AIDA for digital marketing agencies: the intent/friction filter

November 22, 2025

The AIDA model is old. It has been around since before the internet. Yet, every digital marketing agency still uses it. They still talk about Awareness, Interest, Desire, and Action. It looks neat on a slide. It gives them something to bill against. For you, the builder, it is mostly useless. It is too vague. It describes what happens, but not how to make it happen. It’s like a weather report that says, "It will rain," without telling you how to build a roof that works. You are looking for a system. You want inputs to reliably produce outputs. An agency selling you AIDA is selling you a description, not a mechanism. You need a mechanism. You need something that acknowledges the chaotic reality of modern digital channels. The problem isn’t AIDA’s stages. The problem is that it assumes a single, frictionless path. In digital marketing today, there is only noise, distraction, and the constant threat of friction. You need to stop optimizing for attention and start optimizing for <a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/learn/how-to-choose-marketing-channels">intent</a>, while ruthlessly eliminating friction. We are going to evolve AIDA into the Intent/Friction Filter. This model is built for the founder who runs their own agency of one. It turns vague stages into actionable binary decisions. You can ignore the conventional AIDA stages for now. They will only slow you down. <h2>How AIDA digital marketing agencies should use the Intent/Friction Filter</h2> The Intent/Friction Filter reframes the classic AIDA sequence around two central forces in digital marketing: identifying high-value intent and removing all points of friction to conversion. <h3>The Intent Refactor: Awareness is dead</h3> The AIDA model starts with Awareness. This is why most marketing fails. Nobody needs more awareness. They have enough noise. They are aware of a million things they do not care about. You do not need to interrupt them; you need to meet them when they are looking for a solution. Intent is the only meaningful starting point. Intent is the signal that a user is actively trying to solve the problem your product solves. Awareness is a broadcast. Intent is a handshake. Actionable Step: Spend the next hour listing the exact search queries, subreddits, or forum posts that signal a buyer is currently frustrated enough to look for a solution. These are your Intent signals. Throw away every channel that doesn't capture high intent. <h3>Filtering Friction: Interest and Desire as elimination problems</h3> An agency usually tells you to create "engaging content" for Interest and "compelling sales copy" for Desire. This is management-speak for 'spend money until something sticks.' As a builder, you know this is a bad system. Instead of building interest, focus on eliminating friction. Interest and Desire fail when the user hits a roadblock. Friction is anything that introduces doubt or effort: slow loading times, confusing pricing, too many form fields, or unclear benefits. For a startup, converting a visitor often isn't about making them desire your product more; it's about making them stop doubting it. The goal is neutralization, not excitation. Consider a pre-revenue SaaS targeting agencies. Asking them to book a 30-minute demo immediately is high-friction. Offering a free, instant-use template (a small win) is low-friction. This moves the user from Intent to Action instantly, bypassing the messy middle stages. <h3>The Action Decoupling: The moment of commitment</h3> AIDA ends with Action, which usually means purchase. The Intent/Friction Filter adds a new stage: Commitment. This is necessary because in digital marketing, a conversion (Action) is rarely the end. It’s the start of a relationship. Action is when the credit card is charged or the trial is started. Commitment is when they integrate your tool, invite their team, or successfully use your product to solve their primary pain point. A digital marketing agency that focuses only on the Action will lead to high churn. You need to design the process so the first small action automatically leads to the commitment stage. This is how you build a system that retains customers. Look at how successful products guide you to an "Aha!" moment immediately after signup. <a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/learn/marketing-funnels-explained">This is the modern funnel</a>. <h3>The Re-engagement Loop: AIDA is a circle, not a line</h3> The traditional AIDA model is linear. It ends. But in digital marketing, the process must feed back into itself. A customer who has committed to your product is your best source of new intent. They generate testimonials, word-of-mouth, and repeat business. Your marketing dollars are best spent converting existing customers into advocates (Re-engagement) rather than forcing new awareness. This gives you permission to ignore the endless pursuit of cold traffic. Prioritize retention and referrals. Actionable Step: Look at your current highest-intent channel (e.g., Google Ads for specific keywords). Immediately check the landing page experience (<a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/learn/landing-page-optimization-strategy">check your CRO strategy</a>). Reduce the initial form fields to the absolute minimum—name and email only. That’s a win you can achieve today. <h2>The Intent/Friction Filter: Applying a systematic AIDA for startups</h2> Intent: Is the customer actively seeking a solution? (Goal: Stop wasting resources on general awareness