Top of Funnel (TOFU)
Top of funnel (TOFU) is the first stage of the marketing funnel, where potential buyers become aware of a problem or a company but are not yet evaluating solutions.
Also called: TOFU, awareness stage
Why it matters
Top-of-funnel work reaches those people early, so the company is familiar when their need becomes active. It feeds the later stages: without enough new awareness, the middle and bottom of the funnel slowly run dry.
Typical top-of-funnel activities include educational blog posts, social media posts, podcasts, broad ads and events. They are usually measured on reach, engagement, new visitors and audience growth rather than direct sales, because the buying decision comes later. The funnel model is a simplification, as real buyers often move back and forth between stages.
Example
A company selling warehouse robotics publishes a short series explaining the main causes of picking errors, with no product pitch. The posts reach operations managers who had not heard of the company. Some of them later return to read a comparison guide, which is middle-of-funnel content.
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