Top, middle, bottom. Three kinds of video, and how to judge each one.

The problem

Lesson 3 said every video is a funnel. Spend a week in TikTok Shop and you will hear people say “that’s a TOFU video” or “we need more bottom-of-funnel content.” That sounds like it breaks the rule. It doesn’t. There are two funnels, and they use the same words.

Funnel one is inside the video. Hook, Payoff, Body, Finish, Click, Convert. The path one viewer takes through one clip. The Leak Finder measures it.

Funnel two is across videos. Top of funnel (TOFU), middle (MOFU), bottom (BOFU). The path a person takes from never having heard of a product to buying it. It usually takes more than one video, and the videos are built differently.

TOFU: the stranger

They have never heard of the product. They may not even know they have the problem. A TOFU video has to earn attention with nothing to lean on. So it opens on the problem or a surprising claim, not the product. It is broad. It is built to be watched by a lot of people who will not buy today.

What it looks like: a hook about a symptom, a “nobody tells you this” story, a test or a reveal. The product shows up late, and lightly.

MOFU: the curious

They know the problem. They may know the kind of product that fixes it. Now they are comparing and wondering if it works. A MOFU video answers “is this real?” and “is this the one?” It is proof, mechanism, before-and-after, why this instead of that.

What it looks like: an explainer of how it works, a comparison, a myth-busting video, a “week three update.”

BOFU: the almost-buyer

They know the product. They have probably seen it more than once. They just haven’t bought. A BOFU video removes the last reason to wait: price, a deal, a bundle, a review, a “it’s back in stock,” a fear of missing out.

What it looks like: offer front and center, product in the first second, reviews, a countdown, a reminder.

The example

Same number, opposite meaning.

If you don’t know which type of video you’re looking at, you will “fix” things that aren’t wrong and miss things that are.

Which one to make

Run TOFU when a product is new or nobody knows it. Move to MOFU when the comments start asking “does this work?” Run BOFU when the brand is pushing spend and people are already circling. Most teams that run all three keep them on separate accounts so the audience each account builds stays clean.

Do this in Verdict

1. 1
   Tag each video’s type (TOFU, MOFU or BOFU) when you log it. The Leak Finder reads the tag.
2. 2
   On a MOFU or BOFU video, look for the awareness note. Verdict checks whether the product already has a converting video and whether the funnel is shaped like a mid-funnel video before it treats a weak Convert as the video’s fault.
3. 3
   On a TOFU video, read Hook and Payoff first. If those are green, the video did what it was for.