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What is the B2B Content Marketing Funnel: Stages & Content Types

By Marisa Maxwell
July 10, 2024

The most important element of an effective B2B content marketing strategy is ensuring your content is precisely aligned with your B2B content funnel.

Optimising the effectiveness of your content marketing strategies is crucial for your business’s overall success since they significantly influence buyers’ decision-making processes. According to a report from the CMO Council, 87 percent of B2B buyers stated that online content significantly influenced their choice of vendors.

We’ll examine what a B2B content marketing funnel is, its various stages, why it’s important, and the different types of content for each stage. Read on 👇

What is a B2B Content Marketing Funnel?

The B2B Content Marketing Funnel illustrates your client’s journey through your company.

The funnel is comprised of 3 parts:

  • Awareness (Top of the Funnel)
  • Consideration (Middle of the Funnel)
  • Conversion (Bottom of the Funnel)

Each stage is distinct and has an important place in your journey.  This means it’s key to understand how each stage is different, what content should be provided in each step, how it will differ, and how to get the most value from each part.

The Importance of B2B Content Marketing Funnels

Implementing the B2B marketing funnel within your content strategy is paramount and can significantly impact your company’s success.

Let’s look at why it’s important.

A Higher Percentage of Organic Traffic

Creating content for each step in the process allows you to draw natural traffic to your website from Google and social media. Audiences become more engaged and interested in your services or products as they go through the funnel. 

This natural traffic lowers the dependence on paid ads and improves your chances of generating quality leads.

The image below shows an organic search, giving you a better CTR (click-through-rate) than PPC (pay-per-click) advertisements. For SaaS and B2B companies, PPC can mean wasted money since many people are using high-traffic keywords.

So, an excellent approach is to use organic traffic generated through high-quality content marketing.

Source

Companies that have blogs (and do the work of keeping them updated!) can generate an average of 67% higher sales than those that do not have one.

Brand Recognition and Increased Authority

By using this B2B content channel, marketers can establish themselves as experts in their field and trusted authorities within the industry by regularly delivering high-quality content that informs and addresses their clients’ problems. 

This builds their trust and credibility, boosts brand recognition, and establishes your business as the most trusted resource within your field.

It is important to realise that when people search for something on the internet, the user is actively engaged. 

When they are in this state, they are more willing to hear the opinions of brands. This contrasts with traditional outbound marketing, in which users are provided with marketing content without searching for it. 

Capitalising on the receptivity of an active user/searcher with the power of quality content will be the perfect method to establish your company as an authority on the subject. One that they can trust and refer to before deciding on the perfect solution.

Long-Term Results

B2B content marketing funnels are focused on establishing relationships and fostering leads over time. You can leave a lasting impression on prospective clients by providing value at every funnel stage. This approach, over time, pays off in better lifetime value of clients and a rise in your business’s sustainability.

The truth is that an effective and solid B2B content marketing strategy can improve your retention of clients.

Why?

It’s because after a client has begun using the service or product you offer and is enjoying it, it is crucial to ensure they feel valued and appreciated. 

To keep your clients’ interest, deliver a wide array of content tailored to the various phases of their buying journey—a.k.a. the B2B content marketing funnel. Utilising retention marketing, you can use the content to increase client retention rates.

In an ideal scenario, you would like your clients to be engaged by your content and even sign up for the newsletter you send out, offering them a wide range of options. In addition, you can boost the clients’ engagement by creating specific initiatives across various online social networks.

Incorporating and fully knowing how to incorporate the B2B marketing funnel into the content plan, will help you leverage these benefits to generate leads, conversions, and, ultimately, business expansion.

Understanding the Stages of B2B Content Marketing Funnel

Creating the B2B content marketing funnel is the first step to getting everything up and running.

Then, you need to know the different kinds of content you need at each step of the funnel and how to create content specific to each stage.

Awareness (Top of the Funnel)

The objective of branding marketing is to increase awareness. It’s spreading information about your business on a large scale, hoping that some of those who see your advertising decide to buy your products or services.

In B2B marketing, the brand’s awareness is promoted through paid advertisements on social media, search engines and third-party websites. 

However, many marketers would instead use their advertising budgets to direct clients to lead generation sites or more closely related service content, which is better suited for rapid conversions.

This is why smart B2B marketers frequently create top-of-the-line content based on organic keyword research to take advantage of the potential for free traffic from search engines (especially Google).

