“Humans are incredibly visual and powerful, moving images help us find meaning… [and] video helps capture and contextualize the world around us.” – Dan Patterson
Imagine you are standing in front of a panel of investors, and they recognize your brand from one of the viral videos they enjoyed on social media a few days ago. Such is the power of video marketing.
A privilege enjoyed by a few big brands in the past, video marketing has now become a crucial need for every business out there.
Recent trends have shown that video marketing is one of the most effective tools to make a lasting impression in the minds of both existing as well as potential customers.
The videos are easy to make. They are highly convenient and simple to broadcast to a broader audience in a short time.
Video Marketing & Digital Marketing Funnel
“The beauty of developing a video marketing plan is that you are making it easier for the viewer to be exposed to the information you are trying to communicate.” – Chris Sandoval
While the marketing fraternity is very much open to adapting to this new trend, the major awakening needs to happen with the small business owners who are still doing a chunk of their marketing all by themselves.
With online tools in the market to create an engaging video like a layman in minutes, many small businesses are gaining the edge over their competition by communicating with their potential customers at every stage of their marketing funnel.
Studies have shown that 60% of best-in-class companies are using videos right from the initial awareness stage until the very end that is the post-sale stage. This comprehensive approach is dictated mainly by the way prospects are consuming this information.
In today’s digital age, people spend one-third of online activity time watching videos. Buyers consume all the relevant information before making any decision. Be it influencer’s videos or informational how-to videos, each impression created on the minds of the customer act as a guide in the pre-purchase phase.
What A Marketing Funnel Looks Like
Automation tools break the funnel into three crucial stages –
Awareness Stage – Informing new potential customers about your brand through videos that appear in paid social media ads as well as targeted searches.
Consideration Stage – Once you have made the first impression and piqued their interest, it is time to educate them on the details of your products and how they are solving a relatable problem.
Purchase Stage – This is the last stage of your Conversion Funnel. Once you have gained the trust of your potential customers, it’s time to convert these leads through product videos, video testimonials, and influencer generated content.
Retention Stage is another crucial key metric that needs to be attended. By maintaining constant communication with your customers after the purchase stage, is an effective way to keep bringing them back to your brand.
“Having loyal customers is the first step to building a strong brand that tends to market itself through channels like Word of Mouth.”
Awareness Stage – Capture New Set Of Eyes By Showing Who You Are
“Many of us have become more comfortable in learning visually. Delivering information on a product, service, or company through video can help to keep your audience’s attention longer and make what you have to say more easily understood.” – Savannah Stewart
Videos are crucial at the awareness stage when your future leads do not have any idea about who you are and what you do. Studies 52% of the marketing professionals worldwide consider video as the type of content that provides the best ROI.
So, where will you meet your potential customers? Videos created for social media or SEO purposes can help you reach the right audiences right where they were looking for you already.
In the words of Rachel from F.R.I.E.N.D.S. series, “You have to accidentally meet them on purpose and then extend a friendly hand.“
Videos To Create At Awareness Stage
- How to videos – Create videos that will help you show your expertise in the field and would also help in improving your google ranking.
- Fun and quirky content – Plan the content that is easy to register in a fun manner and have the highest chances of getting shared.
- Create short videos – Create not more than 1-minute videos. The content needs to be short and crisp, with particular emphasis on the choice of words.
The Key Metric that you need to keep in mind here is the View Count. Try to reach as many people as you can, and that will determine the success of your campaign.
Inspiration – The Beard King (The Official Beard Bib For Men)
This simple idea became very popular and was recognized by the judges of Shark Tank when the startup appeared there for seeking investment for their product.
This video is a reminder to men how they can carry their grooming session in a better way without having to leave a mess to clean afterward.
This video explains how the product can help men carry their grooming routine in a cleaner way.
This short 40-seconds video managed to capture 30 million views collectively from various platforms and helped them kickstart their product in the market. The video connected with both men and women and the quirky vibe made it shareable.
Use a video template like this for awareness stage:
Consideration Stage – Extend A Hand Of Friendship And Solve A Problem
At this stage, customers are aware of the problem, and they are looking for solutions all over the internet.
