So, you’ve decided to use marketing videos to improve your sales? Congratulations! That’s a really intelligent choice.

According to the latest online marketing surveys, 96% of Americans have made an online purchase at some point in their lives, and four in five have done so in the last month alone – after watching a video.

In any case, sales don’t close just by magic, and videos are the A-1 option to make prospects come to you on their own, which is nothing less than doing inbound marketing.

You don’t need to chase customers anymore, that’s so old school. However, you won’t increase your sales by just making a video and launching it on the web, either. Your content must help people to make up their minds, so you may be wondering…

What Kind of Video Should I Use for My Brand?

Well, that’s a very smart question because:

• Not all types of videos are accurate for all products, services or enterprises.
• Every kind of content is not tailored for all people so it’s crucial to know your audience, that’s to say, your buyer persona.
• You also need to consider the different stages of a buyer’s journey to understand what kind of video is more appropriate for each phase.

Let’s spend a little time to develop the last point on the list. The typical buying process consists of 3 specific stages that consumers go through until they finally make a purchase.

Stages of a Typical Buyer’s Journey

#1 Awareness

This is the moment when potential clients discover they have a problem they need to solve. It is also called the “pain point”. Now is when they will start searching through information on the internet to understand better what their issue is and what exactly they’re looking for.

#2 Consideration

Once a consumer has a clearer idea of what they’re pursuing, it’s now the time where they start to assess the market in order to find their solution or to achieve the goal they’ve just set. Here’s where you should be delivering critical information to encourage the buyer to make the best possible decision. And who has that miraculous solution? You do, so, this leads us to the next stage… 

#3 Decision

Options have been evaluated and compared, and it’s finally time to make a choice. They have to decide from a various list of vendors or providers and make sure that the one they choose will fulfill and satisfy their needs. Keep in mind that they’re investing money, probably large amounts, so as a brand, you must show them why they should choose you. This part of the buyer’s journey also coincides with the last phase of the sales funnel.

Now that you have a general idea of the process that a buyer goes through, you can start planning your inbound marketing strategy with a specific kind of video in each part of that cycle. You may consider not making just one video because it’s important to be there in all the stages and not only in one. Thus, you’ll guide them in the funnel and, clearly, make your company close sales.

Video Content to Stand Out in the Awareness Stage

So, a prospect discovers that they have a problem and you have the exact solution they need. But, how can you start showing them that your brand has the answers? By educating people, responding to their most common questions and showing your company in commercial videos:

• Educational Videos

These kinds of videos are in the awareness stage because they can help clients understand their problems better. Likewise, they’re very useful to place yourself as a renowned brand in the market. What’s more, as they position themselves organically in the search engines, people probably go to your website by themselves and you will save a lot of money on advertising. Educational videos also help in building trust and make people feel a relief sensation that will make them want to share your content.

Here is an example of a B2B educational video:

• Commercials

If you’re thinking of investing in advertising, commercial ads grant you the opportunity to give a very good first impression. They’re an excellent choice if your purpose is to gain future purchasers. They also allow you to show your brand’s spirit to those people that don’t know you yet and work very well to bolster your business’ human values with people that already do.

For example, take a look at this Amazon commercial about Alexa, the virtual assistant created by the company:

Charming Video Content for the Consideration Stage

This is the perfect moment to explain it all. Customers are moving forward through the sales funnel and they are considering your product or service to address their needs. However, you may want to stay awake because you still have to be chosen among other options. Let’s see what kind of videos are perfect for this stage.

• Explainer Videos

Now you can go deeper into who you are and what you do. Let them know why they need you and draw on the possibility to explain complex concepts with entertaining content. See what a whiteboard explainer video may look like.

Tip: Make sure to keep it as short as you can. Long videos might be boring, making people stop watching it and you could lose all your efforts.

• Product Videos

Why not show your product or service in action? Why not let people know how easy it works and how appropriate it is for their needs? Product videos give that specific information and, depending on what you’re offering, you can make animation, live-action or screencast videos.

In this example, you’ll see how GoPro explains the new features of a camera with this product video.

• How-to Videos

They are similar to product videos but with a slight difference. How-to videos usually first show a problem, then the product as a solution to that problem by explaining the way it works. They are an option to keep educating the audience and are perfect to answer commonly asked questions. For instance, in this video, Apple explains how to use its digital wallet feature called Apple Pay.

Video Content for Closing Sales in the Decision Stage

You’re almost there, you’re really close to converting them and you don’t want to miss the chance to close the sale because you`ve been working really hard for it. Just one more step to making prospects become clients. How? Generating trust! Trust in your brand and trust in your product. And, of course, you can also accomplish this with video content:

• Company Videos

Nowadays, brands commonly show their organizational culture and this helps to build trust because it demonstrates that there are also people behind a product who are working in a company that promotes certain values. For example, this company video by Rimac Automobili is exactly what I’m talking about.

• Customer Testimonial

We’re living in a marketing era where customer opinions are really important for people who are going to purchase anything. Prospects want to know what other real people think about your brand so don’t miss the opportunity to create this impactful content in the last stage of the buyer’s journey. Here you can see an example of a testimonial video.

• FAQ Videos

In the decision stage, there are several questions that are asked repetitively. You can literally respond to those doubts by making a FAQ video and also show what exactly your brand offers. These videos are usually performed by a member of the company who explains basic information which is often highly important and necessary to understand how your service works.

This accelerates the sales process and saves hours of your sales team’s time.

To Make a Long Story Short

To create a perfectly working inbound marketing strategy, you need to know your buyer persona deeply. Not every type of video works for every business and not every type of content fits in every stage of the buyer’s journey, so make sure you choose a suitable material for each moment in the sales funnel and optimize it for chosen channels.

Remember that just one video won’t be enough if you want them to be your main marketing tool. Also, make sure you choose a qualified provider who makes professional content; it’s very frustrating when you realize that you’ve frittered your money away or lost your time with unskilled people.

Now you have no more excuses left, so get down to work and start closing sales like a boss!

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Víctor Blasco is the founder and CEO of the explainer video company Yum Yum Videos. He is also an audiovisual designer and video marketing expert. Aside from running the business, he loves studying Chinese philosophy and is a real geek for science fiction films and comics!