Mistake #2 – Failure to Consider the Funnel

This article is the 2nd installment in a blog series called “3 Honest Reasons Why Your B2B Video Marketing Sucks.”

30,000 Foot View

In the B2B marketing world, it’s easy to think of videos in terms of familiar buckets – brand videos, customer testimonial videos, product videos, etc. We inherently recognize the value of videos as they pertain to various departments within our organization, but how often do we think about video from the 30,000-foot-view of our entire sales funnel? 

While it makes sense to let events people handle event videos and customer success people handle customer videos, and so on, I believe it’s a mistake to think of video strategy in such a decentralized manner.

As we’ll explore, video can be used strategically to improve performance at every stage of your customer’s journey. Keeping your video strategy and creative consistent across your funnel will maximize results and help create a cohesive brand experience for the customer.

Let’s take a closer look at specific ways that you can use video at each stage of your funnel to enhance your existing marketing approach. 

DISCOVER

At the top of your funnel, use video to generate demand by speaking to your customer’s must-solve problem. Depending on your particular market, this could take the form of short, engaging video ads or more targeted content as a part of your ABM strategy.

By using paid advertising on LinkedIn, you can likely target your ideal buyers with short-form content that creates awareness about your product offering and drives traffic to a landing page where they can learn more. In most cases, I recommend resisting the urge to rush a customer into the next stage of your funnel too quickly. Focus on educating and providing real value. 

Also remember that brand awareness has the most vague corresponding KPIs (reach and brand recall) in terms of how closely they correspond with real business results. When generating demand for your SaaS product, use brand awareness as a means to an end – not an end in itself.

I recommend working with your video agency to develop a creative approach that will hook your ideal buyer and help nurture and guide them to the next stage in your funnel.

CONSIDER

In the consideration stage, use creative video to speak to prospects who are aware of their problem. If leads are important for your marketing strategy, a video lead gen campaign could involve running engaging retargeting video ads to drive traffic to a landing page where prospects give their information in exchange for a useful gated asset.

Alternatively, a video ad campaign could drive traffic to a landing page where prospects watch a 60-second explainer video. Always make sure to include a CTA for prospects who want to move to the next stage, such as viewing a demo. 

The consideration stage is also a great stage to wow prospects with your unique brand, values, and voice. A strong brand video shows (not tells) prospects who you are and what you stand for. It’s an awesome way for prospects to get to know you.

EVALUATE

Things are getting more serious with your prospect at this stage, but they still need a push to commit. Customer success and case study videos, when done right, put your strongest success stories front and center for prospects to evaluate. 

Warning – videos created for this stage run the risk of being your most boring content. We’ve all experienced nearly being put to sleep by the same old talking head customer video with generic office b-roll. Ask your video agency to share ideas for how to take a fresh creative approach to these traditional videos.

Product videos are another great tool in the evaluation stage. This is the time to let your awesome product shine with slick, branded videos that showcase the best of what you have to offer. Avoid throwing together a “good enough” screen-recording product demo video. Consider the lifetime value of one potential closed deal and make sure that the quality of your product videos is up to par. 

PURCHASE

Once your prospect becomes a customer, there is still an important role for video in your strategy. 

As soon as a prospect becomes a customer, how great would it be to arm them with videos that show them how to most effectively use your solution? Are there up-sells within your product offering? Why not target established customers with up-sell opportunities using video? 

We all know that retaining customers is critical – this is where using video to engage your existing customer base comes into play. While I generally recommend avoiding engagement metrics like comments, likes, and shares as a way to evaluate video success, engaging with your existing customers using video is a great way to increase customer retention and create a healthy ecosystem of your biggest fans. 

Parting Thoughts

There are many ways to incorporate creative video into your customer’s journey to boost the performance of your funnel, but your budget likely won’t support executing them all at once (if it does, call me). The key is to begin thinking about video at this zoomed-out, strategic level. Assess the areas of your funnel that could benefit the most from improved performance, and speak with your video agency about creative video ideas to support your goals.

Bio: Jason has over a decade of experience working with marketers in the B2B tech space to bring products and brands to life with powerful storytelling and engaging visuals. He is a Meta Certified Marketing Science Professional and Creative Strategy Professional, and has a Hubspot Digital Advertising Certification.