You must be thinking, “Now is the perfect time to start selling.” WRONG. This is no time to be pushy. This can drive your customers away.
Help them with their decision process by educating them about your industry and how your product works.
At this stage, you might be one of the many options your prospects are taking into consideration, and you need to help them determine that you’re right for them.
Videos To Create At Consideration Stage
- Detailed product demos – Create product demos to help people understand how easy it is to use your product.
- Client testimonials – Publish client testimonials and influencer’s demo videos. This gives them a non-partial review of your product.
- Video case studies – Create videos with a detailed discussion of the problems of your existing customers and how best you helped them with a solution.
- A mix of sound and text – Create videos that are visually independent and can be watched in a low volume or no volume zone as well.
Key Metric that you need to keep in mind here is Time Spent Watching.
Keeping people engaged helps in two ways. Firstly, every extra minute spent on your website increases the chances of conversion.
Secondly, the time spent on the website reduces the bounce rate, thus improving your Google Search Ranking.
Inspiration – Kylie Jenner MakeUp Tutorials
What, according to you, is the best way to share a video that says I understand your problem and I care?
The answer is in Kylie Jenner’s Makeup Tutorial below:
Although useful for everyone, this video is targeted, primarily at mothers and their problem of not having enough time to follow a rigid makeup routine.
What Kylie has explained in this video is how, after becoming a mother, she has switched to a 10 minutes makeup routine using the products of her brand.
This video is a perfect example of a product demo as well as a logical solution to the problem of a lot of potential customers.
Use video templates for testimonials for the consideration stage:
Purchase Stage – Time To Convince People You Are Worth The Shot
The decision time is finally here. In this phase, you need a compelling video about your product, customer testimonial (An influencer video would be even more impactful), and your company.
Videos To Create At Purchase Stage
- FAQ videos – Create videos on frequently asked questions and help your lead bridge the slightest doubt they are having.
- Influencer Video – Post a guest podcast, or an influencer video is an effective way at this stage.
- Use larger images or close-ups – Add close-ups of your product in the FAQ videos and create an atmosphere of complete transparency at this stage.
Key Metric to be kept in mind here is Sign-ups. This is a clear indication that your prospects are now on their way to become your customers.
Inspiration – Sticker Mule
Sticker Mule is an online store where users can upload their self-drawn designs and have them converted into stickers and delivered to their place.
In this 33 seconds video, they clear out any apprehensions that could be there about custom designs. This answers relevant FAQs and also explains the entire journey a prospect has to go through.
Use a video ads template for the purchase stage
Retention Stage – Always Be There
Any product becomes a brand when you have the loyalty of your customers, and that comes from constant communication with them even after the purchase.
You will always be coming up with new products, improved services, and updated information. Pass that on to your customers so that the interest they have in you never dies.
Videos To Create At Retention Stage
- Check-in videos – “Hey there! How’s your experience so far? Are you facing any issue? Talk to our customer support, and we will be happy to help.” Create check-in videos while casually slipping in information about your strong customer support.
- Instructional Videos – Create post-sale videos on detailed demos of the product the customer has purchased from you.
- Videos with subtitles – Create detailed videos on specific products or domains and add captions so that the videos can be seen anywhere.
Key Metric that needs to be kept in mind here is Cohort Retention. Cohort analysis is basically tracking the user behavior after they have made a purchase or signed up to your platform. This can give you a good insight into the retention rate.
Inspiration – InVideo
Once the user signs up to our video-making platform, we encourage them to become pro video editors by sending them Must-Have Video Templates. Our upcoming feature, Intelligent Video Assistant, would further tell them how to make the video more impactful.
This is one of the most important video templates for any small business. A compelling introduction to your brand. By sharing the industry best practices with our customers and by supporting them in every step of their video marketing journey, we help them stay hooked to our platform and keep extracting relevant ideas for the success of their business.
Conclusion
From the first video ad published in 1941, video marketing has come a long way and is now the most preferred and most lucrative of all the mediums of marketing. So if you have not started using video in your marketing now, here is a complete guide for video marketing for beginners.
