I just read a blog post from Think with Google and needed to jump on and create this post. The blog is titled: “Reach potential customers at every stage of the funnel with video.” I’ve been saying this for years!
The traditional way we look at sales is that we’ve got a sales funnel. Literally a funnel, you put lots and lots of leads into the top, then those leads work through the funnel and then out of the bottom pops your customer.
Now, there are lots of different theories and methodologies as to how you get people into the top of your funnel and how you process those leads and enquiries through the funnel, but video can help you with every stage.
TLDR: Watch The Video Instead – Part 1
Taking Dr Dave Chaffey of Smart Insights RACE framework. Reach, Act, Convert and Engage, let’s look at how we can use video at every stage throughout that process. So at the reach level of your funnel, at the very top of your funnel, that’s where you’re going to be producing your social media content, product and service explainers, etc. All of those elements can be done with video.
At the Act stage, then at that point, you’re trying to drive engagement with your channels, with your products or your services, etc. You can drive that engagement with tips. Give your viewers a little bit of behind-the-scenes footage, answer some product Q&A as well, invite your viewers, your audience, to ask you questions about your product and about your service, and create a video that replies to that that gives them the information that they need.
At the Conversion stage, then you can support the sales process with testimonial videos and case studies. Reassuring your potential customers that the decision they’re about to make is a sound decision and that other people just like them facing the same challenges have bought into your product or service and had a successful result.
At the Engage level, right at the very bottom of the funnel, that’s where we want to keep on engaging with our clients, keeping them within the customer lifecycle, feeding them back into the top of the funnel if you like for the next release of your product or service. At that stage, we want to be showing your customers or your potential customers the new developments for your product or service and upcoming offers or promotions, etc., or any special deals that you’ve got. Also, show them how they can get the best or the most out of the product or service you have already delivered.
The Modern Sales Funnel Is Not A Funnel
Let’s see how video can help with targeting. The traditional sales funnel most people imagine is as a funnel shape. But realistically, in a digitally connected world, that’s not quite how it works, or that’s not quite how I see it. I like to think of it as the ice cream model.
TLDR: Watch The Video For Part 2 Instead!
At the top of the funnel, with video content, we can produce targeted content, that content that’s really specific to a particular sector or a particular audience that can be laser-focused. You can use your Facebook ads, your LinkedIn ads, etc., to target that content right where it needs to be.
At the consideration stage, you know that your potential client has become aware of the product or service. At the consideration stage, clients swim around in that area for quite a long time. So it’s not really a funnel process that we’re nudging people through. Once people are aware of a product or service, they’ll often stay in that consideration period for quite some time. Nowadays, it can be a long period of time before they finally commit to making that purchase which is when they pop out the bottom of the funnel, and we’ve made that sale.
I like to think a bit more of the ice cream model where the cream is the information or the content that you’re sharing with them on a regular basis. That’s really the nice bit, you know, the tasty bit that’s where you’re enticing and encouraging your customers not only to buy in the first place but where you retarget them to stay with you and to want a bit more.
I hope you found that insight helpful; if you don’t agree with that, then please drop it in the comments below. Let me know what your take on this is; it’d be really good to hear what you’ve got to say.
Four Types Of Video Marketing Content You Need
Before I go, there are four main types of content that you need to produce for your video marketing strategy.
What are the four main types of video content that you need? Well, first of all, you need the hero content; that hero content is all about you, all about your product or service. That’s just showcasing who you are, what you do,
and what makes you so amazing.
TLDR: Video – Four Types Of Video You Need
Number two is the chat content. That content is all your social media stuff. The stuff that your audience is seeing on a regular basis, the stuff that that’s there, where you’re inviting comments, where you’re inviting conversation with your clients, etc. You’re not asking for a sale; you’re just making your clients more and more aware of the products and services, and benefits that you can offer.
Number three is all about help. Produce content that your audience wants, the answer to the questions that they’ve got. If in chat, you have invited comments or questions or queries about your product or service, answer those and provide that help for your clients.
Once they see how helpful you are, naturally, people think, “if these guys have been super helpful before I’ve become a customer, imagine how helpful they’re going to be once I am a customer”. Also, that help content will help you because it will help you understand what information your clients need about your product or service.
There could be a really obvious question to you; it goes without saying, there might be something that you’ve not addressed on your website or in your marketing materials, etc. but, if this is a question that keeps popping up in your social feed, you might think “well actually, I need to create a piece around this.” Perhaps some FAQs, a Video Explainer, whatever it is, you may need to create something that addresses this issue for clients because, if they’re asking for that information, then they’ve not found that information anywhere else.
Help your clients grow to like and love and want your product or service.
Number four is the push content. Now, we’ve been using video; we’ve been chatting to customers, we’ve been answering their queries, etc., etc. We’ve been doing all these things to engage with our potential customers. Your push content is where you can deliver a video to nudge them over the edge to get them convinced to click buy or purchase or make that enquiry.
That content could be a special offer that you’ve got coming up. It could be the development of a new element of the service or an added extra that you’re able to give. Suggest some little nudge; it could even be prompted by seasonal trends. For example, if you’re in a seasonal business or your clients are in a seasonal business, it might be that the push to purchase comes before their busy times so they can implement the product or service or skills that you’re offering during their busy time, you will know when that’s most appropriate.
Those are the four types of video content you should consider for your video marketing strategy: your hero content, your chat content, your help content and your push content.
