Forget Everything You Know About TOFU, MOFU, And BOFU
LinkedIn campaigns in 2025: Loading...
Most B2B marketers use the funnel model to guide their LinkedIn ads strategy. They break audiences into TOFU, MOFU, and BOFU stages, then match ads and content to each one. It's a linear system built on the assumption that buyers move step-by-step from awareness to decision (commonly referred to as AIDA).
Interestingly enough, as I was writing this article I realized I’ve never really known where AIDA came from. Turns out it was invented by an American businessman named Elias St. Elmo Lewis literally in 1898. So, maybe it is time for an updated approach.
Because that's not how people actually buy—especially in 2025.
Today's buyers move in and out of the journey on their own terms. They do anonymous research, talk to peers, and make decisions before (or without) ever clicking an ad. The funnel doesn't capture that complexity, and honestly? It's costing you money.
Here's what I've learned after auditing dozens of B2B LinkedIn strategies: most marketers are still stuck in funnel-thinking, trying to map linear stages onto non-linear buyer journeys. They're creating TOFU campaigns for "awareness," MOFU for "consideration," and BOFU for "decision" like it's 2015.
But here's the thing—B2B buying journeys aren't linear. They're messy, collaborative, and happen mostly in private.
👋 Hi, it’s Kaylee Edmondson and welcome to Looped In, my newsletter exploring demand gen and growth frameworks in B2B SaaS. If you’re one of the 82 people that have subscribed since last Sunday, hello! So glad you’re here—you’ve just joined 2k+ marketers who read Looped In every Sunday (with the exception of last week. We were on island time enjoying a much-needed summer slow down with our family.)
I’ve stopped running TOFU, MOFU, BOFU campaigns. I now run two types of campaigns, because there are only two things that actually matter:
Building mental availability with out-market prospects
Convincing in-market prospects to choose you over competitors
That's it. Everything else is marketing theater.
Why I Ditched the Funnel for Good
I used to be a funnel devotee. At every company I joined, I'd build these elaborate TOFU/MOFU/BOFU campaign structures. Seemed logical: awareness at the top, consideration in the middle, decision at the bottom.
The results were fine for what they were. Not to be too hard on myself, but I think it was the best we had at the time. Signals weren’t so readily available. Data complexity inside of organizations typically became its own beast to try and work around. I was earlier in my career and consuming content from all the greats around me, and everyone, I mean everyone, was on a funnel model.
The funnel assumes people move step-by-step through your predefined stages. But that's not how anyone actually buys—especially in B2B SaaS where purchase decisions involve multiple stakeholders, months of research, vendor conversations that happen completely outside your visibility, and honestly, sometimes phone-a-friend’s that heavily weight the buying committees’ decisioning.
And we’ve heard this before: Only about 5% of your ICP is actually in-market at any given time. The other 95% aren't moving through your funnel—they're not even thinking about buying yet. They lack that trigger, that pain point moment where the lightbulb goes off and they realize they need this thing that solves their problem.
Traditional funnel logic treats everyone like they're progressing toward a purchase. But most of your audience isn't progressing anywhere. They're just... living their lives, doing their jobs, putting out other fires.
This realization completely changed how I structure LinkedIn campaigns.
The Two-Campaign Framework That Actually Works
Instead of three arbitrary funnel stages, I’ve been running two campaign types based on buyer reality:
Campaign Type 1: Out-Market (Goal: Mindshare)
Target: Your total ICP list
Goal: "When they move in-market, we're the name they remember"
These campaigns hit the entire ICP with high-frequency ads built around strategic, data-backed messaging. We're not trying to convert anyone—we're building mental availability so when they eventually need our solution, we're already on their vendor shortlist.
How it works:
Target the full ICP list with broad, strategic messaging
Optimize for reach, frequency, engagement rate, and dwell time
Mix ad formats but focus on audience penetration
Run continuously, not in bursts
Success metrics I actually care about:
ICP company website visits
Share of search in our category
Growth in engaged ICP accounts over time
Brand mention tracking in relevant communities
This tells us we're not just hitting vanity metrics, but actually getting on the vendor list when companies start their buying process. And a small caveat for you to consider in your own org: some buying committees are complex in nature. They’re made up of someone from Sales, Marketing, RevOps, and maybe an exec sponsor, too. You know your business better than I do, but pull into consideration that your out-market ads for a Sales leader might need to be different than the ads you’d serve to your exec sponsor.
Campaign Type 2: In-Market (Conversion-Focused)
Target: High-intent signals (roughly 5% of ICP)
Goal: Convert pipeline, drive revenue, shorten sales cycles
These campaigns are laser-targeted at accounts showing actual buying signals. I recently shrunk one client's in-market audience from 60K to 5K because they were wasting spend on people who weren't actually ready to buy.
How it works:
Ditch generic retargeting (website visits, video views, ad clicks)
Focus on high-intent page visits—pricing, demo, comparison pages
Layer in AI-driven intent signals from tools like Clay, G2, etc.
