TOF / MOF / BOF
Top, middle and bottom of funnel: how far along a buying decision the audience is.
Funnel stages describe where an audience is relative to a purchase. Top of funnel is people who don't know you exist. Middle is people who know you and are evaluating. Bottom is people ready to buy who need a reason to do it now.
The reason it matters for content is that each stage rewards different work and should be judged on different numbers. Top-of-funnel content should be measured on reach and attention, not conversions: judging it on sales will kill your best-performing awareness work. Bottom-of-funnel content measured on reach looks like a failure and is often the most profitable thing you run.
The stages are a planning tool, not a law of nature. Real buying is messy and non-linear. Their value is that they stop you applying one success metric to three different jobs.
Where this comes up
Why the old even-thirds funnel split stopped making sense, what a modern default looks like, and how to know when yours is wrong.
Boosting your best post is usually the wrong move. What to look for instead, and why the strongest candidate is often one that underperformed.