Everyone seems to be walking around with their noses in their mobile phones or tablets. Most of these people are online watching video content. Video marketing is an extremely popular form of content. Consumers are continually going to their favourite websites and scrolling through social media feeds looking for new video content.
Videos are powerful marketing tools that can grab the attention of today’s fickle online user. Video content is the best way to tell your story and communicate your branding messages. With the extreme rise in popularity of social media networks and their increasing reliance on videos, there are more options than ever to distribute video content.
With the emergence of stable high speed and wireless internet connections, 85% of the millions of online users in the United States view video content on mobile devices like cell phones and tablets. In 2019, U.S. internet users spent close to seven hours a week watching videos online through mobile devices.
What is a Buyer Sales Funnel?
The sales funnel is a business concept used by digital marketers to provide meaningful, useful content for consumers depending on their previous exposure and experiences with your company. The process works much like a real funnel, where a wide-open top of the funnel is filled with large numbers of potential customers who have little or no prior knowledge of your business. As consumers work their way down the funnel, they receive more specific information designed to separate your business from the industry competition. The goal is to have as many people come out the ‘skinny end’ of the funnel as new customers.
Why Is a Sales Funnel Approach So Important?
A sales funnel creates a logical path for consumers who are in need of the kinds of products and services your business provides. Curated content is produced based on where specific groups of consumers are in their own personal decision-making process. With online users consuming more video content than ever before, videos have become an essential element of any business’ advertising efforts. An effective video marketing campaign will target consumers at different stages of the funnel.
Each stage of the sales funnel contains consumers with different perspectives and needs, and various levels of exposure to your business and the products and services you provide. Targeting those consumers with video content tailored to where they are in the funnel increases the chances they will be converted into customers. Defining the parameters of each stage of your sales funnel will help you plan out a more effective approach to your strategies.
Top of the Sales Funnel
Consumers at the top of the sales funnel have not yet been exposed to your business and require an introduction into the products and services you provide, and the way you conduct business. This is the first impression you are making on consumers who are looking for information. You need to show them from the start that you have the solutions to their problems or needs.
Video content for consumers at this stage is used to educate consumers and provide them with enough information that they will want to learn more. The goal of these marketing videos is to bring a sense of awareness of your brand and your business.
Videos at the Top of the Funnel
The videos produced at the top of the funnel target the largest group of consumers with little or no prior experience or exposure to your business. The goal of these videos is to expand your brand awareness to the most possible potential customers. This content is created to reach the masses and funnel down those most likely to be interested in your services.
- Commercials: Broadcast television commercials have always been viewed as the cream of the crop in advertising, representing the best way to have your marketing efforts reach the masses. While traditional network television commercials still reach incredibly large groups of consumers, it remains quite expensive compared to other mediums. In the digital age, even major television networks are adapting by offering packages that include streaming or digital ad opportunities.
- Social Media: Social media networks like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have millions of active users that log on and scroll their timelines throughout every day. These popular platforms offer a wide range of options to reach large segments of consumers through free business pages and paid advertising plans that allow you to target audience clusters based on demographic metrics such as location, age, family income, and buying habits.
Middle of the Sales Funnel
Reaching consumers in the middle of the sales funnel offers opportunities to answer specific questions regarding your services. Make your best case outlining the reasons you are a better choice than your competitors. These consumers have already displayed some level of interest in your business video content targeted to them are designed to take them to the next step. Incentives like free trials and other promotions offer them a chance to try you out without making a full commitment or paying full price. These consumers are not quite ready to make a decision. Any incentives that allow them to learn more without a major investment will entice them to give you a try.
Videos in the Middle of the Funnel
Video content targeting consumers in the middle of the sales funnel should provide more detailed information about the products and services your business offers the public. These videos are used to educate and spark interest in these potential customers through several different specific kinds of videos that highlight the aspects of your services that will help further the decision-making process.
- Product Videos: Video is an excellent medium for demonstrating the highlights and features of your products and services. Show consumers exactly how your business provides solutions for their needs and problems. Provide statistics and get specific about why they should choose you over the competition. Insert humour and light-hearted elements to be more relatable and likeable. Making consumers at this stage feel comfortable and confident in the way you do business will increase the chances of them continuing the conversation towards making a purchase.
- Branding Videos: Middle sales funnel consumers have shown some level of interest in your business. Branding videos are chances to show them why you are worthy of their business. These videos give you a chance to display to the world what your business does and how you do it, showcasing your business mission and your place in the industry’s marketplace.
Bottom of the Sales Funnel
You are almost there. Consumers targeted with the bottom of the sales funnel video content are ready to make a decision and videos at this stage should push them into deciding. Marketing videos at this stage are your final chance to show these consumers why your products and services are the best option for their needs. Dive deep into the features and functions that have your products and services standing out among your most direct competitors. Answer all questions that can possibly come up and guide viewers towards making an informed decision.
Videos at the Bottom of the Funnel
These videos should be thought of as your final chance to turn a viewer into a customer. Make your most compelling case that you have the solutions to their problems, that you are the most reliable, trusted business in your field. This is your final shot at converting them into a customer. They already have a good deal of information regarding your products and services, now it is time to show them why they need to choose you over the competition.
- Case Studies: Providing a case study of success is a powerful marketing tool that will show those at the bottom of the sale funnel in the position the benefits of doing business with you. Detailing the progress and success of an actual case from actual customers in a case study video will give viewers a sense of confidence and trust in your message.
- Testimonial Videos: Let prospective customers who are close to making a purchasing decision hear from an actual customer. Testimonial videos offer consumers at the bottom of the sales funnel the chance to hear firsthand from people who have had the same issues they are experiencing and how you were able to help.
Sales Funnel Guides Consumers Through the Decision-Making Process
The concept of the sales funnel is not a new way of approaching the way consumers are targeted at various stages of their decision-making process. Applying these proven sales principles to the power of video marketing content allows you to guide consumers using dynamic, attention-getting content that is highly effective at converting them into customers.
Producing multiple videos for each stage of the sales funnel broadens the scope of your marketing efforts and allows for testing out various types of content. Monitoring viewer activity and tracking engagement show what is working with which groups of consumers so improvements and updates can be made.