Video marketing is one of the fastest-growing areas of our business, and it should come as no surprise to you to read that. We live in such a time-poor society these days, that the customers our clients are trying to reach don’t want to spend too much mental energy on consuming information – they want it to be as quick and efficient a process as possible. That is one of the reasons why video is such a great marketing tool – it presents information in an easily digestible way.
Benefits of video marketing
HubSpot recently released an infographic relating to video marketing which revealed that;
- using video in an email leads to a 200-300% increase in CTR (click-through rate)
- using video on a landing page increases conversions by 80%
and if that isn’t enough to convince you that you should be using videos in your marketing campaign, then another amazing stat reveals that 73% of the B2B companies that already use video marketing have seen significant ROI from it.
Types of video marketing
Now, when you think of video marketing you probably think of high-end commercial branded videos or viral videos on YouTube – but there are lots of other types of video out there:
- Customer testimonials – encouraging leads to become customers
- Explainer videos – give customers an overview of what your business, product or service does
- Engagement videos – build a relationship with the customer and develop a deeper level of trust
- Sales video – to increase customers intent to purchase
- Webinar – to generate more sales
All of these different types of video can all be used at different stages of the sales funnel to help guide the customer along.
Video marketing at the top of the sales funnel
When your target customers are at the top of the sales funnel, they most likely don’t have a clear understanding of what the problem is they are trying to solve, or the fact that your company can help them to solve it. This means your top of the funnel content needs to appeal to as wide a range of people as possible, so it should use a conversational tone and be in a format that a lot of people could enjoy.
The sort of video content you might think about creating at this point could include:
- Content Library Produce a series of videos on your website which cover a variety of questions you often get asked. This way you can easily position yourself as an expert in your field in the eyes of your customer’s prospects. Content libraries are also great for SEO as they help you to create a main hub of content covering a variety of information on one topic, and then other spokes of content which come under the main hub but cover topics in a deeper way.
- Explainer Videos These are short videos which explain your product or service to customers. These are the videos you would use at the top of your landing pages.
- Facebook Video Marketing Facebook offers brands a wide variety of different video marketing options such as live streams and native video. Facebook live streams are similar to Snapchat in that they are usually informal and shot on your phone and show a behind the scenes look at your business helping you to create a deeper relationship with your potential customers. Research has shown that native videos on Facebook actually have more organic reach than videos on YouTube so it is a great way to engage with customers.
- Interviews with Thought Leaders A great way to help you build authority in your industry as it associates you with other people who have already done that. You not only appeal to their existing audience, but also make yourself look more credible in the eyes of your potential customers who may be hearing about you for the first time.
- Showcase Your Company Culture Most B2B companies come across as being quite serious whenever they create content. Obviously, it is important to appear professional to your customers, but you can also build a better level of trust with your customers by showing them a more personal side of your company.
- YouTube Videos Every video you make should be posted to YouTube as it is a great way to get in front of your prospects and collect their email addresses so that you can build a relationship with them. YouTube is also a great way to help you rank higher organically if you craft a great description under your video post.
Video marketing in the middle of the sales funnel
Middle of the funnel content is about teaching your prospects about why your product or service is best for them, by helping them to evaluate their purchase decision. Some of the video content often produced for the middle of the funnel stage is:
- Case Studies Case study videos are a mix of customer testimonial and ‘how-to’ videos and are a good way to show how your existing customers’ businesses changed from before they used your product/service to after.
- Client Testimonials Testimonials are a fantastic way to teach your prospects about how great your company is as they prove that you can deliver on your promises. There are lots of customer review sites out there which are great, but a video is really the best way to showcase your testimonials as videos are not easy to fake. Customer testimonial videos are the next best thing to actual word-of-mouth advertising.
- Product Demos This is the stage of the sales funnel where you would send out an email to your lead, asking them if they require a product demo. Videos are great for this as you can offer your lead a variety of times to watch the demo throughout the week, a bit like a webinar.
Video marketing at the end of the funnel
As we have said above, videos are great for building trust with your customers, and research by HubSpot has shown that video can increase conversions by 67%. A lot of the content you will find at the end of the funnel, however, will overlap a little with the content for the middle of the funnel as it can be good to close customers as well as educating them.
- FAQ Videos People can sometimes have hesitations before buying, and so videos showing the answers to your FAQs can be a great way to overcome these hesitations. You can use your FAQ videos to address common questions that people have, in a way that will address their concerns.
- Instructional Videos One common fear among customers who are spending a lot on a product or service is that they won’t get enough support afterwards. A great way to prove to them that you are invested in their success is to provide them with a series of instructional videos.
Conclusion
As you can see, video marketing offers you a great way to build a relationship with your prospective customers in a way that other content platforms don’t. By using your videos on your website, on YouTube and on social media you will not only increase their reach but convert more leads into customers – which is what we all want at the end of the day.