campaigns.) Friction Check: Is there any point of doubt, effort, or confusion preventing immediate qualification? (Goal: Simplify the path to the first action.) Action: Has the user taken the desired conversion step? (Goal: Optimize the conversion rate by meeting high intent.) Commitment: Has the user successfully integrated the product and found initial value? (Goal: Reduce churn and generate testimonials.) This is a clearer, more deterministic system. It puts the builder back in control. It stops you from buying expensive "Awareness" campaigns that treat your budget like confetti. You can stop chasing every shiny new channel. Focus on the few places where high intent already exists and make the path to commitment incredibly short. That is a marketing strategy an engineer can love: deterministic, measurable, and ruthlessly efficient. <h3>AIDA Agency Content Generator</h3> If you are short on time, scroll down to the Agency Content Generator section for an immediate output. <h2>FAQ</h2> <h2>FAQ</h2> <h3>Q: How is Intent different from Awareness?</h3> A: Awareness is passive recognition; Intent is active seeking. For example, a user seeing your banner ad is Awareness. A user searching "best lightweight CRM for independent agents" is high Intent. Focus your effort where the user is already raising their hand, not where you have to shout the loudest. <a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/learn/how-to-build-a-marketing-strategy">A good marketing strategy starts here.</a> <h3>Q: Does this model work for B2B or only B2C?</h3> A: The Intent/Friction Filter is especially powerful for B2B because B2B purchase decisions are high-friction by nature. For B2B, the Action stage involves multiple stakeholders and lengthy vetting. You must apply the Friction Check to every step of the sales process—from RFP submission to the procurement call. It forces <a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/frameworks/aida-b2b-marketing">better B2B content design</a>. <h3>Q: What if I have a completely new product with no existing search intent?</h3> A: If your product is truly novel (Category Creation), you must temporarily invest in channels that let you define the problem and educate the user—often through PR or thought leadership content. However, the goal is still to engineer the Intent signal. Define the "job to be done" and target the frustration, not the product itself. Once you have a foothold, switch back to filtering for intent to drive early traction (<a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/frameworks/aida-startups">see our Startup AIDA guide</a>). <h3>Q: How does this relate to other funnel models?</h3> A: Most other funnel models, including the classic AIDA, treat the user experience as a flow where you must continuously persuade. The Intent/Friction Filter treats it as an obstacle course where your job is to clear the path. It moves beyond simple funnel tracking and focuses on systematic optimization, which is key for a <a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/frameworks/aida-ecommerce">robust ecommerce strategy</a> or complex <a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/frameworks/aida-saas">SaaS sales motion</a>. <h3>Agency Content Builder</h3> Your digital marketing agency needs content that converts users at high intent while preempting friction. Use this prompt to generate content briefs that are grounded in your audience's current pain. Prompt: Generate three high-intent content briefs for a [YOUR PRODUCT] targeting [YOUR TARGET CUSTOMER]. The content must be designed to overcome a common point of friction during the "Friction Check" stage. For each brief, provide: 1. Target Content Type (e.g., calculator, comparison guide, 5-minute video). 2. Preemptive Friction Point (What doubt or effort are we solving?). 3. Title/Headline (Max 60 characters, focused on immediate utility). Example Output (Based on "Agency Content Builder"): 1. Target Content Type: Interactive Cost Calculator 2. Preemptive Friction Point: Fear of overspending or unpredictable pricing after a trial. 3. Title/Headline: Calculate Your True Marketing Automation ROI 2. Target Content Type: "Why [Competitor] Isn't Built for [Target Customer]" Guide 3. Preemptive Friction Point: Analysis paralysis from comparing similar tools. 4. Title/Headline: Is [Competitor]'s CRM Right for Your Small Agency? 3. Target Content Type: 5-Minute Setup Video Tutorial 4. Preemptive Friction Point: Technical anxiety about migration or implementation. 5. Title/Headline: Launch Your Agency Reporting Dashboard in 4 Steps This is one of countless interconnected prompts within LiftKit, designed to bring structure to your chaotic marketing efforts. <hr> <h2>Start running operator-grade marketing in under an hour.</h2> LiftKit is the first operating system for founders and builders who want marketing to behave like an engineering function. It includes 80+ strategic prompts, workflows, and frameworks that turn vague advice into deterministic systems—giving you a reliable engine for growth, not a creative lottery. It is the system you wish your agency had used. <a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/learn/how-to-build-a-marketing-strategy">Get Started</a> <hr> <h2>Start running operator-grade marketing in under an hour.</h2> LiftKit is the only strategy-first AI marketing system built for founders. It distills the same Fortune-500 frameworks used at Apple, Stripe, and McKinsey into a simple, actionable playbook you can run in under an hour. 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