Leveraging Video to Drive Marketing Funnel Profits

LEVERAGING VIDEO TO DRIVE MARKETING FUNNEL PROFITS

ARTICLE BY MICHELLE LANGE

The natural assumption is small companies don’t have the budget for a robust video platform, yet when we spoke to several fast-growing companies, we found a different reason. Our insights interviews with CEOs and CMOs at companies ranging from six figures to $30 million reveal that it is a lack of video strategy - not budget - that keeps small businesses from creating a video. The CEOs and CMOs we interviewed are unclear as to where to start and what videos would give them the greatest ROI on their time, money, and effort. This knowledge gap causes them to press the pause button and put the video at the bottom of their priority list. WE will uncover the essential videos you need for each phase of your marketing funnel and demystify the video strategy challenge.

“...it is the lack of video strategy - not budget - that keeps small businesses from creating a video.”

Did you know...

93% of all marketers use video for marketing online. Video has been proven to increase lead generation, conversions, and profits in marketing funnels (Invodo).

Here are the videos we recommend for the 5 phases

The Righ Video for the Right Occasion

Attact, Nurture, Convert, Retain, Reignite

Although 96% of B2B companies surveyed are engaged in video content marketing, and 73% claim that video has positively impacted their marketing results and ROI (Web Video Marketing Council, ReelSEO, and Flimp Media), only 22% of U.S. small businesses plan to post a video in the next 12 months (BIA/Kelsey). Which brings forth the question: Why are small businesses trailing behind other B2Bs who are leveraging video for their marketing? With this compelling data, one wonders why any small business would NOT use video in their marketing funnel. When creating your video strategy, it is essential to identify where your

client is in your marketing funnel and the optimal video(s) to use for each phase of the funnel. Let’s look at the five stages of marketing funnels. It starts with Attraction. You must create awareness of your service or product and inspire prospects to learn more. Nurture them by building a relationship with your prospects by providing valuable, engaging content. Convert the opportunity by taking them past the goal line to become a paying client. Retain your customers by keeping them fully engaged and commited to using your products and services.

Lastly, you must Reignite and rekindle your inactive clients’ interest and engagement. Companies often create videos for the first 3 phases of their funnels (Attraction, Nurture, and Conversion), yet they neglect the last two phases (Retain and Reignite). Most companies miss key opportunities to maximize their profits by using video through all phases of the client life cycle. Attraction stage. There are 3 kinds of videos that are best utilized in the attraction stage. Your brand message video, your explainer video, and your traffic video. The brand message video shares the brand story of your company: What inspired you to create it, the challenges you solve, the solutions you provide, the benefits and transformations you bring clients, and the greater “Why” behind your business. It’s a great way for a new prospect to get to know your company in 3-4 minutes or less. Hubspot did an excellent example of a well executed Brand Message Video.

http://MyFunnel.Link/u

High Impact Videos

High ROI for Your Funnels

The explainer video gives an overview of your product or service and addresses how your product or service works. It is especially effective when selling a complex product or service that requires explanation or simplification for your target audience, and technology companies often use it. Oracle created an explainer video for their product Big Data SCE, which helped their sales team book more meetings and close more sales. The traffic video is a short 60-90 second video that is used in online advertising to lead the viewer to take an important next step. It often drives the audience to a landing page to opt in for content, sign up for a webinar or make a purchase. Nurture stage. Tip videos provide valuable tips and content that address your ideal clients’ top of mind challenges. Tip videos establish your expert status while building rapport with your prospects. Marie Forleo has created a huge following of raving fans by sharing her advice on Marie TV.

Attraction videos can also help fill live events and generate multiple six figures.

“Tip videos establish your expert status...”

The how to videos show your prospects how to do a particular task within your area of expertise. Neuman’s Kitchen, a catering company that made the Inc. 500 fastest growing company list in 2014, uses how-to demo videos to engage their B2B and B2C prospects. Behind the scenes (BTS) videos build rapport with your audience by pulling back the curtains to give your prospects a behind-the-scenes look at your business or a particular initiative. BTS videos help establish trust with your audience by providing

a degree of transparency. Conversion stage. A sales page video is crucial to your sales success. At this juncture of your funnel, you have attracted and nurtured your prospect, and the goal is to take them past the finish line. A wellcrafted sales video is the next best thing to having an in-person sales conversation with your prospect and is a highly efficient way to close the deal. The opt-in video is similar in structure to a sales video, yet the goal is “convert” the client to sign up for freebie content such as an insights paper, self-assessment, or webinar, as opposed to a paid

offer. These unpaid conversions are important - if you enroll your prospect in a freebie offer, you are one step closer to enrolling them in a paid offer. Client success videos provide social proof and vital ROI metrics. It can persuade a customer who is on the fence that they will get their desired results if they purchase from you. This video tells the story of where your client was before using your products or services, how your product or services helped them,

and the benefits and ROI they experienced. Retention stage. Videos for the retention phase of the funnel are similar to videos for the nurturing stage. The goal is to engage the client with compelling, valuable content. The leverage video is a powerful retention tool as it shows your customers how to utilize your product or service better to maximize their results. ToDoist shows their clients how to leverage their platform in their video “10 ToDoist Tips and Tricks You Need to Know”. The special offer videos announce special offers and promotions to your clients, such as a discounts and flash sales for the holidays, Cyber Monday, and Black Friday.

Reignite stage. Share more client success story videos in the reignite stage. These videos can be shared with existing clients to remind them of what’s possible if they fully utilize your products or services. Also in the reignite stage, you will want to share more special offers to inspire clients to make additional purchases with discounts, flash sales, and other promotions. The last type of video to use in your marketing strategy is the Ask video. These videos can re-engage clients who have become inactive or lukewarm. “Ask” videos invite your clients to ask their most burning questions or give input on an upcoming initiative.

Creating the right video mix for your marketing funnels takes time and energy up front, yet once you create your videos, they will do the selling for you while you are off running your business or better yet, enjoying a vacation! Using video through each phase of the client life cycle will not only boost your profits, but it will also increase your brand recognition, improve your engagement, establish your expert status, and build your tribe of raving fans. The only thing you stand to lose by waiting to get into the video game is time, money, and opportunity. So go for it! Your marketing funnels will thank you for it.

Michelle Lange is a Video Strategist who helps small and mid-sized companies make a big brand splash by creating high-impact videos and sleek marketing campaigns that make you unforgettable and in demand.

In Fact:

• Prospects are 72% likelier to buy your products and services when video is used. (Wharton School of Business)

• Video increases landing page conversion rates by 100%. (Optimizely)

• Video boosts email click through rates by 200- 300%. (Forrester)

• Video added to your social media means audiences are 10 x more likely to engage and share your post. (Content Marketing Institute)

• 59% of executives would rather watch a video than read text. (Forbes)