Is Your Creator Strategy Full-Funnel Ready? A New Framework for Performance

A lot of brands think creator marketing is just for expanding their audience. It’s true that partnering with a creator with a large audience is great for an awareness campaign. But in 2025, creators can do more than just boost reach. They can help you move potential customers through every step of your sales funnel.

Creators are good at getting the word out about your brand’s product or service with promotions, video ads, and product reviews. But they can also bring their followers further down the tunnel. In mid-funnel, they can build trust, drive engagement, and educate and familiarize their audience with your offerings. At the bottom of the funnel, creators can convert people into new and repeat buyers. 

Is your current creator strategy built for all three stages of the sales funnel? 

If your answer is no, don’t worry. Use this full-funnel guide to update your approach to creator performance in 2025.

Turn creator partnerships into full-funnel growth.  Later helps you find, manage, and scale high-performing campaigns that convert. Schedule a demo today.

Taking advantage of the reach of large creators is a great way to build awareness. However, creators can do so much more than get the word out. And you don’t want to limit your reach with a top-only campaign. That would mean missing out on opportunities to drive engagement and conversions further down the funnel. Developments in social media platforms mean today’s influencers are effective in all areas of the sales funnel. 

A recent study from Sprout Social found that nearly half of all consumers make regular purchases due to influencer posts. A report from Matter found that 69% of survey participants trusted recommendations from family members, friends, or influencers over messaging from brands. 

What do these trends mean? Rather than investing in paid media advertising, using creators is effective for:

• Raising awareness (top of funnel)

• Building trust (middle of funnel)

• Driving conversions (bottom of funnel)

A creator strategy that focuses on all parts of the funnel means better and longer-lasting customer relationships. Customers start at the top of the tunnel after becoming aware of your brand. As they get more information, they consider your unique sales points (USPs). And finally, they choose to make a purchase at the bottom of the funnel. 

Here’s an in-depth look at how each part of the customer journey works and how creator marketing can work at all stages of the funnel to capture your audience’s interest, keep them engaged, and drive conversions.

TOFU – Top of Funnel (Awareness)

The top of the funnel is all about introducing your brand to your target audience. Short-form video content by aesthetic-first creators or a viral video from a macro influencer gets your brand name out there and expands your reach and impressions. Here’s the breakdown of how to craft influencer marketing campaigns that drive awareness at the top of the funnel:

• Goal: Reach, impressions, and brand recall. A TOFU creator strategy introduces your brand to those who are unaware. The more people who know about your offerings, the more potential sales you’ll have. 

• Best creators: Macro, viral content, and aesthetic-first creators. Viral creators with large followings can spread a message quickly. By partnering with known influencers in your industry, you can reach a new audience fast.

• Content types: Reels, TikToks, unboxings, GRWM, and user-generated content (UGC) with brand name mentions. These types of content have a strong potential for virality and shares. 

• Metrics: Views, reach, engagements, and saves. Monitoring these metrics can help you track the number of new people your content is reaching.

MOFU – Mid-Funnel (Consideration & Engagement)

People knowing that your brand exists isn’t enough. You need to bring them deeper into the funnel. The mid-funnel, or MOFU, focuses on turning general awareness into authentic interest. 

Niche creators teach their audience about your brand, which builds trust. This can turn into support. For example, followers may already know about your brand from ads or other platforms. In MOFU, influencers present the USPs of your product or service. It helps fans decide whether it’s worth purchasing. 

• Goal: Educate, build trust, and introduce product USPs. Here, potential customers get a better understanding of your product or service. The more they understand your brand and see you as a solution to their pain points, the more likely they are to buy.

• Best creators: Experts, niche voices, and tutorial-driven creators. Audiences trust experts and authority figures, making them perfect for MOFU. Promotions help viewers take a deeper look at your brand’s offerings and benefits.

• Content types: How-tos, reviews, “why I love this brand,” and blog + video hybrids. Short videos, TikToks, and Reels grab attention and leave a lasting impression. Product reviews that highlight your product’s uses and benefits push potential customers deeper into the funnel. 

• Metrics: Click-throughs, saves, comments with questions, and watch time. The higher these metrics are, the more interest people are showing. Comments with questions show that people want more information, and can inform your future content strategy.

BOFU – Bottom of Funnel (Conversion)

The bottom of the funnel is where your hard work pays off in the form of conversions. There are several ways that influencers can persuade their audience to make a purchase, sign up for a free trial, or start a subscription. Here’s a closer look at how you can fine-tune your influencer marketing strategy to close the deal at the bottom of the funnel:

• Goal: Drive purchases, subscriptions, and trials. The bottom of the funnel is where users feel confident enough about your brand to buy. 

• Best creators: Product testers, advocates, and affiliate-first creators. Creators who can prove your brand’s offerings are worthwhile can drive sales. A great way to motivate BOFU influencers is through commissions.

