The phrase ‘the early bird gets the worm’ was first created centuries ago, but it still holds true today – especially concerning TOFU marketing. Short for top-of-the-funnel marketing, TOFU content leverages the most comprehensive and most populous part of the marketing funnel to drive early-stage traffic. But why is earlier better for marketing campaigns? 

From enhanced brand awareness to simplified value proposition, here are some of the top benefits of using TOFU marketing to drive top-of-the-funnel traffic through the conversion funnel. 

What is Top of the Funnel Marketing?
It’s essential to understand the basics of full-funnel marketing to understand the importance of the top of the funnel. Full-funnel marketing is a technique that enables marketers to target users at each stage of the customer journey. The funnel is broken into three tiers representing the customer journey  — the top, middle, and bottom of the funnel — better known as ​​TOFU, MOFU, and BOFU.  

The top of the funnel is the widest, meaning it has the most prominent potential leads. Users at the top of the funnel are at various points of the awareness stage, meaning they are problem aware (know they have an issue), solution conscious (understand a potential fix), or product aware (familiar with your offerings). Top of the funnel is where TOFU marketing strategies come into play.

TOFU marketing, also referred to as upper funnel marketing, helps educate and engage potential leads by answering common questions and creating an informational background for a user to understand the product fit of a solution. TOFU marketing aims to capture leads as they begin their consumer journey to ensure they remain in the funnel until ultimate conversion.

The earlier you can capture leads at the top of the funnel, the easier to reap these four benefits.

1. Brand Awareness
The primary benefit of TOFU marketing is brand awareness. Top-of-funnel users are typically problem, solution, or product awareness, but they are likely not familiar with your brand’s unique selling points. TOFU marketing enables you to get ahead of the curve and connect with others before they begin to compare solutions, positioning your brand as a top contender. 

Several channels for TOFU content can help reach your potential audience. 

Paid Media Campaigns
Paid media campaigns, such as Google Ads, are among the most common TOFU marketing initiatives because they help target cold audiences unaware of your brand. With just a primary buyer persona — like the demographics and interests of your ideal consumer — you can launch a variety of PPC (pay-per-click) options, like search campaigns, video campaigns, discovery, and display ads. 

Paid media campaigns for TOFU marketing leverage a variety of question-oriented and informational top-of-funnel keywords. For instance, common TOFU marketing keywords are geared toward how-to queries, broad product or service questions, and general definitions. 

Content Marketing and SEO
Another benefit of using paid media campaigns to drive early-stage traffic is the assortment of keyword research that comes along with it. These keywords inform most of TOFU content marketing, encompassing everything from topical blog posts and ebooks (more on this below) to service pages, product catalogs, monthly newsletters, and email marketing initiatives.

TOFU content marketing and search engine optimization (SEO) go hand-in-hand. SEO best practices, like on-page optimizations, help your content appear on search engine results pages (SERPs) for queries and keywords related to your brand or solution. Since 53.3% of all website traffic comes from organic search, SEO helps marketers capture early-stage leads.1

Social Media Marketing
Social media is the last component of brand awareness for TOFU marketing. Organic social media can take the shape of informative posts and live Q&As, whereas paid social media can include image and video ads, carousels, and lead forms. Once combined, these elements of social media marketing enable customers to become more familiar with your logo, brand name, and available solutions. 

2. Top-of-Funnel Leads
The sheer quantity of leads at the top of the funnel is a significant benefit of TOFU marketing. As the widest part of the marketing funnel, most potential leads enter through the top due to various TOFU keywords, like how-to and question-based queries. With the right TOFU content, you can encourage leads to convert before they even begin to research competitor solutions. 

Topical Blog Posts
Topical blog posts are one the simplest methods to attract potential customers who have landed at the top of the funnel. TOFU content marketing — like expanded definition posts, step-by-step guides, and data studies — answers common consumer questions and directs traffic to your website. Topical blog posts can also feature lead forms to encourage leads further down the funnel. 

Ebooks and Whitepapers
Aside from blog posts, ebooks and whitepapers are two types of TOFU marketing that can inform and educate potential leads at the top of the funnel. These types of long-form content provide value to your target audience and can serve as a fantastic method of lead generation. However, more extended resources are often considered “gated content,” or content requiring access to form submission. 

3. Value Proposition
Value proposition refers to the advantages or perks your brand intends to deliver to potential customers who purchase your products or services. A significant benefit of conversion funnel marketing, mainly TOFU marketing, is learning exactly who is interested in your products and why. 

By assessing the demographics and pain points of the numerous leads at the top of the funnel, TOFU marketing enables you to determine what directs potential leads to your campaign. You can optimize your content marketing efforts to highlight your value from here. 

4. Competitive Differentiation
Competitive differentiation refers to the ways your brand’s products or services are unique from your competitors’ products or services. It is based on several elements of your value proposition, such as leading customer service, unbeatable prices, or top-rated product functionality. 

Through TOFU content like social media marketing, long-form posts, and paid search campaigns, you can illustrate how your brand provides value that your competitors can not. The earlier you set yourself apart from competitors, the quicker you can encourage a conversion. 

Ready to Try TOFU Marketing?

With an enormous number of leads in the entire marketing funnel, the top of the funnel holds unlimited possibilities to drive early-stage traffic for your brand. From boosting brand awareness to streamlining your competitive differentiation, TOFU marketing helps reduce the time to convert.

If you’re ready to try TOFU marketing, contact the marketing funnel experts at Bullseye Strategy. Our full-service digital marketing agency has over a decade of experience crafting full-funnel strategies that begin with robust TOFU marketing. Contact Bullseye Strategy today to get started. 

Sources: https://videos.brightedge.com/research-report/BrightEdge_ChannelReport2019_FINAL.pdf