Effective content moves mid-funnel metrics. Unless you work at a breakthrough company, your brand health metrics look very similar to the vast majority of other brands. You have strong aided awareness and strong conversion rates, but your mid-funnel metrics are weak.

Those are the metrics that show how well people understand what makes your brand different and better than the competition. Almost every brand today has a mid-funnel problem. This is the inevitable result when brands don’t use a differentiated strategy.

Since the advent of digital, the business world has thought that the sales funnel had exploded. Now think for a moment about what makes a brand great to you, personally. It’s not about the overwhelming awareness at the top of the funnel, and it’s not about the amazing coupons and discounts at the bottom of the funnel. It’s the perceptions of the brand that sit at the middle of the funnel. Most people only have a handful of brands that they are loyal enough to evangelize for. Those brands empower you in some way, even if it is as simple as how Amazon empowers us to make a more educated and convenient purchase.

Digital is the mid-funnel playground. It’s where all of the fun and exciting marketing is taking place. It’s about creating experiences that help the audience understand what the brand truly stands for and how it can impact their lives. A strong experience produces change. It makes someone think and behave differently.

Successful mid-funnel experiences deliver benefits without implicit returns. There’s very little commerce built into them. In fact, when brands add a “buy now!” button, they reek of selfishness and insincerity. It renders the content ineffective. Great experiences are about teaching the audience something, connecting with them emotionally and getting them to perform better.