Marketing Funnel: Brand Awareness – How to Get the Word Out About Your Business
Imagine your business is a party—and not just any party, but the kind everyone wants to be at. But here’s the catch: before anyone shows up, they need to know the party exists. Then, you’ve got to make it interesting enough for them to actually come, stick around, have a great time, and—ideally—bring their friends along too.
That’s what a marketing funnel does. It’s like your event game plan: a step-by-step path to turn complete strangers into loyal guests and even raving fans. But if you forget to send the invites, or your party’s a total snooze? No one shows up. And your business? Left with empty seats and no customers.
Let’s break down how this magical funnel works—and why it’s the not-so-secret key to building a thriving, successful brand.
What Is a Marketing Funnel, Anyway?
A marketing funnel is a way to map out the journey someone takes from first discovering your business to eventually becoming a paying customer. Picture a real funnel: wide at the top, narrow at the bottom. That’s exactly how it works—lots of people enter at the top, but only a portion make it all the way through to a purchase.
The funnel is typically made up of three main stages:
Top of the Funnel (TOFU)
This is where people first hear about you. They might not even realize they have a problem yet—or that you offer a solution. Your job here is to grab their attention and spark interest. It’s all about awareness and visibility.
Middle of the Funnel (MOFU)
At this stage, people are already interested and looking for more information. They’re comparing options, reading reviews, and digging into the details. Your goal? Show them why your product or service is the best choice to solve their problem.
Bottom of the Funnel (BOFU)
Now it’s decision time. This is where potential customers are ready to make a purchase—they just need that final nudge. This stage is all about conversion: turning interest into action and leads into loyal customers.
Of course, the funnel can have many more layers depending on your strategy. That’s why some marketers refer to it as the customer journey or use tools like the Customer Journey Map (CJM) to visualize every touchpoint along the way.
Why Brand Awareness Comes First
Before someone buys your product or books your service, they need to know you exist. Sounds obvious, right? But many businesses skip straight to the sales pitch, forgetting about the crucial first step—the moment where everything begins.
Take this example: someone searches for “how to get more leads.” They might have no idea that Google Ads could help. A well-crafted brand awareness campaign at this stage can introduce them to Google and guide them to realize it’s the solution they’ve been looking for.
Starting with awareness isn’t just smart—it’s essential. You can’t convert someone who doesn’t even know you’re an option.
The goal of these campaigns is to connect with the right audience and turn them into qualified leads who are more likely to become paying customers.
Top-of-funnel strategies are designed to get your business in front of more people, increase engagement, and introduce them to your brand and offerings.
Once someone interacts with you at the top of the funnel, the ideal next step is for them to move deeper—into the middle and bottom of the funnel—building trust in your business along the way and ultimately choosing you over the competition.
Tools to Attract New Customers
If you want your marketing efforts to work from the very start, it’s important to use a few proven tactics that consistently bring in results.
1. Create Valuable, Engaging Content
The first and most essential step is to produce content that’s genuinely helpful and interesting. Great content introduces people to your business and positions you as an expert they can trust. There are many formats you can use, including:
- Website landing pages
- Blog posts and articles
- How-to guides and tutorials
- Checklists and downloadable resources
- Videos, infographics, and visual content
The goal is to meet your audience where they are—answering their questions, solving their problems, and giving them a reason to stick around.
Let me know if you’d like this section expanded with examples for a specific industry or platform!
The key is to create content that answers your potential customers’ real questions and helps them solve actual problems.
To figure out what your audience cares about, it’s worth researching what people are searching for online and paying attention to what your competitors are talking about.
This way, you’ll be able to craft content that’s not only relevant but genuinely valuable—content that grabs attention, builds trust, and keeps your brand top of mind.
2. Leverage Social Media
Beyond your website, it’s crucial to be active where your audience spends their time — on social media. Different platforms attract different groups:
- Facebook — great for reaching a wide range of age groups
- TikTok — perfect for younger audiences and those who love short, engaging videos
- LinkedIn — ideal for professionals and business-focused audiences
Take a close look at which social networks your potential customers and competitors use most often. Set up your accounts, post valuable content regularly, and engage with your followers — reply to comments, ask questions, and share helpful tips.
Short videos work especially well — they grab attention quickly and are easy to remember.
Don’t forget to invest in paid social ads to get your content in front of people who haven’t heard of you yet. This way, you expand your reach and bring new prospects into your marketing funnel.
