The Full-Funnel Playbook: From Brand Awareness to High-Intent Conversions

In today's digital landscape, focusing solely on bottom-funnel, conversion-ready customers is a short-sighted strategy. A sustainable growth engine requires a full-funnel approach that engages potential customers at every stage of their journey. This means building brand awareness at the top, nurturing interest in the middle, and capturing high-intent demand at the bottom. The modern buyer's journey is no longer linear; it's collapsing into conversational platforms like Large Language Models (LLMs), where education and consideration happen simultaneously. Success is no longer just about traffic; it's about visibility. An effective strategy integrates channels like Google Ads, LinkedIn, and Microsoft Ads, using tailored content and messaging to guide users from initial awareness to final conversion, ensuring your brand is the one they remember and trust when they are ready to act.

We primarily focus on bottom-funnel search ads. What are we missing by not having a top-of-funnel strategy?

A bottom-funnel-only strategy misses the opportunity to build brand awareness and fill your pipeline for the future. By not engaging in top-of-funnel (TOFU) activities, you are invisible to a large audience that is in the early stages of research and not yet ready to purchase. This initial education phase is increasingly happening in LLMs, where users ask broad questions. Without a TOFU presence, competitors are shaping the conversation and nurturing your future customers. A full-funnel strategy uses informational keywords and awareness campaigns to capture users early, making them familiar with your brand. This ensures that when they do develop purchase intent, they are more likely to search for your brand directly, leading to more efficient, higher-converting traffic later on.

What's the best way to use a lead magnet like an e-guide to generate new leads?

Lead magnets like e-guides, white papers, or reports are powerful tools for middle-of-the-funnel (MOFU) lead generation. On platforms like LinkedIn, Document Ads with integrated lead generation forms are highly effective for capturing contact information directly within the user's feed, which can then be synced to your CRM. For search campaigns, the strategy involves targeting broader, more informational keywords (e.g., “what is MDR,” “cybersecurity awareness training”) and directing that traffic to a dedicated landing page. This page should be focused solely on the value of the lead magnet, with a clear form to download it. This approach captures users who are in the research and consideration phase, allowing you to add them to your marketing database for future nurturing.

How do brand awareness campaigns on LinkedIn contribute to our Google Ads performance?

Brand awareness campaigns on LinkedIn warm up a professional audience by building brand recognition and credibility before they have active purchase intent. As this target audience becomes more familiar with your brand and solutions through LinkedIn content, their search behavior on Google shifts. Instead of using generic, non-branded keywords, they are more likely to perform higher-intent branded searches (e.g., searching for “Immersive Labs” directly). This synergy is crucial; LinkedIn builds the demand and awareness, while Google Ads captures that demand with greater efficiency. This omnichannel approach leads to a lower cost-per-click (CPC) on Google for branded terms and a higher overall return on ad spend, as you are engaging a more informed and qualified audience.

Should we use a PMax or a Demand Gen campaign for top-of-funnel efforts?

For top-of-funnel (TOFU) brand awareness, a Demand Gen campaign is the more suitable choice. Demand Gen is specifically designed to create demand by reaching broad audiences through visual placements on platforms like YouTube, Discover, and Gmail, which is ideal for engaging users who are not yet actively searching for a solution. While Performance Max (PMax) is a powerful conversion-focused tool that leverages AI across all of Google's channels, it is optimized for bottom-funnel actions. Using Demand Gen for TOFU efforts allows for greater control over audience targeting and is better aligned with the goal of filling the top of the funnel with new, relevant users who can be nurtured and retargeted later.

What kind of content works best for middle-of-the-funnel nurturing?

Middle-of-the-funnel (MOFU) content should focus on nurturing leads who are aware of their problem and are now actively considering solutions. The most effective content at this stage builds trust and educates prospects on why your solution is the best fit. Key content types include:

• Lead Magnets: In-depth content like e-books, white papers, and analyst reports (e.g., Forrester or Gartner reports) provide significant value in exchange for contact information.
• Case Studies and Testimonials: These provide social proof and demonstrate how your product has successfully solved problems for similar companies.
• Webinars: Live or recorded webinars allow for a deeper dive into specific topics and showcase your team's expertise, helping to build authority.
• Product/Service Comparisons: Content that helps prospects evaluate their options and highlights your unique advantages can be very persuasive.

