TOFU, MOFU & BOFU: how to get more revenue from your content

What is TOFU, MOFU and BOFU?

TOFU, BOFU, and MOFU are terms used in online marketing that refer to different stages of the customer journey. The acronyms stand for Top of Funnel (TOFU), Middle of Funnel (MOFU), and Bottom of Funnel (BOFU). Together, they form the well-known marketing funnel.

How does a TOFU-MOFU-BOFU marketing funnel work?

To properly understand how TOFU, MOFU and BOFU work, it is important to look at the three phases of the marketing funnel:

• The Top of Funnel is all about awareness. This is where your target audience first encounters your brand, service or product. People have a problem or need, but they don't yet know what or how to solve it.
  

• The Middle of Funnel is all about consideration. In the MOFU stage, potential customers know exactly what their problem is and who or what can help them with it.
  

• The Bottom of Funnel is the final stage. Customers are now ready to make a decision. This is where it's all about persuasion and conversion.

By aligning your content strategy with these three phases, you can smoothly guide customers toward a purchase while consistently providing them with content that best meets their needs at each stage of the journey.

That makes TOFU-MOFU-BOFU content essential for effective marketing. Or rather: for effective marketing.

How does TOFU, MOFU and BOFU content differ from each other?

TOFU, MOFU and BOFU content differs in purpose and intent. It goes from informing (TOFU) to persuading (MOFU) and converting (BOFU). Each stage requires different types of content that matches the wants and needs of potential customers:

TOFU Content Ideas for Greater Reach and Awareness

TOFU content is focused on reach and awareness. You attract new visitors who do not yet have a buying intention, but recognize a problem or need. This content is primarily informative and inspiring, so you build trust without selling anything directly.

Good examples are blogs and social posts:

Blogs

• What is X and how do you solve it?

• 10 tips to achieve X

• 5 trends in X (2026)

Social posts

• Storytelling around recognizable situations

• Carousels with tips or checklists

• Short videos around issues

Focus on SEO and distribute your TOFU content through Facebook Ads or LinkedIn, for example. In this way, you increase your online visibility and, in the meantime, lay the foundation for later conversions in the sales funnel.

MOFU content for leads and trust

In the MOFU phase, potential customers have a clear understanding of their problem and are comparing different solutions, products, or services. You can often help these customers by providing more in-depth information, evidence, and concrete added value.

Good examples of optimized MOFU content include lead magnets, landing pages, and email nurturing:

Lead magnets

• E-books and whitepapers

• Checklists, templates or benchmarks

• Free tools and calculators

Landing pages

• Clear headline with problem and solution

• Focused on concrete benefits and results

• Social proof with reviews, customer logos or numbers

• Strong CTA (download, subscribe, etc.)

Nurture emails

• Sequences of 3-5 emails with practical tips or mini-lessons

• Customer cases with concrete results

• Comparisons (Product A vs. Product B: which one fits your situation better?)

That's how you build trust and convert those visitors into leads ready for the next step.

Using BOFU content to drive purchases

BOFU content is all about persuasion and conversion. Your content needs to be concrete, results-oriented, and action-oriented. Think about showcasing proven results, demonstrating or letting people experience a product, or addressing any remaining concerns regarding price or ease of use.

Good examples of BOFU content are case studies, demos and pricing content:

Cases

• Customer stories or use cases with measurable results as proof (!)

• Before and after situations

• Testimonials

Demos

• Live product demos (or via video)

• 1-on-1 consults

• Free trial or trial period

Pricing modules & conversion pages

• Clear pricing pages with packages and differences (if you have any)

• Comparison tables between options (e.g. basics vs. premium)

• FAQs on pricing, contracts and terms
  

With this BOFU content, you can dispel any remaining doubts and pave the way for leads to actually become customers.

B2B vs. B2C marketing funnels

B2B and B2C buying journeys differ. So do the marketing funnel and your TOFU-MOFU-BOFU content. After all, a B2C customer isn’t going to read an in-depth article about sports socks, and with B2B customers, you generally won’t get far by bringing up some influencer.

But what does such an approach look like for, say, a B2C e-commerce business and a B2B SaaS company?

In B2C e-commerce, you attract attention with short videos on social media (TOFU), share reviews (MOFU) and create urgency with scarcity (gone = gone!) or temporary discounts to persuade customers to buy a product (BOFU).

For a B2B SaaS company, such a funnel can look very different.

Je deelt dan bijvoorbeeld thought leadership content of industry insights in LinkedIn posts (TOFU), je geeft een webinar over je product/dienst (MOFU) en leads kunnen daarna vrijblijvend een trial of demo aanvragen (BOFU). 

How do you move leads from TOFU to MOFU and BOFU?

Visitors don't automatically become leads. And leads don't automatically become customers. To lead people from TOFU to MOFU and BOFU, you need to offer a clear and logical (!) next step at each stage.

Each stage should seamlessly connect to the previous one. Include content that responds to customers' changing needs as they move through the marketing funnel.

For example, you move someone from the TOFU to BOFU with:

• Downloadable checklists, templates or e-books in blogs

• Internal links to in-depth content

• CTAs to relevant landing pages.

That way, someone can read a blog → download a checklist → leave data → become a lead.

In the next step, you want to lead that lead with MOFU content to the BOFU stage with content like:

• equations

• deep dives

• cases

• testimonials, reviews and other social proof

For example, a lead who downloaded a checklist receives a follow-up email with a case study → sees a retargeting ad with social proof → requests a quote.

Et voilà: that one blog reader is now in the BOFU phase and is about to become a customer.

How can you apply TOFU, MOFU and BOFU in your content calendar?

You can apply the TOFU-MOFU-BOFU model to your content calendar by sharing content from the different phases every week or month. It’s important to strike a good balance between reach, lead nurturing, and conversion.

We often see only TOFU content being posted. But ideally, make sure you have a mix:

• 60% TOFU

• 25% MOFU

• 15% BOFU

In your weekly schedule, that could then look like this:

• Monday: blog writing (TOFU)

• Tuesday: social post/promote that blog (TOFU)

• Thursday: promoting lead magnet (MOFU)

• Friday: case or testimonial sharing (BOFU)

Pretty intensive work, in other words.

Implementing TOFU-MOFU-BOFU as a small business owner

But even as a small business owner with a limited marketing budget, you can simply implement a TOFU-MOFU-BUFU content strategy. After all, this is about consistency and focus. Not about big budgets.

A simple, consistent funnel works better for small business owners than a complicated marketing machine that you can't sustain.

That’s why you should work with a single funnel: one lead magnet, one email sequence, and one clear call to action for a no-obligation introductory meeting, quote, or free trial.

While doing so, also focus on one channel where your target audience is active. Think SEO, Instagram (for B2C) or LinkedIn (for B2B).

That way, you keep your content strategy clear, manageable and effective.

Need help?

Need help developing a smart strategy? Could you use some extra hands on creating that lead magnet? Or do you want to set up that automated email flow but don't know how?

Feel free to contact us. We’d be happy to help.