Every content marketing team should be working towards creating a balanced content funnel, with the right amount of content available for every stage. While top of the funnel (ToFU) content is all about awareness, middle of the funnel (MoFU) content is where the magic happens, turning prospects into leads.
And like everything else in the middle, it often suffers because it’s not as easy to develop as ToFU content, nor is it as definitive as bottom of the funnel (B0FU) content. It’s, well, somewhere in the middle. But it’s vital, nonetheless.
But what exactly will resonate with buyers at this stage? How can you craft the ideal MoFU content that will prompt them to move closer to a yes? Let’s find out.
Most Leads Never Convert to Sales
Generally speaking, most leads never convert to sales. Look at your own data to determine the validity of this statement, and I’ll bet your conversions are much lower than you’d like. There are a lot of different reasons why conversions don’t occur. Some of those reasons are out of your control; others are firmly in your grasp.
It has a lot to do with timing and a different approach to buying. B2B buyers are investigators. They spend most of their time researching on their own, consuming content rather than actually engaging with providers, per Gartner.
More and more B2B buyers are millennials, so they are digital natives. They expect to be able to find what they need via digital channels. And that’s where lead nurturing comes into the picture, which is really the objective of MOFU content.
Do You Align Content with the Sales Funnel?
Before you begin developing MoFU content, you need to do a content audit to see how all your current content aligns with the sales funnel. A good practice to start with is to inventory and audit every piece of content you’ve produced and determine to which buyer stage each belongs. You should then look at your content calendar and do the same.
Including this buyer stage data will help you as your content marketing machine grows. When you’re looking for gaps or as you develop campaigns specifically for lead nurturing, it will be easier to see what you have in your current inventory. It’s also a good practice to measure its effectiveness to convert with content analytics.
What Is MoFU Content?
The process of defining MoFU content will look different for every brand because “effectiveness” obviously depend on the target audience, product, and other variables. However, there are some universal truths to MoFU content:
- It’s not an introduction; it’s about making the case – Buyers are already aware of their challenge and are comparing solutions, so MoFU content needs to include relevant information on why your service or product is right for them.
- It’s targeted – You are having conversations with buyers about specific needs or challenges they face. This content must be more than fluffy, surface-level content and should include examples and data points.
- You’re still educating them – Prospects at this point know some things about your brand, but there’s more story to share.
- Persuasion is key- The tone of MoFU content should be persuasive.
How Much MoFU Content Do You Need?
There isn’t a magic number when it comes to quantity. Rather, it depends on factors such as:
- How many buyer personas you target.
- The number of products and/or services you offer.
- Scalability – Do you have the right technology and resources in place to produce content consistently?
The Content Marketing Institute (CMI) looked at content production ratios across the funnel, finding that 50 percent is ToFU, while 22 percent was MoFU.
Image Source: Content Marketing Institute
That may make sense for your organization, or you may find you need to adjust the ratios and increase your ToFU percentage. That’s because B2B buyers are content consumers. In fact, the average B2B buyer consumes 13 pieces of branded content before making a purchasing decision. This number would indicate that all content marketing teams need to keep producing high-quality output for every funnel stage.
Types of MoFU Content That Convert
So, in your content planning for MoFU content, your team should be focusing on these types of content.
Checklists and Toolkits
Checklist and toolkit content is great for both blog posts and ebooks. You can target this content based on a specific challenge the audience has and include ways to solve it. This type of content is also very actionable in nature. The checklist or toolkit solves the problem, but the customer can’t simply do this on their own; they’ll need your help!
Comparisons
At this point, your buyer is looking at several options. They are probably doing their own comparisons, so why not help them out. A comparison piece is a great download to offer via an email nurture campaign. It should be a very visual piece that identifies your solution as the superior one based on customer needs (think benefits, not features).
Case Studies
As a large company, you’ve likely got lots of customers willing to share their stories. Focusing on big names gives your content credibility, but any customer success is a reason to celebrate. Case studies are probably the most valuable type of MoFU content. Here’s why:
- They are incredibly persuasive in nature, and you get to support real-life evidence with numbers in the results section.
- The star of the content is your customer, not you; this is a content marketing tenet that aligns with the “definition” of MoFU content.
- It focuses on the specific needs of your customer, which likely are the same as the needs of the prospect reading it, so they feel confident you can deliver the same results for them.
- It’s social proof. You can say all day long how wonderful your product is, but it means so much more when validation comes from those using it.
A case study is typically a written piece but be creative here with formats. A video discussion with the customer is extremely engaging. You could also have a long and short version of it as a download, with the short version being more like an infographic.
Craft Expert MoFU Content and Stay Organized
Throughout this piece, we’ve discussed the basics of MoFU, what it should focus on, and formats that make sense. We’ve also talked about content audits and keeping your process moving. The best way any enterprise content team can do this is with a content marketing platform like DivvyHQ. See why everyone’s talking about it by trying it for free today!