How do we measure the success of a brand awareness campaign?

The success of a brand awareness campaign is not measured by immediate sales but by metrics that indicate growing visibility and audience engagement. Instead of focusing on cost-per-acquisition (CPA), track these key performance indicators (KPIs):

• Engagement Metrics: Monitor clicks, click-through rate (CTR), impressions, reach, and social media engagement (likes, shares, comments) to gauge how the content is resonating.
• Micro-Conversions: These are smaller, interest-based actions that precede a final sale. Track metrics like time spent on site, number of pages visited, and navigation from a landing page to the homepage. These demonstrate that users are interested and want to learn more.
• Branded Search Volume: An increase in the number of people searching for your brand name on Google is a strong indicator that awareness efforts on other channels are working.
• Share of Voice (SOV): In the age of AI search, a critical KPI is your brand's visibility in LLM responses. Measure how often your brand is mentioned or cited in answers to relevant prompts compared to your competitors.

What's the right budget split between top-of-funnel and bottom-of-funnel campaigns?

There is no universal budget split that works for every business; the ideal allocation depends on your specific goals, market maturity, and sales cycle length. However, a balanced, full-funnel strategy requires intentional investment at each stage. A practical approach is to dedicate a specific portion of the budget—for instance, taking a percentage from a large Google Ads budget—to test and fund top-of-funnel initiatives on platforms like Microsoft Ads or LinkedIn. Performance should be evaluated based on funnel-stage-appropriate KPIs, not just final conversions. As you gather data, you can optimize the split by reallocating funds from underperforming, high-CPA campaigns to more efficient top- and middle-funnel activities that build a sustainable, long-term pipeline.

How do we create an email nurture sequence for leads who download content but aren't ready for a demo?

After a lead downloads content like an e-book, they enter your CRM, but they are typically not ready for a sales call. The next step is to enroll them in an automated email nurture sequence designed to guide them further down the funnel. The sequence should begin immediately with an email delivering the requested asset. Subsequent emails, sent over a period of days or weeks, should provide additional, related content that builds on the topic of the original download. This could include relevant blog posts, case studies, or invitations to a webinar. The goal is to provide value, build trust, and increase their lead score based on engagement. Once their score crosses a predefined threshold, they are considered a Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) and can be routed to the sales team for outreach.

Can we retarget top-of-funnel audiences with more conversion-focused ads?

Yes, retargeting is a critical component of a full-funnel strategy. Audiences that have engaged with your top-of-funnel (TOFU) content—such as visiting your blog, watching an awareness video, or downloading a guide—are ideal for retargeting. You can create specific campaigns, such as on the Google Display Network or LinkedIn, to re-engage these users. The messaging in these retargeting ads should be more focused on the next step in the journey. For example, someone who read a TOFU blog post can be retargeted with an ad for a middle-of-funnel (MOFU) e-book. A user who downloaded that e-book can then be retargeted with a bottom-of-funnel (BOFU) ad that has a direct call-to-action, like “Request a Demo.” This sequential messaging guides users from awareness to consideration and finally to conversion.

What's the difference in messaging for a top-of-funnel ad versus a bottom-of-funnel ad?

The messaging differs significantly based on the user's intent at each stage of the funnel.

Top-of-Funnel (TOFU) Messaging: This is for the awareness stage, targeting users who are identifying a problem but are not yet looking for a specific solution. The messaging should be educational, helpful, and problem-focused. It should address broad, informational search queries (e.g., “what is cyber risk mitigation?”). The call-to-action (CTA) is soft and low-commitment, such as “Download Our Guide” or “Learn More.” The goal is to provide value and build trust, not to make a hard sell.

Bottom-of-Funnel (BOFU) Messaging: This is for the decision stage, targeting users with high commercial intent who are actively comparing providers (e.g., “MDR providers”). The messaging should be direct, solution-focused, and highlight your unique value proposition and competitive differentiators. The CTA is a hard conversion ask, such as “Request a Demo,” “Get a Quote,” or “Talk to Sales.” The goal is to convert the user's intent into a direct sales opportunity.