Here’s what you need to know about attracting, engaging, and delighting with video—step by step.
Stage 1: Marketing – Attract Videos – Turns Strangers Into Visitors
At this stage, a complete stranger is viewing a video for a company they may never have heard of before. They may not be familiar with your product or your service at all, and they may not even know whether they’re interested in it. Your goal is to intrigue them enough that they become a visitor in the future—that they come back and consider becoming a customer.
Social videos – These informal videos, shared on social media, give strangers an insight into how your business runs. Quick and fast-paced, social videos are usually targeted to a specific area of the business, such as introducing visitors to a new product, or discussing a recent or upcoming event. Social videos are fantastic advertising because they go out to those who follow you first, but once they are shared, they can easily reach strangers. Your goal is to ensure that these strangers convert to followers.
Education Videos – Education videos can be used to not only educate people about products and services, but also to educate them about whether they need that product or service. Education videos take a detailed look at the company’s products, letting those who may not know much about the company learn more about the brand, its mission, and its identity. The goal of education videos is to instill a sense of curiosity. The audience should be wondering: Do I need that? What if I had it?
Series videos – A good video marketing series is a great way to ensure that people keep watching. Even some traditional commercials have learned to keep loosely running plot lines, so that viewers will tune in and excitedly discuss the “plot.” Create a comprehensive series video and you’ll see that your traffic continues to grow higher, both with customers and people who are casual users and may someday become customers.
The most common mistake companies make when creating videos is that they create the videos that they want to make rather than the videos that their customers want to watch. Put yourself in the mindset of someone who might be a prospective customer. What situation are they in right now? What problems do they have? What are they looking for when they look for content online?
Key Takeaway: To attract customers, you need to provide something of value to them. Ask yourself: Why would a stranger watch this video?
Stage 2: Sales – Engage Videos – Turns Visitors Into Customers
At this stage, the visitor is already interested. Perhaps they’ve been following you on social media. Maybe they found your company through a web search. They already know they want your product or your service, but they aren’t certain that you are the business they want to deal with. You need to give that final push to convince them to turn from a visitor to a customer.
Company Videos – Corporate video shows key insights into the company itself and the way it operates. Have employees talk about working with the business. Show behind-the-scenes footage of the business. All of this inspires the viewer to think more about the company and to align themselves with the company’s mission. Businesses can show that they’re eco-conscious, or that they donate to charities, and the viewer will not only think more highly of them, but also may be inspired to do something similar themselves.
Product Videos – – Like a corporate video, this gives insights into the company’s inner workings. In-depth product videos answer questions that visitors may have about a product. A visitor may have already seen an introductory video when they were at the “stranger” stage. But now they know they’re choosing between two or three products, and what they really need to know is why one might be better than the other. Product videos are a great way to highlight products in detail that could never be achieved through simple text or photographs.
Testimonial videos – Everyone wants to know that they’re working with a company that is as trustworthy and reliable as it is exciting and innovative. Testimonials do a few things. First, they build credibility, because the viewer trusts customers to give their real opinion. Second, they give the viewer something to relate to: The viewer may think “That’s exactly the problem I have.” Finally, they also offer a solution. Viewers will know exactly what they need to do next.
An “engage” video can really be a deeper look into any part of a business. Video marketingvideo marketing is about more than just strict advertising. Whether it’s highlighting specific processes within the business, or it’s interviewing a long-term client, the goal is to give potential customers and current customers more information about the business and how it operates. Familiarity is often what breeds loyalty. The more interaction a customer has with a company, the more likely they are to continue to engage with the company moving forward.
But remember: Whether you’re creating an attracting, engaging, or delighting video, the same principles of compelling video apply. Don’t make your videos too long or too complex. Use every second to be doing “something,” whether that thing is teaching or entertaining. Cutting and editing your video is what’s going to make it really shine, and every video should be up to your brand’s polish and standards.
Key Takeaway: Once customers are engaged, they’re really looking for a reason to say “yes” to your company. Give them enough to make them feel confident.
Stage 3: Service – Delight Videos – Turns Customers Into Advocates
At this stage, your viewers are already customers. They like your products, but perhaps they don’t love them yet. You want to develop a relationship where they aren’t just interested in remaining customers, but they’re excited about getting other people to use your products, too.
Brand advocates are incredibly important to any business. They are constantly working to bring in new customers for the brand, even if they aren’t actively aware they’re doing it. Word-of-mouth is the most powerful type of advertising, after all, and it’s a type of advertising that you can easily capture through advocacy. While you can’t create a brand advocate, you can do things that make it more likely for an individual to become one.
Product Training Videos – Some products need continual training because they are complex or because they change. Software-as-a-Service products, for instance, often change between versions. Product training videos, when done well, can absolutely turn customers into advocates. They want to be able to refer people to a product or service that’s well supported, and product training videos are just that. As long as customers consistently feel as though they can get the information they need, they’re more likely to trust the company in the future.
Customer Event videos – Customers want to feel valued and special, and customer event videos can help. Customer events could be everything from broadcasting a live-streamed company awards ceremony, to hosting a seminar for top customers who want to learn to use a product better. Customer event videos can be streamed live for a more “present” feeling, or they can be recorded and distributed after the fact if it’s the data that’s most important. Regardless, customers view customer event videos because they want to engage more with the company, and the company can leverage this to create a long-standing and mutually beneficial relationship.
Video production never stops. It’s important not to stop courting customers once they become customers. There can always be different levels of customer: The most dedicated of customers are going to do a lot of work for you. Engaging videos will help customers bring their friends and family in. Customers will be able to feel greater levels of faith in the company as the company continually engages with them, and it’s always possible that companies will be able to improve their Customer Lifetime Value by driving more interaction with their customers.
Key Takeaway: Brand advocates are some of the best advertising any company can get. Secure them by delighting them with your content even after a sale.
Video is one of the most uniquely engaging formats, but not all video is made equal. Video is a set of tools, and each tool has a slightly different purpose. By understanding when, why, and how different types of video are used, you can broaden your marketing horizons, and continue to attract, engage, and delight your audience.
Remember: The buyer journey begins long before a customer makes a purchase—and it never ends. The more customers engage with a brand, the more likely they are to become advocates—and the greater their levels of purchasing will be. But it isn’t always easy for a company to create a complete marketing campaign. Working with dedicated video production partners can help.