Add ICP filters to ensure you’re not targeting poor-fit prospects
One contrarian approach: Unlike most B2Bs, don't exclude existing pipeline from targeting. Instead, keep reminding them why you’re the best option throughout their evaluation process. They're not closed until they're closed.
Most B2B Teams Get This Wrong Because…
The biggest mistake I see is treating everyone like they're in-market when they're most definitely not.
Companies create these elaborate nurture sequences trying to "move people through the funnel," but 95% of their audience isn't ready to be moved anywhere. They're not researching solutions. They don't have budget allocated. The problem isn't urgent enough yet.
Traditional approach: Create content for each funnel stage and hope people progress through it.
Reality-based approach: Acknowledge that most people aren't buying anything, and plan accordingly.
This changes everything about campaign structure, budget allocation, and success metrics.
Setting Up Your Two-Campaign System
Here's how I help clients transition from funnel-thinking to reality-based campaigns:
Step 1: Identify Your True In-Market Audience
Start by analyzing which signals actually correlate with closed deals. I'm not talking about generic "engagement"—I mean specific behaviors that indicate genuine buying intent.
High-intent signals that actually work:
Multiple visits to pricing or demo pages
Comparison guide downloads
Technical documentation access
Multiple stakeholders from the same account engaging
G2 research activity on your category
Job postings for roles that use your solution
Most companies discover their real in-market audience is much smaller than they thought. One client went from targeting 50K "MQLs" to 4K genuine high-intent contacts—and conversion rates tripled. With the reduction in noise we were able to increase frequency within their allowed budget. Increasing those reps, increased their conversions.
Step 2: Build Mindshare with Everyone Else
For your out-market campaigns, focus on strategic positioning rather than product features. You're not trying to generate immediate demand—you're building consideration for when demand naturally occurs.
Out-market messaging that works:
Industry insights and trend analysis
Thought leadership on key challenges
Strategic frameworks (like this newsletter!)
Customer success stories that illustrate outcomes
The goal is to be helpful and memorable, not salesy.
Step 3: Create Different Success Metrics
This is crucial: you can't measure both campaign types the same way.
Out-market campaign metrics:
Reach and frequency among ICP accounts
Engagement quality and dwell time
Share of voice in your category
Organic search volume for your brand
Pipeline source attribution over longer timeframes
In-market campaign metrics:
Conversion rate from signal to opportunity
Sales cycle acceleration
Pipeline velocity
Cost per qualified opportunity
Revenue attribution
Don't try to measure immediate ROI on mindshare campaigns—that's not how they work.
Real Results from Real Clients
One client completely restructured their LinkedIn strategy using this framework. Instead of spreading budget across TOFU/MOFU/BOFU campaigns, they allocated:
70% of budget to mindshare (full ICP list)
30% of budget to high-intent conversion campaigns
Results after 6 months:
40% increase in pipeline from LinkedIn
25% shorter sales cycles
60% improvement in cost-per-opportunity
Measurable increase in brand consideration scores
The key insight: they stopped trying to convert people who weren't ready to buy, and started building relationships with people who might buy eventually.
Why This Framework Actually Reflects Buyer Reality (at least for today)
B2B buyers don't wake up one day and decide to move through your marketing funnel. They have problems that gradually become urgent enough to warrant a solution. When that happens, they want to evaluate vendors they already know and trust.
The buyer's actual journey:
Problem exists but isn't urgent (95% of your ICP, most of the time)
Problem becomes urgent enough to solve (~5% of your ICP at any moment)
Research known vendors and evaluate options
Make a decision
Traditional funnels try to create urgency artificially. The two-campaign approach acknowledges that you can't force timing, but you can influence consideration when timing naturally occurs.
This isn't just about LinkedIn ads—it's about aligning your entire marketing strategy with how people actually buy instead of how you wish they would.
Making the Mental Shift
The hardest part of implementing this framework isn't the tactical setup—it's the mental shift from funnel-thinking to reality-based marketing.
You have to accept that most of your marketing won't generate immediate pipeline. But that doesn't mean it's not working. Building mental availability and earning their mindshare is a long-term strategy that pays dividends when buyers eventually move in-market. (All of this assumes your product is actually legit.)
Questions to ask yourself (or your leadership):
Are we trying to convert people who aren't ready to buy?
Do our campaigns reflect buyer reality or our sales timeline?
Are we building consideration for when people actually need us?
The companies winning in 2025 are those that market the way buyers actually buy, not the way they wish they would.
What percentage of your ICP do you think is actually in-market right now? Most teams overestimate this by 5-10x, which explains why so many campaigns underperform.
Ready to test this approach? Start by identifying your true high-intent signals, then build one campaign for mental availability and one for conversion. Measure them differently, optimize them differently, and watch what happens to your pipeline quality.
See ya next week,
Kaylee ✌