Video marketing is about much more than creating epic content. To really see results, you need to get that content in front of the right person at exactly the right time.
We call this a marketing funnel. In short, it’s the journey your customer takes, from the very moment they learn about your business, all the way through to advocacy, when they tell others about you.
To make things easier, we’ve broken the funnel down into 5 key phases: Awareness, Interest, Consideration, Conversion and Loyalty – along with the types of video content you should be showing your customer at each one.
Done right, an effective digital marketing funnel can help you:
- Increase conversions
- Build brand trust and awareness
- Improve sales consistency
- Retain more customers
Here’s how to build one using video content.
Awareness
This is the beginning. That moment where you get your customer’s attention and they know you exist. At this stage, it’s very likely they already know they have a problem, but they’re not sure what it is exactly and what they need to solve it.
Essentially, they’re browsing for information. And that information needs to come from you – think video content that inspires, informs, and intrigues. And it has to be better, more original and engaging than your competitors.
The Videos You Should Use
Educational content is a great way to hook people into your brand. Tutorial (how-to) videos that help your user solve a problem are ideal. We’ve made a ton of these. Not only does this type of video give our users a solution to their issues, it also positions us as the expert. Do this well and you’ll establish yourself as an authority within your industry.
Vlogs that answer common questions in your industry are another great way to achieve this, while short social media ads – we really like pre-roll ads, which appear before other videos on YouTube – will also work.
How To Get Your Content Out There
So where should you be posting videos to drive awareness? With these above examples, you can make some real headway on social media and via search engines.
On social media, try a targeted ad campaign using snippets of your content, or for a pre-roll, the video itself. For more tips on making a Facebook ad that actually works, check out this guide.
To show up in as many search engine results pages as possible, you must ensure your content is properly optimized for SEO.
Here’s how to do that for YouTube, which is the second biggest search engine in the world. Another way to achieve this is to embed your videos on an optimized landing page.
Interest
So, the world knows you exist. That’s a start. Now what? At this point, you’ve got to turn that casual awareness into hard interest. Specifically, interest in one of your products or services.
This stage is all about building a relationship between you and your prospect. To do that, you’ll need to share content that explains who you are as a business in more detail.
The Videos You Should Use
A mini-documentary or brand film is an awesome way to get people interested in your brand. The point here is to share your values and mission, and begin to build trust with your customer. Remember, 93% of brands say they’ve earned a new customer because of a video on social media, and trust plays a huge part in that.
Short, entertaining videos are another one to try here. While they may not tell the user something concrete about you (e.g. your mission statement), they will reveal something about your brand’s personality.
By giving something without asking for anything in return, you’ll also keep building that trust we spoke about earlier. Check out this one from Adobe, or, for something a little more dramatic, Red Bull’s supersonic freefall highlight reel.
Done right, these videos can be highly effective
How To Get Your Content Out There
Once again, social media is your best shot here. You can still use paid ads, but you should also be sharing them organically across your channels, too – chances are, you’ve already got the follow from the ‘awareness’ content, so now’s the time to follow up on that interest.
For your brand film, make an SEO-optimized landing page for it to sit on and ensure it’s easy to find on YouTube. We’ve put ours as the trailer video on our channel. That way, it’s the first thing viewers see when they land on our page.
Consideration
Right now, your potential customer is starting to think “hey, these guys could be the answer to my problems!”. We call that a “qualified lead” – they’re thinking about making a purchase, but they aren’t quite ready to buy yet.
Here, you want to help them with their decision-making – without coming across pushy or desperate. Think of it this way: at this stage, your competitors are still in the game and the content you share needs to tip the scales your way.
The Videos You Should Use
Who better to sell your product than a customer who’s already used it – and loved it? With a case study or testimonial video, you can bring that customer or business’s journey to life with personality, building yet more trust in your product.
The fact is, 2 out of 3 people say they’re more likely to buy something after watching a testimonial video that shows how a product or service helped someone like them. There’s a reason marketers swear by testimonials. Check out our guide on testimonials here.
Behind-the-scenes videos are another easy way to create trust during the consideration stage. When we launched the new version of Viddyoze back in December, 2020, we filmed the whole thing to show people how much work goes into our products.
How To Get Your Content Out There
Make sure your testimonials and case studies sit on a landing page that you’ve optimized for search. Same goes for YouTube. Why? Most people conduct product research through a simple internet search. When they do, make sure you’re as close to the top of that search as possible.
At the same time, make this content easy to find on your website and social channels. Remember, leads are still looking for content that demonstrates why your product is the right option for them, so don’t hide your testimonials away on some obscure webpage – put them front and center.
Conversion
It’s decision time. In this stage (also known as the “action” stage), your lead has all the information they need to make a purchase – you just need to get them over the line. Now’s the time to encourage your lead to act by taking a more direct approach.
The Videos You Should Use
Silence any niggling doubts a lead might have with a well-produced product/service video. Not only should this video show how epic your gear really is – it should also answer any final questions a lead has. Done right, these videos can be highly effective.
We’ve got one here on our homepage, where one of our co-founders, Joey Xoto, explains exactly how you can make an epic video animation in under two minutes. It’s short, simple, and slick. After watching this video, the lead knows everything they need to know about Viddyoze. Job done.
For more information about why you should be creating product videos (and tips on how to make one), check out our video on the content type.
How To Get Your Content Out There
These videos need to be super easy to find, so your website’s homepage is the obvious place to put it – just like we have. Remember, Hubspot reports 90% of customers report that product videos help them make purchasing decisions, so the more visible, the better.
You can also create a custom landing page solely for your product/service video to sit on. If you have specific pages for each individual product, put them here, too.
Other channels you should use include social media (organic posting) and in your email marketing comms (as you can’t host video in email yet, you’ll have to settle for a link or make your video into a cool gif).
Loyalty
Congratulations – you’ve just earned a brand-new customer. But the fun doesn’t stop here. Now’s the time to double down and create a long-lasting relationship.
Two goals here. First, retain your new customer – they’ve bought once, chances are they will again. Second, turn them into an advocate for your brand – referrals to friends and family can be very lucrative.
The Videos You Should Use
Any video you share now should only heap more value onto your product and brand. Basically, remind your customer how good you are – and often.
Think instructional videos that show users how to get the best out of your product, tutorials linked to your wider industry, new product launches, and “thank you for buying” videos.
All this might sound like extra work – you’ve already nailed the sale, right? – but the rewards are worth it. Even a 5% retention rate could see you increase profits by as much as 25%.
Put the work in now, and you’ll reap the rewards later
How To Get Your Content Out There
By this stage, you should have a decent cache of data for your new customer. At the very least, you should have their name and email address, opening the door for a little personalized email marketing.
Once you’ve made your content, it takes very little time and effort to follow up with an automated email strategy. Not only is it an awesome way to get your content out there, it’s also a super-effective way to increase your retention rates.
Create To Succeed
There you have it – video content for every stage of the marketing funnel. We know, it’s a lot. But if you take one thing away from this guide, make it this: no one stage is more or less important than the other.
Each one is key to building a successful, long-term marketing strategy. By creating content for every stage, you’re far more likely to succeed. Put the work in now, and you’ll reap the rewards later. Trust us.
We hope you found our guide to the marketing funnel useful. For more expert tips and awesome advice, subscribe to the Viddyoze blog and check out our social media channels. Some hits from around the blog are:
