As you would imagine, the middle of the marketing funnel is narrower than the top, but wider than the bottom. That’s because marketing gets increasingly targeted the further through the funnel a potential customer goes.
In turn, that means that the content you create should be different at each stage of the funnel. The middle of the funnel is where the all-important lead nurturing happens, so the content you create should be guiding customers towards a purchase decision. On this page, you’ll find recommendations on the different types of content you can create to engage your middle-of-funnel audience, who should already be interested and are starting to desire your product or service.
The middle of the funnel? What’s at the top and the bottom?
Some say that the traditional marketing funnel, also known as the AIDA model, is dead or obsolete, but the fact remains that it’s still used as a template for other, more updated models of the buyer’s journey. The customers at the middle of the funnel are in the interest and desire phase, which means you’ve got their attention and they’re aware of your brand or product. They may still need more information before they’ll take action, and this is when you really need to engage with them.
8 content ideas for middle of funnel marketing engagement
At the middle of the funnel, your target customers already have an interest in and/or desire for your product or service. They may have seen your top of funnel content, are aware of what you offer, and are curious enough to want to know more. They might even have subscribed to your blog or signed up to receive your emails.
Now’s the time to convert these potential customers into actual sales leads. If you have their contact details, it’s important to use them effectively, for example by sending them useful information, free resources such as e-books, or even an enticing introductory offer.
The middle of the funnel is all about engaging your leads and establishing trust and rapport. The main goal is to nurture a relationship with your potential customers.
These content ideas will help you engage potential customers in the middle of funnel:
- Provide solutions to specific problems – at the middle stage of the buyer journey, your target customers are probably already interested in buying your product or something similar to it. It’s crucial to maintain this level of engagement and convey the message that you’re an expert in your field and can provide what they need. You can establish credibility by providing solutions to specific problems. Customer testimonials are a great way to do this, as potential customers are likely to trust someone similar to themselves who’s already had a good experience with your product or service.
- Case studies – in addition to customer testimonials, you can use case studies to go more in-depth into situations when your product has proven effective in solving a problem or need a customer or client has had. It’s often effective to use data and statistics that really demonstrate how your product or service has (and therefore can) help. It could also be a comparative study, which includes similar products or services.
- Tutorial content – this could be in the form of a video tutorial or a step-by-step, “how-to” guide for using your product. For instance, if you sell furniture that can be used in multiple ways or has more than one function, such as an expanding table or a sofa that’s also a storage unit, you might want to provide content around how quick and easy it is to set the furniture up and the different ways you can use it. Tutorial content can be very persuasive, especially when it’s accompanied by strong visuals.
- Product landing pages – at this stage in the marketing funnel, a potential customer will be looking for as much product information as possible. It’s important to have a clear, concise product landing page which provides all the detail they need. You could include things like statistical data from product development, your quality assurance product testing, and customer surveys. This will serve as solid empirical support for your product. It’s also important to include plenty of images and video content if possible, as video content on landing pages can boost conversion rates by as much as 80%.
- Freemium offers – promotional or demo offers at this stage can work well in tipping a customer to the point of purchase. For example, if you have downloadable software products or online digital services, your target customers may want to test your product first before they buy it. You could consider using a freemium strategy, or offering a free trial period for using your product. After the trial period, the client might either decide to continue using the free version or upgrade to the more advanced paid version. This strategy works “offline” as well, and isn’t limited to digital products. Think of bakeries, wine stores, and coffee houses who do tasting sessions or offer small samples. Your leads can effectively evaluate your product if they can try it for free. Being able to use your product, even on a limited basis, is one of the best ways to nurture your leads and persuade them to buy.
- Leverage your credibility through blogging – posting regular blogs will not only help boost your website’s SEO ranking, but it will also help you leverage your credibility, demonstrate your expertise, and provide useful, informational content to potential customers. Blogging helps you gain followers by demonstrating your expertise and answering questions your target customers commonly ask or may ask in certain situations.
- Gated content – content that you “gate”, or only provide access to if customers sign up or provide their details, is a great way of generating good quality leads. Content like this is typically downloadable e-books, more in-depth videos, and other free digital resources. Whatever format it takes, gated content should be highly relevant, useful, and informative. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s directly about your product – in fact, it’s better to keep it less “sales-y” as it’s much more credible and helps to build trust. Hosting gated content also means you can create a database of potential customers and nurture them to the point of sale with a strong and persuasive email campaign.
- Exclusive social media groups – you can create private groups on social media platforms like Facebook, which allow you to directly interact with your leads in the middle of the funnel stage. This sense of exclusivity allows you to focus and nurture trust, and also means you’re starting a two-way conversation. Talking directly to your customers like this can also be a good way for you to understand what potential customers at this stage in the funnel are looking for, and what questions they’re asking.
Need support for your content marketing? Let’s chat.
