Video Marketing Through the Buyer’s Journey

If you’ve been keeping up with inbound marketing trends at all over the last year, you know that video is a hot topic.

According to Cisco, by 2019, 80% of content consumed on the internet will be video. 80 percent! No matter how you look at it, you can’t avoid it. So, you need to start taking video marketing seriously.

If you’re not currently using video, integrating it into your marketing strategy can feel overwhelming.

Where do we start? What kind of videos are we supposed to make? How do we make sure the videos we make are actually effective?

If these are the questions holding you back, this article is for you. Integrating video into your strategy is as simple as starting with one video. Just one.

If you’re not sure what to say, or what videos to make first, consider starting with one video for each stage of the Buyer’s Journey for your product or service.

To make it easy for you, we’ve compiled a list of different kinds of videos that are effective for each stage of the Buyer’s Journey (Awareness, Consideration, and Decision), along with some examples of companies who have done this well.

Video Marketing for the Awareness Stage: Educate!

You should already be doing your best to align every piece of content you create with a stage of the Buyer’s Journey, and creating video content is no different.

In the awareness stage, users are just discovering their problem and are looking for answers, or they have a need that they’re looking to meet.

The best videos to create for this stage should focus on educating the visitor. These videos should not be pushing your products or services, but rather answer common questions that a visitor might have and helping them diagnose the pain or need they may be feeling.

Think about what problems your customers typically come to you to solve and what questions they were asking when they initially encountered that problem.

Create videos focused on answering those questions, without selling your own product or service. A few types of educational videos include How-to videos, FAQs, and inspiration videos.

Videos of this nature are also great for social media share-ability and for driving new traffic to your site, as well as for building brand awareness.

Here are some examples of Awareness Stage videos:

Adobe Marketing Cloud: 

This video hits right on a common pain point for Adobe Marketing Cloud’s buyers - bad customer experience. While it’s obviously an advertisement, it isn’t pushing the product. Rather it’s interesting and entertaining.

Moz’s Whiteboard Fridays:

Moz’s Whiteboard Fridays are an amazing example of awareness stage videos. This series is  incredibly educational, and while there are mentions of Moz’s products and services, that’s never the focal point. These videos answer common questions and problems that Moz’s target customers have, placing them in front of the right people at the right time.

Video Marketing for the Consideration Stage: Explain!

A visitor or viewer in the consideration stage is starting to research what products or services are available that might solve their problem -- and your brand should be one of them.

Creating videos that explain what you do and the value you provide are a great fit for this stage, but don’t get into too many details.

Some great videos for this stage include  comparisons and product guides.

The important thing is to convey the value of your product or service and to demonstrate how you can meet your audience’s needs and solve their problems.

Viewers of these videos are weighing their options. They are taking the time to compare you with your competitors, so this is the time to really let your business shine.

Make sure these videos tell the story of your product or service. You’re not just explaining what you do and what your value is, this is a big chance to build trust, connect on a deeper level, and make an impression in the minds of viewers.

Here are some examples of Consideration Stage videos:

CarePredict:

CarePredict created a very successful explainer video by presenting the problem their personas face, the solution that CarePredict gives and then explaining exactly what it is that their product does. Their use of animation makes their explanation even clearer.

Wendy’s Other Guys Commercials:

This video explains the biggest comparison between Wendy’s and their competitors: fresh vs. frozen beef. Without even naming their competitors specifically, Wendy’s makes a direct comparison with them, and clearly shows why their product is better.

Video Marketing for the Decision Stage: Show!

Once people get to the decision stage, they’ve already done a thorough examination of your business, and they’re ready to decide how they’re going to solve their problem.

This is the time to get more into the nitty-gritty details of your product or service, and to show real-life examples of how people use it.

Creating videos with product demos, testimonials, or about your company culture are needed in this stage of the Buyer’s Journey.

Show viewers what it will actually look like for them when they purchase from you. Show them success stories and results that will prove your claims and make your offer irresistible.

Here are some of examples of Decision Stage videos:

HubSpot Customer Success Stories: 

This success story video is a great example of showing how people in real life are using a product or service, and the results they’ve achieved from that. They even sneak some comparison in there showing how real life people chose HubSpot over other competitors.

JIRA Software Product Demo:

This video outright says exactly what it’s seeking to accomplish before it goes into the actual product demo: “This demonstration will highlight JIRA software’s key features and showcase how teams use it to build great products.” Perfect!

Conclusion

Once you’ve created videos around each stage of the Buyer’s Journey, consider creating some after-the-sale videos for customers/clients. Use video to show people how to get the most out of your product or service, or for demo-ing new products/services.

Creating videos that delight your current customers will only increase retention and lifetime customer value.

Here a few great delight videos:

Sylvane Inc:

Now, that you’ve seen all of the different kinds of videos you can create for the different stages of the Buyer’s Journey, what are you doing?? Get out there and start making some!