Here's How Your Business Can Use Video Content to Increase Conversions
Video content can be a great way to attract potential new customers and nurture them down the funnel. However, not every piece of content works the same on every client. In this piece, we explore the different stages of a typical buyers' journey and break down the types of videos that work best at each junction to boost conversions.
It's universally acknowledged that it’s getting harder and harder to fully master the art of selling online.
Mainly because marketing – especially digital marketing – is constantly adapting and readjusting its mechanisms to keep up with user trends. We, as consumers, get more demanding with each passing day. We spend most of our free time browsing online, looking for entertainment or searching for products we need.
Marketing today happens online, and videos like whiteboard animations, How-tos, and FAQs leads the pack when it comes to content.
Videos are one of the most (if not the most) effective types of content out there. They make people pay attention, and perhaps more importantly, it keeps them engaged.
So, when you are focusing your strategy on boosting those conversion numbers, it makes sense to turn to video content to do it. For your plan to be successful, though, you should understand the best way to implement them!
The Journey and Video Content
As with any other aspect of content marketing, videos are best implemented when developed with specific purposes in mind. Moreover, they perform better when geared to speak to particular audiences based around your buyer’s persona.
But there’s a third aspect of optimization that doesn't get brought up as often, and that's their positioning within a funnel and the buyer’s journey.
Are you targeting customers who already know what type of product they need to solve a specific problem? Is the customer deciding between one or another product? Maybe you want something that can appeal to potential customers who don’t even yet know they need your product.
Depending on your customer’s progression down a funnel, or journey, some videos will be more effective than others. Some might even fit a couple of different stages equally well.
Understanding how and why a specific type of video might be just the right fit – or to be left for later – in your content strategy is vital.
Awareness Stage – Making Yourself Known
For your customers, the awareness stage is all about research and gathering information, so, your focus should be on giving the right answers, not hard selling.
In marketing speak, it’s said that your customers are cold, barely becoming aware of their needs or pain points. They are looking for context to understand their situation. They have questions and seek reliable answers.
For them, it is an exploratory stage. For you, it is the perfect opportunity to establish an initial point of contact between your potential customers and your brand or product. Providing the information they need in a clear and entertaining manner.
There are two types of videos that are great for that.
Educational Videos: These videos are meant to provide information about a problem. Its ins, its outs, and how someone might go about solving it. By using educational videos, you can present your company as a source of reliable answers, and become an authority figure in your niche. That way, once they move on to look for solutions, your company would have already made a great introduction.
How-To Videos: These are probably the most popular types of videos online. Just think of it for a second, how many times have you gone to YouTube to look for a solution? Most people do it all the time! And what better way of giving a solution than by demonstrating it with a video in detail?
How-to videos are very clear, and that's why customers love them. With simplicity, they showcase step-by-step solutions to a problem. And it's an excellent opportunity to subtlety expose a brand or product to new potential customers.
Consideration Stage – The Importance of Standing Out
Here, your prospects are aware of the problem they have and are actively seeking a solution. They are warmer now. You are dealing with an audience that has done its homework: they did the research and spent a fair amount of time educating themselves.
The consideration stage is where things get real. You get to roll up your sleeves and demonstrate why your product, and not your competitors’, is the one they need. Show your prospects that, not only are you trustworthy, but also that what you offer is better.
The key is to give specific information in ways that impress your audience. Your potential customers are not just curious now; they want to understand if your product meets up with their needs.
Let’s take a look at a couple of videos that let you do that:
Explainer Videos: The best thing about explainer videos is that they are highly versatile and, if done right, often very entertaining. Whether if it’s to explain a difficult concept, a product or a service, explainers are informative and very fun to watch.
Most of all, though, they get to the point without meandering. Providing potential users with clear and actionable actions that resonate with their needs.
Product Videos: It’s time to get practical! These videos showcase your product to your audience and how it works. Simple as that!
They are intended as a platform to display a product’s features, so don’t be afraid to brag about them. With product videos, it's essential to make your audience feel; that way, people can imagine how amazing it is to have it.
Decision Stage: Humans After All
The third and final stage of a buyer’s journey, it is here that your content should be most geared to closing the sale. Customers at this stage are usually hot, but in need of one last push before committing.
These are informed prospects that understand what they need, and they are on the cusp of choosing one of the alternatives at hand.
You want your potential customers to decide on your alternative. The best way to do that at this stage is to give them reasons to trust that your brand and product will meet all their expectations. Show them that you are good at what you do and that your products fulfill all it claims, and you’ll succeed.
Here are a few types of videos that can do just that:
Testimonials: There’s nothing better than having others (actual customers and fellow human beings!) sing praises about your product. Testimonial videos are great to make your prospects feel confident about choosing you instead of your competitors.
After all, we are prone to giving a lot of weight and care about what others say! We like validation!
Testimonials are great for adding that little bit of trust some prospects need to make a purchase.
Demos: More than ever, you want your prospects to see for themselves how your product feels or gives them a solution. We like to see how things actually work. A demonstration does that for us! And if potential buyers like and understand what they see, they are that much more likely to close the sale.
FAQ Videos: The great thing about FAQ videos is that they combine information with sympathy. All you need is to gather people from your team and have them answer those common last-minute questions most prospects have!
Summing Up
Video content is not only the future but the present of digital marketing, and it doesn't take a specialist to realize it.
Customers are growing more and more used to receiving their information in video format, and most companies wanting to stay ahead are happy to oblige.
However, for you to see the most out of your video content strategy, you need to use them the right way. Whether that's by learning the ins and outs or just finding a great video company to assist you is really up to you.
The important thing is for you to make quality content that your customers (potential or otherwise) can walk away happy with, and use it correctly.