For instance, if you work for a business that creates software for managing projects and you are a project manager, you may find that the keyword “project management timeline” is a good one to use for traffic regarding its monthly searches.

Then, you could write a blog article titled “What is the Definition of a Project Management Timeline?” or “Getting Started with Project Management Timelines” to explain the concept to readers.

Another strategy to increase awareness of your brand is to use thought-provoking content. The best B2B content is independent of research on keywords and potential traffic. It is more influenced by analysis and commentary on the latest trends and topics in the industry. 

Consideration (Middle of the Funnel)

Within the funnel, prospective clients evaluate their options before deciding on the product or service that perfectly matches their requirements.

Educational content may not become a hit online, but it could serve as an evergreen source that is relevant for long periods of time.

Keyword research has proven important in determining the subjects and topics people are researching. This is why “how-to” ebooks and case studies are commonly used educational content that won’t disappear any time soon. 

Consider how often you Google “how to XYZ”.

In our previous example of a business that creates project management software, you could write an article titled “How to Create a Project Management Plan from Scratch.”

But that’s not the only method to generate ideas for middle-of-the-funnel business content, others include:

  • Feedback from your client satisfaction team
  • Recordings of sales calls
  • Recurring client support issues

These are excellent ways to discover client problems your service or product addresses which can then be addressed by original marketing content. 

The Decision (Bottom of the Funnel)

Each bit of TOFU and MOFU content is regarded as a service or product explainer.

BOFU content, on the contrary, should now be telling your future clients why your product or service is the best option, convincing the readers that they are ready to purchase.

At the point of purchase, the buyers have surpassed the evaluation phase and are now ready to decide. Their attention is focused on determining their perfect solution and executing it.

Your content, at this point, must be designed to provide all the relevant information required to benefit clients and help them make a more informed purchase decision. 

Demos of your products, including free trials, comprehensive price information, and testimonials from happy clients, are vital content elements to influence future clients.

The objective at this point is to present the product/service as a perfect solution and address any remaining concerns or questions prospective clients may have.

It can be challenging and sometimes impossible to determine the amount of traffic you get from searches about BOFU content. The key is demonstrating that it is tied to conversions, positively impacting the business’s bottom line.

Content Types for Each Stage

The following are the three key phases of the B2B content marketing funnel and the relevant content for each step:

Content Marketing Strategies for the Awareness Stage (TOFU)

At this point, your clients may search for content explaining how your product or service will solve their issues. 

Therefore, your content must be able to identify their problems, provide an answer, and establish your company as a thought leader in the field.

Here’s the type of TOFU content that you should use:

Blog Posts and Articles

You can help attract your audience by writing high-quality blog posts about their interests. Also, blogs boost your SEO rankings, allowing more people to come across your website.

P.S. Blog posts should be at least 300 words to make yourself stand out as an industry authority.

Infographics and Visual Content

96% of marketers believe that watching videos has helped them increase their knowledge of products or services, which shows how effective videos can be.

Therefore, you should create instructional videos for your clients to help them understand how your product or service solves their issues.

You can also offer webinars, as they’re like videos but are more interactive.

Social Media Content

We know the vast majority of the public now uses social networks, which means it’s very likely that your clients are regularly using social media. Social media content is an ideal way to improve your reach.

Checklists

Checklists are a methodical way of ensuring that nothing crucial is missed and highlighting all the key aspects and details of your services. They’re excellent TOFU content elements because they’re easy to read, actionable, and shareable.

Content Marketing Strategies for the Consideration Stage (MOFU)

Your clients are at MOFU when they have heard about your product and are considering alternatives. Buyers look through three to five content pieces before contacting an agent for sales. This is your opportunity to stand out with your distinctive selling points that make your service or product the best on offer.

Here is a look at the kind of MOFU or middle-of-funnel content you can use to grab attention:

Case Studies

A case study will help your prospects see how your product or service is effective and how it’s already benefiting those using it. Numerous well-known brands, like Asana, HubSpot, and many others, use case studies to establish client trust.

E-books or Guides

In this MOFU stage, a guide on service/product comparisons will help clients make the right choice for their needs. 

Offer comparisons between your services and those of your competition, highlighting the uniqueness of your product. This content aids potential clients in weighing their options, and this is where you must show why you’re the superior option. 

