Why CMOs Need to Win the Middle of the Funnel In Their Marketing Strategy

The biggest growth opportunity for CMOs today is not creating more top-of-funnel content. It is maximizing the value of content that has already proven it can engage audiences. If a social post, video, webinar, podcast clip, or article is performing exceptionally well, it should either be scaled into TOFU distribution or activated through BOFU advertising. The real competitive advantage lies in the middle of the funnel, where interest turns into consideration and consideration turns into revenue.

The CMO Blind Spot: Too Much Focus on Awareness In Their Marketing Strategy

Most marketing teams spend enormous resources creating top-of-funnel (TOFU) content as a part of their marketing strategy:

• Social media posts

• Thought leadership articles

• Videos

• Podcasts

• Industry commentary

• Brand campaigns

The assumption is simple: more awareness equals more customers.

But in 2026, awareness is becoming cheaper while attention is becoming more expensive. AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity, LinkedIn algorithms, Instagram recommendations, and TikTok feeds are making content discovery easier than ever. At the same time, getting prospects to move from awareness to action is becoming significantly harder.

The real challenge isn’t generating impressions. It’s converting interest into buying intent.

Why MOFU Is Becoming the Most Important Funnel Stage

Middle of Funnel (MOFU) is where buyers:

• Compare options

• Validate expertise

• Evaluate trust

• Seek proof

• Build confidence before purchasing

This is also where most marketing teams lose prospects.

A prospect may watch your video, read your LinkedIn post, visit your website or download your report. And then they'll disappear.

Not because they are not interested. But because nobody nurtured them effectively.

The New Funnel Reality: AI Has Changed Discovery

The rise of AI-powered search is fundamentally changing customer journeys. The research shows:

• AI Overviews now appear on a significant percentage of Google searches, reducing traditional click-through rates by as much as 15-35% for many informational queries.    

• More than 60% of searches now end without a click to a website because users get answers directly from search experiences.  

• ChatGPT has surpassed 400 million weekly active users, and AI search adoption continues to accelerate.  

This means awareness is increasingly happening outside your owned properties. Your content may influence buyers without ever generating a website visit. And this is what makes the middle of the funnel even more important.

The Best Content Already Tells You What To Do

CMOs often ask: "What content should we create next?”

A better question is: “What content has already proven it resonates?”

Every week your team publishes signals. Examples include:

• A LinkedIn post gets 5x normal engagement

• A founder video generates unusually high watch time

• A webinar attracts strong attendance

• A podcast clip gets shared repeatedly

• A case study drives significant website traffic

These are not content assets. They are market validation signals. The audience is literally telling you what they care about.

Read our blog on how to build your own Personal Branding Toolkit

The MOFU Content Multiplication Framework

So when a CMO is building their marketing strategy, it's critical that they focus on the MOFU. When a piece of content performs exceptionally well organically, it should move into one of two directions.

Route 1: Scale It Back Into TOFU

If the content is generating attention and engagement:

• Repurpose it into multiple formats

• Create short-form videos

• Produce infographics

• Build LinkedIn carousels

• Turn it into podcast clips

• Expand it into articles

The goal is to maximize reach. You’re taking a proven idea and exposing it to more people.

Route 2: Push It Into BOFU With Paid Media

This is where many CMOs leave money on the table. If content is performing organically, chances are it can perform even better with targeting. Examples include:

• Promote high-performing founder videos to decision-makers

• Run ads on successful webinar snippets

• Retarget website visitors with case study content

• Amplify customer success stories

• Turn popular LinkedIn posts into lead generation campaigns

Instead of guessing what message will resonate, you’re using real audience behavior as validation.

Why MOFU Content Outperforms Traditional Ads

Traditional ads interrupt.

MOFU content educates.

That difference matters.

According to multiple B2B buying studies, buyers complete most of their research before speaking with sales teams.

By the time someone enters a buying conversation, they already have:

• A shortlist

• Preferred vendors

• Existing perceptions

• Preliminary trust levels

MOFU content influences these decisions long before a sales call occurs.

The Modern CMO Growth Loop

The best-performing marketing teams now operate a simple loop:

Step 1: Create

Publish consistently across:

• LinkedIn

• YouTube

• Podcasts

• Blogs

• Newsletters

Step 2: Measure

You need to continuously track:

• Engagement rates

• Watch time

• Shares

• Saves

• Comments

• Website actions

Step 3: Identify Winners

Look for content that significantly outperforms benchmarks.

Step 4: Amplify

Move winners into:

• Paid social

• Search campaigns

• Retargeting

• Email nurturing

• Sales enablement

Step 5: Convert

Drive prospects toward:

• Demos

• Consultations

• Discovery calls

• Product trials

• Revenue conversations

This transforms content from a branding expense into a growth asset.

Why Founder-Led Content Is Especially Powerful in MOFU

One trend becoming increasingly clear is that buyers trust people more than brands. AI search systems, social algorithms, and audiences all reward:

• Expertise

• Experience

• Original insights

• Credibility

Research on Answer Engine Optimization shows that AI systems increasingly prioritize expert-driven, authoritative content and real-world expertise when selecting sources. This is why founder-led content, executive thought leadership, and personal branding are becoming strategic growth levers rather than vanity exercises.

The buyer isn’t evaluating a logo. They’re evaluating trust.

Read this blog on the 3% Rule in B2B Sales.

The Metrics CMOs Should Watch

Instead of focusing only on:

• Reach

• Impressions

• Followers

Monitor:

• Content-assisted pipeline

• Lead quality

• Retargeting conversion rates

• Demo requests

• Sales-qualified opportunities

• Revenue influenced by content

These are the metrics that connect marketing to business outcomes.

The Future Belongs to MOFU-Led Marketing

The old model was simple:

Create awareness → generate traffic → hope for conversions.

The new model is different:

Create content → identify winners → amplify winners → nurture prospects → drive revenue.

The smartest CMOs are no longer asking how to create more content. They’re asking how to get more value from the content that is already working.

Because in a world where AI is commoditizing awareness and algorithms control distribution, the real battleground is no longer the top of the funnel.

It’s the middle. And that’s where growth happens.