3. Optimize Your Website for Search (SEO)
It’s crucial that your website is easy to find on search engines like Google. That’s where SEO (Search Engine Optimization) comes in—a set of strategies and techniques that help search engines understand what your site is about and show it to people searching for related topics.
Start by researching the right keywords and phrases your audience is typing into search bars. For example, if you’re in the renovation business, people might be searching for terms like “how to renovate a bathroom” or “best time to do home renovations.”
Using these keywords thoughtfully throughout your site helps boost your visibility and drives organic traffic from people actively looking for what you offer.
Create content that directly answers these questions, and make sure to include your chosen keywords in headlines and throughout the text. It’s also essential that your website is user-friendly, loads quickly, and features accurate descriptions and well-structured links.
Additionally, smart AI-powered systems are increasingly showing users concise answers and summaries pulled from multiple sources. To appear in these featured snippets, optimize your content specifically for these formats—clear, direct, and well-organized answers can help you stand out in search results.
4. Run Online Advertising Campaigns
To boost the effectiveness of your website and other marketing efforts, it’s smart to run ads targeting people who are likely interested in your business.
Here are the main types of online ads:
Paid Search Ads — These show up in search engines like Google alongside regular search results. They help capture the attention of people actively looking for what you offer and can even help you “steal” customers from competitors.
Display Ads — These include banners, images, or videos shown across various websites. Display ads target specific audiences based on factors like age, interests, or location.
Retargeting Ads — A special kind of display ad that targets people who have already visited your site but haven’t made a purchase yet. It’s a great way to remind them about your brand and encourage them to come back.
Google Ads
Running a mix of these ads lets you reach new prospects and stay top of mind with visitors who are already familiar with your business.
Paid Social Media Advertising
All major social networks offer the ability to run targeted ad campaigns that reach the right audience. Ads can come in various formats—images, videos, or text-based—depending on the platform.
This flexibility lets you tailor your message and creativity to what works best for your audience, whether it’s eye-catching visuals on Instagram, short videos on TikTok, or sponsored posts on Facebook and LinkedIn.
By using targeted campaigns like these, you can show your ads specifically to people who are most likely to be interested in what you offer.
When your ads consistently appear across websites and social media, your brand becomes more recognizable and builds trust.
As a result, more people will click on your links—and many of them could turn into paying customers.
How to Tell if Your Ads Are Working in the Early Stages
To know whether your advertising is delivering results, you need to continuously monitor what’s happening and compare it against your goals.
How to Tell if Your Ads Are Working in the Early Stages
To know if your advertising is bringing results, you need to continuously monitor what’s happening and compare it to your goals.
What Should You Track?
At the beginning, your main goal is to get as many people as possible to learn about your brand and spark their interest. To measure this, keep an eye on:
- Search engine rankings — How high does your site appear in search results (Google, Yandex, etc.)?
- Ad impressions — How many times your ads are shown to people.
- Website traffic — How many visitors come to your site.
- Social media engagement — Likes, shares, comments, and other interactions.
- Lead generation — How many potential customers you’ve attracted and how they progress toward making a purchase.
Tracking these metrics will help you understand whether your ads are building awareness and moving your audience closer to becoming customers.
How to Measure Your Results?
There are special tools designed to collect data and show you what’s working and what’s not:
Google Analytics — Tracks how many people visit your website and what actions they take while there.
Google Search Console — Helps you understand how search engines see your site and how it performs in search results.
Social Media Analytics — Provides insights into activity and engagement on your social accounts.
Using these tools gives you a clear picture of your marketing effectiveness and helps you make informed decisions to improve your campaigns.
Common Challenges and How to Overcome Them
It’s Hard to Consistently Create Quality Content
To always have engaging articles, videos, and posts, it helps to plan ahead and create a content calendar. If you lack time or experience, consider working with a professional agency that can produce high-quality content and promote it effectively.
Finding the Right Balance Between Organic SEO and Paid Ads
Both ads and SEO work best when combined, but managing your budget wisely is key. Again, a marketing agency can assist in crafting the most effective strategy tailored to your needs.
Continuously Analyzing and Improving Your Strategy
Regularly review what’s working and what isn’t—at least once a month. This helps you catch issues early, make necessary adjustments, and keep improving your results over time.
How a Team of Specialists Can Help
Professionals can support you by:
- Defining exactly who your target audience is.
- Identifying the right topics and keywords for your advertising.
- Creating engaging, valuable content that resonates with your audience.
- Managing your social media accounts actively to attract and engage followers.
- Using SEO and paid advertising in the most effective way possible.
With expert help, you’ll be able to attract more customers and boost your sales.
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