrals.
Key TOFU, MOFU, BOFU Takeaways
Here are the core lessons to retain as you overhaul your website content and social campaigns to align with user intent:
💡 Map TOFU, MOFU and BOFU frameworks to your sales funnel to structure optimization.
💡 Target informational, commercial and transactional search intents peaking at different points of your customers‘ buying journey.
💡 Craft tailored content experiences for each distinct funnel stage you identify—TOFU educates, MOFU evaluates and BOFU converts.
💡 Collect intent data continuously to update outdated assets over time as search behaviors evolve within your niche.
💡 Exceed expectations post funnel-conversion using onboarding, communities and personalized loyalty campaigns.
Adopting this full-cycle methodology towards intent-based content strategies will profoundly expand organic discovery pathways and fuel lasting wins.
You’re now equipped to audit your digital presence through the TOFU/MOFU/BOFU lens. Find gaps where visitors may be falling out due to mismatched intent. Then bridge those gaps across the purchase journey.
Let your customers’ searching agenda be the compass guiding overall business growth—and unlock transformational gains.
Over to you!