Video Production 101
Creative Video / Sep 2, 2019
Video marketing is one of the fastest-growing areas of our business, and it should come as no surprise to you to read that. We live in such a time-poor society these days, that the customers our clients are trying to reach don’t want to spend too much mental energy on consuming information – they want it to be as quick and efficient a process as possible. That is one of the reasons why video is such a great marketing tool – it presents information in an easily digestible way.
Benefits of video marketing
HubSpot recently released an infographic relating to video marketing which revealed that;
- using video in an email leads to a 200-300% increase in CTR (click-through rate)
- using video on a landing page increases conversions by 80%
and if that isn’t enough to convince you that you should be using videos in your marketing campaign, then another amazing stat reveals that 73% of the B2B companies that already use video marketing have seen significant ROI from it.
Types of video marketing
Now, when you think of video marketing you probably think of high-end commercial branded videos or viral videos on YouTube – but there are lots of other types of video out there:
- Customer testimonials – encouraging leads to become customers
- Explainer videos – give customers an overview of what your business, product or service does
- Engagement videos – build a relationship with the customer and develop a deeper level of trust
- Sales video – to increase customers intent to purchase
- Webinar – to generate more sales
All of these different types of video can all be used at different stages of the sales funnel to help guide the customer along.
Video marketing at the top of the sales funnel
When your target customers are at the top of the sales funnel, they most likely don’t have a clear understanding of what the problem is they are trying to solve, or the fact that your company can help them to solve it. This means your top of the funnel content needs to appeal to as wide a range of people as possible, so it should use a conversational tone and be in a format that a lot of people could enjoy.
The sort of video content you might think about creating at this point could include:
- Content Library Produce a series of videos on your website which cover a variety of questions you often get asked. This way you can easily position yourself as an expert in your field in the eyes of your customer’s prospects. Content libraries are also great for SEO as they help you to create a main hub of content covering a variety of information on one topic, and then other spokes of content which come under the main hub but cover topics in a deeper way.
- Explainer Videos These are short videos which explain your product or service to customers. These are the videos you would use at the top of your landing pages.
- Facebook Video Marketing Facebook offers brands a wide variety of different video marketing options such as live streams and native video. Facebook live streams are similar to Snapchat in that they are usually informal and shot on your phone and show a behind the scenes look at your business helping you to create a deeper relationship with your potential customers. Research has shown that native videos on Facebook actually have more organic reach than videos on YouTube so it is a great way to engage with customers.
- Interviews with Thought Leaders A great way to help you build authority in your industry as it associates you with other people who have already done that. You not only appeal to their existing audience, but also make yourself look more credible in the eyes of your potential customers who may be hearing about you for the first time.
- Showcase Your Company Culture Most B2B companies come across as being quite serious whenever they create content. Obviously, it is important to appear professional to your customers, but you can also build a better level of trust with your customers by showing them a more personal side of your company.
- YouTube Videos Every video you make should be posted to YouTube as it is a great way to get in front of your prospects and collect their email addresses so that you can build a relationship with them. YouTube is also a great way to help you rank higher organically if you craft a great description under your video post.
Video marketing in the middle of the sales funnel
Middle of the funnel content is about teaching your prospects about why your product or service is best for them, by helping them to evaluate their purchase decision. Some of the video content often produced for the middle of the funnel stage is:
- Case Studies Case study videos are a mix of customer testimonial and ‘how-to’ videos and are a good way to show how your existing customers’ businesses changed from before they used your product/service to after.
- Client Testimonials Testimonials are a fantastic way to teach your prospects about how great your company is as they prove that you can deliver on your promises. There are lots of customer review sites out there which are great, but a video is really the best way to showcase your testimonials as videos are not easy to fake. Customer testimonial videos are the next best thing to actual word-of-mouth advertising.
- Product Demos This is the stage of the sales funnel where you would send out an email to your lead, asking them if they require a product demo. Videos are great for this as you can offer your lead a variety of times to watch the demo throughout the week, a bit like a webinar.
Video marketing at the end of the funnel
As we have said above, videos are great for building trust with your customers, and research by HubSpot has shown that video can increase conversions by 67%. A lot of the content you will find at the end of the funnel, however, will overlap a little with the content for the middle of the funnel as it can be good to close customers as well as educating them.
- FAQ Videos People can sometimes have hesitations before buying, and so videos showing the answers to your FAQs can be a great way to overcome these hesitations. You can use your FAQ videos to address common questions that people have, in a way that will address their concerns.
- Instructional Videos One common fear among customers who are spending a lot on a product or service is that they won’t get enough support afterwards. A great way to prove to them that you are invested in their success is to provide them with a series of instructional videos.
Conclusion
As you can see, video marketing offers you a great way to build a relationship with your prospective customers in a way that other content platforms don’t. By using your videos on your website, on YouTube and on social media you will not only increase their reach but convert more leads into customers – which is what we all want at the end of the day.
