How To Drive Conversions With Video Across Every Stage Of The Marketing Funnel

We get hit every day by videos that instantly catch our attention.

But then there are those, where you feel they are actually talking to you - and your needs. So you instantly identify and become interested in an offering, be it a product/service/etc.

You click on a link, get taken to a landing page and start learning more about that particular offering.

If all the stars aligned, and you were properly targeted as the prospective audience, the odds of you making a purchase, or engaging further with that company’s content are quite high.

Welcome to a marketing funnel!

Now everywhere you go you might see online ads about their products, get their newsletters, or even limited-time discounts to incentivize your purchase.

Let’s face it. We’ve all been there.

That is one of the key reasons why marketers love video - because this medium helps them to showcase their offerings in the best manner, but most importantly, it helps them get conversions.

For this to happen it is crucial that you understand your customers' needs and where to find them. But also, that you can match them, at every stage, with the kind of video content that delivers on the answers they seek. If you do, you will dramatically increase your chances for conversion.

So let’s take a look at what a marketing funnel is, and then discuss how this tool can help you match your prospective customers, and where they are at in their purchasing journey, to the best type of video content you could have to incentivize for conversions at every stage.

So, what is a marketing funnel anyways?

A marketing funnel represents the different stages you bring your customer through to be able to get them acquainted with your product/service and drive them towards purchasing.

While there are many versions of marketing funnels out there, I’m going to focus on Hubspot’s Inbound methodology as it is one of the most widely adopted out there. Primarily because of its specific focus on content creation at each stage in order to dramatically increase your conversion success rate.

To best understand each of the stages, let’s think of how purchasing typically works:

ATTRACT - You start by showcasing your product/service to the world.

CONVERT - You then educate your prospective audience about your offering.

CLOSE - Your potential customer is ready to buy, and they are now studying their options. If you’ve done a good job, you’ll earn their business.

DELIGHT - Post purchase, you want to educate your customers, but also create a legion of passionate brand ambassadors!

Image source: Hubspot’s Inbound methodology

Ok now, how do I create the right content for each stage?

The days when having a video in your landing page was enough are long gone.

There is no hiding, video is hands down the most effective tool you can leverage to hold your potential customer’s hand in their journey towards conversion and brand advocacy.

So let’s take a look at what kind of videos you could create for each stage and how keeping video marketing at the core of your strategy will help you increase conversions.

- ATTRACT -

This is where it all starts. So you probably want to think of the kind of content that generates interest and will gather visitors. That is why the best kind of content you could create on this stage is videos that seek to identify the problems your potential customers might have and propose a solution for them.

Short, entertaining videos that establish trust, showcase your brand, and foster shareability are your ally. Always think cross-platform to boost your chances of discoverability, but also ensure that this content aligns with the specific demographics and intended uses of each platform.

A few types of video content that might hit the mark in this stage include:

• Product launch

• Social content

• Brand films

• Explainers / How-to

• Thought Leadership

• Business or brand culture

- CONVERT -

Now that you’ve got someone’s attention now, let’s focus on telling them how you or your product can help them solve their pain points. Rather than talking about the features of your product/service, focus on telling your audience how your offering will make their lives easier.

To make videos in this part of the funnel even more effective, you may actually want to consider collecting some of your prospective customer’s information - hello emails! With an email at hand, you can more easily offer access to information that they have expressed interest in getting. This kind of information will then help them to self-diagnose their needs while better understanding your product.

Did you know you can actually do email collection from a video player? Check out Wistia and their amazing host of video analytics and hosting tools and you will exponentially increase your chances to understand how your video is performing, but also how people are interacting with it.

So what kind of content would work best here?

• Product videos

• Product demos

• Explainers

• Webinars

• Live video

- CLOSE -

Your potential customer has expressed a clear interest in your product and is now weighing his/her options. At this stage, they are likely diving closer into research, comparison shipping, and trying to find out what solution is the best fit for them.

That is why reminding them of why and how your product will help specifically address their pain points should be your priority for content creation. Don’t be shy to show what makes your product unique and what your past customers think of it. Testimonials and brand ambassadors will help you immensely because your audience will likely find alignment with them and connect at a deeper level.

The kind of content that can best help you drive those sales includes:

• Testimonials

• Case studies

• Brand ambassador culture videos

• Endorsements

- DELIGHT -

Once a purchase has been made a key stage of the funnel -often forgotten- is to properly educate your customers about your product, but also, to potentially leverage them as future brand ambassadors!

Here is where remarkable customer support and onboarding will help your customers thrive with their new purchase. Take the time to thank them and give them training/educational resources. Not only are they going to love you for it, if there are any other products that could be providing them with future value, you can already begin your upselling at this stage.

If they love your offering, you also want to make it easier for them to broadcast to the world about your brand. Social campaigns that feature products can be a huge ally on this department.

Delight videos you can produce include:

• Product training

• Onboarding and educational content

• Thank you for your purchase video

• Social, shareable content.

In summary, take the time to think about what kind of video content is relevant, and best addresses your potential customers’ pain points. In doing so, you can engage them through every step of their decision-making process and dramatically increase your conversions.

From the moment they learn about you to the moment they buy, to the moment they talk about you to their friends, you have the opportunity to create conversions at every stage of the marketing funnel.

Video is an incredibly powerful medium, but the days where one video was enough are long gone. The same can be said about a batch of videos on social channels.

Think of video as an ongoing strategy, be smart and specific about your content, and leverage each platform’s strengths and audiences.

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