Webinars and Online Events

Webinars help buyers during the stages of discovery and consideration. They are usually educational, addressing the current trends, or providing how-to tips. They could serve as a way to introduce your business and to show your authority and expertise on various subjects.

Content Marketing Strategies for the Decision Stage (BOFU)

At the BOFU stage, you’re left with qualified leads searching for the reason to be pushed into making a purchase. Choosing captivating content which will convince the audience to look at your services is vital.

Below are the different types of BOFU content you can make use of to generate sales:

Free Consultation Offer

Offering valuable and free guidance in a phone consultation will address any concerns and inspire your clients to purchase your products or services. Therefore, make an unpaid consultation call or send an email to explain the benefits you are offering with your service.

Free Trial or Live Demo

A free trial reassures those who sign up that they are not risking anything. Give prospective clients risk-free opportunities to test your service or product before purchasing. 

Through hands-on experience with your product or service, you can eliminate doubts and fears while offering potential buyers a glimpse of what they can expect when they become paying clients. 

Furthermore, if your product or service solves a client’s problems, they will likely become converts so be sure to include a free test email or a live B2B content marketing funnel demonstration.

Coupon

The majority of us are drawn to discounts. They can also trigger a fear of missing out on a deal if we do not complete the purchase, thus incentivising us to buy.

Product Demonstrations and Webinars

Offer prospects a thorough analysis of your offer by letting them see your service benefits and tell them how it addresses their issues. This interactive approach helps increase engagement and speed up the decision-making process.

TOFU Funnel Content – Don’ts

Some of the things you should not do include:

Don’t Sell From the Get-Go

Marketing your service right from the beginning of the funnel is a quick method to undermine confidence and put people off. 

This could result in the loss of leads and, consequently, sales over the long term. However, when you build trust so clientsknow they can rely on you, they will be more likely to buy from you. They may even turn into loyal, long-term clients.

Don’t Avoid Collaboration

Stand-alone content is beneficial, but there are many untapped resources for collaboration, like working with seasoned professionals within your industry. 

Working with other companies can boost the visibility of your content. In addition, if you have experts who endorse, promote, and recommend your content, its reliability is enhanced.

MOFU Content Funnel – Don’ts

The things you shouldn’t do in the MOFU portion of the content marketing funnel are:

Don’t Just Discuss Pain Points

At the top of your funnel, you’ve already identified and discussed most of your audience’s concerns. 

Repeating the process at the MOFU stage is unnecessary. Instead, think about what you can do to help them overcome and solve the issue.

You can share case studies or client testimonials where you solved their issues. You can also use them as an outside source, which increases your credibility.

Don’t Be Ambiguous

In this phase of content marketing, confusion could be your greatest enemy. Your clients are trying to decide whether or not to buy from you. 

The only way to determine this is to weigh all the advantages and disadvantages.

If they don’t find your details thorough enough, they may feel you aren’t trustworthy. This can impact the effectiveness of your online marketing and impact the lead generation process.

BOFU Content – Don’ts

The most critical element of your sales strategy is BOFU content. You shouldn’t do anything now that will hinder your sales. Practices to avoid are:

Don’t Forget the Competition

It’s a big mistake to think you are the only person on the field. There is always plenty of competition, and it is important to be aware of this when you create content.

It’s never been simpler for your clients to search for and compare your services against your competitors. 

Create compelling copy to convince them to buy from you and get the sale.

Don’t Ignore the Market

Some firms have content marketers who conduct constant market studies. 

This helps them stay on top of developments and the latest trends. Research is simple using tools such as Google Trends. Your company must also know how the market shifts and keep pace with the latest developments.

Fill in content gaps as needed to stay one step ahead in content marketing. Enhancing the effectiveness of your content marketing channel is essential.

Summary

If you align your B2B marketing funnel content plan with your overall business strategy and map various kinds of content to specific goals, you’ll achieve much better results with increased sales.

Specific content for each stage of the buying process will help boost your business and make you stand out as an industry expert.

Don;t underestimate the content’s significance in marketing channels and how it can help your business grow. 

Work with 100PS to Create Content for Every Funnel Stage

If a lack of time prevents you from writing content for every stage of the funnel, 100 Pound Social can help.

Since 2017, we’ve served over 1,000 businesses worldwide across a huge range of B2B industries, sectors, and specialities. 

Book a call today, or hop on to a free, interactive 15-minute demo!

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