The funnel. Same three levels you see in ads: audience, engagement, conversion. Know, like, trust.
- Awareness / Audience — people who do not know you yet. Reach, views, follows.
- Consideration / Engagement — they watch, click, comment, follow.
- Conversion — they book, call, or buy.
Most owners start at conversion because that is the language of payroll. That is correct if you are under a million dollars a year. You do not have capital to invest in brand. You need money to bootstrap. Once you can pay for a wrapped van, then story. Once you are bigger, podcasts and conferences — several steps removed from the phone ringing.
Judge each piece of content at the stage it actually serves. Do not demand a sale from a cold video. Do not run a brand film and call it a lead campaign. The funnel is not a slogan. It is a sorting rule.
The overview talks through why small shops start at the bottom of the funnel and why that is not a moral failing. It funds GCT and MAA.