Marketers have a lot going on in 2025. 

Marketing budgets are at an all-time low post-pandemic. At companies feeling especially strained, what little budget remains is controlled by a CFO whose concern is for immediate ROI instead of long-term strategy. 

Search is undergoing its own metamorphosis as AI continues to dominate SERP results and Google pushes out more algorithm changes than ever before. Gartner predicts that search engine volume will drop 25% by 2026 as audiences turn to AI chatbots and social platforms for information.

A visual guide to Google search ranking volatility. Hotter days represent more movement on page one of the Google search results.

To sum up, marketers are expected to do more with less budget, grow at the whims of Google, and learn how to use AI while also combatting AI.

The response to the chaos is to focus on the core tenets of marketing–aligning our messaging to the audience and our CTAs to a robust full-funnel strategy.

Message Before Channels

Brands that will reach their audience across the entire funnel know that a message is more important than the channel through which it is sent.

Dollar Shave Club (DSC) came onto the scene in 2011 with a pioneering direct-to-consumer subscription model for high-quality razors delivered monthly for just a few bucks. The startup's messaging positioned themselves as the long-sought-for alternative to overpriced razors loaded with gimmicky features. DSC was scrappy, smart and spoke directly to their audience’s desire to save money.

Unilever bought DSC in 2016 for $1 billion cash, surely with intentions to turn the brand into a profit machine. But Unilever misunderstood DSC’s audience.

DSC was cool precisely because it wasn’t part of a massive conglomerate. Its audience loved a rugged brand born out of a viral YouTube video that offered them an alternative to $35 shaving kits.

But all that Unilever could see was the sexy world of commercials. In 2019 Unilever produced a new video for their brand DSC, inviting men and women of all kinds to “join the club.” Actually, Unilever made a slew of commercials with the same deadpan style as the 2011 hit that made DSC go viral. But it wasn’t shirtless bodybuilders squeezing shampoo bottles or sphynx cats in a shave butter heaven that made DSC successful. Okay, well kind of.

DSC subscribers love funny videos. But if the funny video doesn't have the right messaging, it still misses the mark. Unilever was too focused on channels to really understand the audience and message that DSC customers were so fanatical about.

In an effort to maintain profit margins in retail, Unilever expanded DSC’s offerings to include products such as hair cream, cologne, face moisturizer, and sunscreen. But these products cost anywhere from $10-50. 

The same customer that wants quality razors for just a few bucks isn’t going to spring for a $50 bottle of cologne. 

In 2023 Unilever sold their majority stake in DSC after seven fumbling years trying to grow their profit margins.

Don’t be Unilever. Know your audience. Listen to them. Create messaging that speaks to their core desires and don’t be distracted by flashy new channels.

Does anybody really know what the mid-funnel is?

Something is happening to the marketing funnel. It’s waist? The core middle section that holds all those essential organs? Itty bitty. Hourglass. Nearly invisible for far too many brands.

Top of funnel content is fun! It’s exciting, it’s new, it’s engaging. Bottom of funnel strategy gets the bulk of the resources. “Leads leads leads,” we hear the CEO chanting as we ask for more SEO spend. And the mid-funnel? Forgotten. 

Developing a strong mid-funnel strategy is the most crucial effort that marketers can make to increase engagement in 2025. 

Mid-funnel content is the heavy hitter—or it should be—in helping your audience to trust you, become true experts in the solutions that can address their problem, and feel prepared to make a decision. This is where your audience wants to hang out. 

B2B buyers are self-navigating their way to purchases. They’re not including sales people; they’re doing extensive research on their own. The brands that deliver robust early and mid-funnel content to these B2B buyers will win engagement and ROI. 

A report published by Demand Gen reveals that B2B buyers consider the following to be characteristics of early- and mid-funnel content memorable enough to warrant a sales call:

  • Tells a strong story that resonates with buying committees (55%); 
  • Uses data and research to support claims (52%); 
  • Is research-based (40%); 
  • Is packed with shareable stats and quick-hitting insights (40%); and 
  • Is personalized/tailored to their needs (32%). 

The report also identified interactive content as important in the mid-stages of the buyer’s journey. This content can look take many forms, but respondents prefer: 

  • Assessments (50%)
  • Interactive/video content (46%)
  • ROI calculators (41%) 

Build mid-funnel content that allows your audience to do the research that they want to do anyway, but with you.

Stop Mixing and Matching CTAs

Ever read an article with a title like “Ten Motivational Quotes for a Tuesday” only to be hit with a “try our complicated SaaS platform” CTA? 

All over the internet we’re seeing bottom-of-funnel CTAs slapped on top-of-funnel content. It’s jarring.

In 2025, engagement will hinge on how well marketers align their CTAs with the specific stage of the buyer’s journey. 

Marketers should judge every single CTA against two factors: value and relevance.

First, a CTA should continue offering value to your audience. They should get something or learn something that continues to guide them on their journey and help them solve their problem.

Second, a CTA needs to be relevant to the content it appears with. A motivational quote article doesn’t need a CTA for a demo, but maybe a CTA for a productivity guide? That’s closer. 

CTAs should mirror the knowledge and intent of your audience. Ask yourself this: if I were engaging with this content what would I want to know or do next that would get me closer to a resolution? That’s your CTA.

Successful marketing strategies employ multiple CTAs, each tailored for their audience’s specific needs at each stage in the funnel.

Invest in the Upper Funnel

If marketing is undervalued, brand marketing is the poster child for it. Convincing leadership to lend a budget for top-of-funnel awareness plays can feel impossible in the face of a recession scare. 

But marketers know the truth: having a strong brand protects performance dips in every other channel–especially organic and paid. 

A strategic brand campaign can have massive ROI that rolls in new business for a long time after the campaign concludes.

Back to the earlier point about the mid-funnel, building strong mid-funnel strategies and CTAs along the full funnel mitigates some of the risk of investing in top-of-funnel brand marketing. Put in different terms, if you want the buy-in for your top-of-funnel dream campaigns, build the mid-funnel first and connect the dots for upper leadership.

A brand marketing campaign should not be a drop-off. 

Create a journey. Make your upper-funnel content work for you by hooking your audience on valuable content that logically follows through a whole network of truly useful resources and touch points.

Rebuilding the Funnel in 2025

If we had published this article even a year ago it may have felt elementary. Of course we need mid-funnel and multiple CTA. Of course we need to focus on messaging that hits home with our audience!

But in 2025, it feels necessary to re-center on these core tenets of building a brand that audiences trust.

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