Full-Funnel Strategy
Everything so far has been about running a campaign. This final module is about running a system. It starts with the funnel, the single most useful mental model for turning strangers into customers.
By the end of this lesson you'll know
- What TOF, MOF and BOF mean
- Which objectives fit each stage
- Why cold audiences need warming first
- How to split budget across the funnel
The three stages
Think of every customer moving through three stages, from never having heard of you to buying:
| Stage | Who they are | Fitting objectives |
|---|---|---|
| TOF (top) | Cold — never heard of you | Awareness, Traffic, video views |
| MOF (middle) | Warm — engaged, watched, visited | Engagement, retargeting warmers |
| BOF (bottom) | Hot — ready to act | Leads, Sales (retargeting) |
This maps directly onto the objectives from Module 5 and the audiences from Module 4. TOF introduces you to strangers; MOF nurtures the ones who showed interest; BOF converts the ones who are ready.
Remember Module 1: Meta is interruption, not intent. Firing a hard “Buy now” at a stone-cold audience is like proposing marriage on a first date. Cold traffic usually needs to meet you (TOF) and warm up (MOF) before a BOF ask lands. The funnel is how you sequence that.
How the stages feed each other
The magic is that each stage creates the audience for the next. Your TOF video ad generates video viewers — who become a MOF retargeting audience. Your MOF traffic creates website visitors — who become a BOF retargeting audience. Run the top, and the bottom fills itself (this is the custom-audience compounding from Module 4).
Do you need all three?
Not always. A tiny budget is often better spent nailing one stage well than spreading thin across three (remember: don't fragment). Many small businesses start at the bottom — retargeting warm audiences and existing contacts — because it's the cheapest, highest-return place to begin. Add TOF once BOF is working and you need more people entering the funnel.
When you do run full-funnel, a common starting split is roughly 70–80% top-of-funnel (you need fresh people entering), 10–20% retargeting, and a small slice testing. Retargeting is cheap and effective, but it can only convert the people TOF brings in.
Only ever retargeting feels efficient — great ROAS, cheap conversions — until the warm pool runs dry and results collapse. Retargeting has a ceiling set by how many people enter at the top. Feed the funnel, or it empties.
Key takeaways
- The funnel has three stages: TOF (cold), MOF (warm), BOF (hot).
- Match objectives: Awareness/Traffic up top, Leads/Sales at the bottom.
- Each stage creates the audience for the next.
- Small budget? Start at the bottom; scale up the funnel later — but don't only retarget.