• Content types: Promo codes, “shop with me” videos, affiliate swipe-ups, and case studies. These types of content pull in viewers and give them the opportunity to make a purchase.

Metrics: Sales, conversion rate, last-click revenue, and return on ad spend (ROAS). Metrics that show how many sales took place and the amount of profit are perfect for BOFU.

So how do you set up a creator marketing funnel that takes customers through the funnel? The key is to match creators with the right type of content to each stage of the funnel.

At the top of the funnel, you can partner with a macro influencer with over 100,000 followers. This creator can expand your reach by creating viral, shareable Reels on Instagram. 

In the middle of the funnel, you can use micro-influencers to teach viewers about your brand. The creators can use unboxing videos to showcase your USPs and generate interest. 

Finally, at the bottom of the funnel, you can use influencers with stronger bonds to their audience to drive conversions with promo codes. These may be nano or micro influencers with fanbases of only 1,000 users. These audiences are small but mighty. They see these influencers as more relatable and genuine and are likelier to trust their opinion and buy.

You can even create a full-funnel strategy with a single creator. Here’s what that could look like: 

• Your brand partners with a beauty influencer to create a TOFU “get ready with me” video. This will draw attention to your new foundation product. 

• In MOFU, the same influencer brings your product back in a new video and compares it to other high-end brands. They can point out that, despite the lower price, it’s just as effective. 

• Finally, to convert viewers into customers at BOFU, they do a full product review. At the end, they introduce a limited-time-only discount available in the video description.

Accurately measuring your creators’ effectiveness at each funnel stage is a key element of success. Knowing which metrics to track and when to make adjustments is essential.

The right analytics to measure vary depending on the social media platform and the funnel stage. If your funnel spans several platforms, it can be difficult to track the customer journey. That’s where affiliate links and Urchin Tracking Modules (UTMs) come in handy. These gather data about where website traffic comes from and which customers convert. 

Combine this data with metrics from the platforms, like Instagram and TikTok, for more information. It’ll help you see the entire process and the effectiveness of your strategy. 

Some links, such as affiliate links, rely on last-click attribution. This tracking model gives credit for a conversion to the last affiliate link the buyer clicked before making a purchase. For example, a customer might follow several influencers who promote the same line of backpacks. If they’re interested and click on more than one affiliate link, the attribution for the sale goes to whoever provided the last link the customer clicked. This can undermine the efforts of other influencers that may have had just as much of an effect on the decision as the final influencer. 

So how can you get better insight into which influencers are helping your customers reach the bottom of the funnel? A multi-touch attribution model spreads credit across several touchpoints. This makes it easier to determine which influencers are effective and reward them for their efforts.

What is a full-funnel creator strategy?

A full-funnel creator strategy maps different types of creator content to each stage of the customer journey. This way, your creators can do more than just drive awareness. They can build trust with their audience and educate them about your brand. At the bottom of the funnel, content paired with promo codes, discounts, and limited-time offers can help drive conversions.

This full-funnel approach makes sure your creator strategy isn’t just reaching people, but driving them to act and converting them into paying customers. Focusing on the entire customer journey maximizes ROI by creating new or repeat customers.

How do I measure influencer marketing performance?

To measure influencer marketing performance, look beyond vanity metrics to evaluate conversions and ROI.

At different parts of the funnel, you’ll want to focus on different metrics to track success. 

At the top of the funnel, look at awareness-focused metrics such as:

• Views

• Engagement

• Shares

• Saves

• Impressions

• Reach

In the middle of the funnel, you’re trying to build trust with users and further educate them on why they should consider buying. Mid-funnel metrics to measure are:

• Likes

• Detailed comments

• Clicks

• Watch time

When creators bring potential customers to the bottom of the funnel, they get them to buy. The metrics to measure success at the bottom of the funnel are more straightforward:

• Sales

• Promo code redemptions

• ROI

• ROAS

• Conversion rates

Do influencers actually drive conversions?

Yes, influencers drive conversions, especially when you match them with the right stage of the funnel. Influencer marketing campaigns often excel in terms of exposure and awareness, but they can do more for you. With the right strategy, creators can drive conversions at the bottom of the funnel.

Followers tend to trust influencers they watch regularly and see as experts instead of advertisers. Product recommendations come across as authentic suggestions. 

When creators present affiliate links, discounts, or limited-time deals, their viewers are more likely to buy.

In the past, brands partnered with creators primarily to increase awareness and focus on the top of the sales funnel. Today, the role of influencers has changed. They can guide prospects through the customer journey as long as you craft a comprehensive creator strategy. When you view creators as salespeople, enthusiasts, and storytellers, you can create a full-funnel journey to reap the rewards. 

Audit your current creator strategy. Are you using creators at every stage? If not, now’s the time to level up. WithLater, you can unlock the true potential of full-funnel creator marketing with influencers poised to reach your target audience at each stage of the funnel. Book a demo today and see how Later can help your brand achieve success at every stage of the funnel.