From product explanations to customer testimonials, videos are a powerful marketing tool. However, the effectiveness of videos depends on where the customer is in the buying cycle. Different types of videos appeal to different customers, making it important to use the appropriate kind at each phase of the journey. In this blog, we'll guide you through the stages of the buyer's journey, offering insights into which types of videos work best for each stage and how to create effective video content to increase conversion rates.
Awareness Stage
To better understand your prospective customers, put yourself in their shoes. The first stage of the buyer's journey is awareness, when customers first recognize a problem and turn to the internet for answers. For this reason, educational videos like tutorials and how-to's are among the most valuable types of content at this stage since they help find a solution with ease.
Narrative commercials have also proven effective in the awareness stage, particularly those that use storytelling to empathize with the audience and present a product or service as the solution to their problems. The key to both these types of content is providing value. Instead of focusing on direct selling, these videos offer honest and timely help. When done right, educational and narrative videos can attract new potential customers and improve lead generation, setting the foundation for a successful marketing campaign.
Consideration Stage
After becoming aware of your brand and the products or services you offer, your target audience can move on to the next phase of the buying cycle: the consideration stage. In this stage, buyers research different options and evaluate the benefits of each. To earn the trust and consideration of consumers, you need to clearly and honestly inform them about the benefits of your product or service.
Explainer videos are highly engaging types of content for this stage. These short videos use creative animation styles, such as whiteboard animations or colorful characters, to explain how your products or services can solve buyer pain points. While they maintain an educational tone, they also emphasize the advantages of using your product or service.
Product videos are also effective in the consideration stage, especially for eCommerce. These videos showcase your product in context, highlighting features and providing close-ups or slow-motion footage of it in use. After watching a product video, your audience should have a clear understanding of what the product is, how it works, and why it’s valuable. By providing informative and engaging content at this stage, you increase your chances of making it onto the buyer's shortlist of options.
Decision Stage
Your audience has now reached the final stage of the buyer's journey: the decision stage. Your marketing efforts have paid off, and you've made it onto the buyer's shortlist. Now it's time to focus on building trust and credibility to seal the deal.
Customer feedback is an invaluable resource for the decision stage, allowing you to create customer testimonials and FAQ videos. Customer testimonials are like case studies that highlight satisfied clients whom your product or service has successfully helped. These testimonials are effective in building credibility because people trust the experiences of others. To maximize their impact, use truthful customer interviews instead of actors.
FAQ videos are also useful in addressing any doubts potential buyers may have before making their decision. By answering the most frequently asked questions of other buyers, you can provide valuable information and nurture your leads. However, it's important to choose useful topics for your FAQ videos, as obvious or rare questions may have less of an impact. By creating informative and honest video content in the decision stage, you can reassure potential buyers that you are a reputable company they can trust.
Conclusion
Incorporating video content into your marketing strategy can be a powerful tool in attracting potential customers and maintaining relationships with current ones. As you continue to create video content, keep in mind the different stages of the buyer's journey and the types of videos that work best for each one. By doing so, you can increase engagement, drive conversions, and ultimately grow your business.
