How to Use Video Effectively at Each Stage of Your Inbound Marketing Funnel

Using video content as part of your digital marketing strategy can be very profitable. But do keep in mind there are many different types of videos, and they are all designed and optimized to accomplish different goals. 

Educational videos, whiteboard animations, video explainers — each popular type of marketing video brings something unique to the table, and it’s critical to use the right tool at the right time to get the results you want!

So, how can you determine which video is best for your strategy’s needs? Read on, and you’ll learn all about it.

Best Video Types for Top-of-Funnel Marketing

At the start of the funnel, you are focused on generating brand and product awareness to improve lead generation. At this point, since you need to capture your audience’s attention, your videos are best kept short and should have a broad scope in terms of subject matter.

Brand Videos

Brand videos are all about providing a memorable first impression to potential leads, so they hold a lot of power at the start of a marketing funnel. 

By effectively introducing your brand (like this), what your specialty is, and most importantly, how people can continue to engage with you, you can pique your viewer’s interest quickly and establish a strong, positive image that informs their future interactions with your company.

Developing brand videos that touch upon your clients’ issues or needs is a great way to get them hooked on what else you’ve got to say. It can make a casual viewer think, “Wait, that’s something that could be helpful for me!” and have them stick around long enough to start a relationship with your brand.

Short Social Media Videos

These are short pieces designed to captivate your audience with a funny, out-of-the-norm take on a topic they care about. Since people are constantly bombarded with content, being innovative and crafting a video that stands out is often a good idea for social media. For example, a lot of companies jump on relevant TikTok trends to educate their audiences with short content that resonates.

Leveraging entertaining, short social media content is a fantastic way to nurture not only awareness but also brand recall. When viewers progress into the next stage of the funnel, they’re bound to remember the brand that made them laugh with a funny video (like this one) instead of a generic ad.

Best Video Types for Middle of Funnel Marketing

When leads are in the middle of the funnel, they want more information about their problem and the solutions you offer to solve it. 

Research is the key feature of this stage, so give your audience content that allows them to explore pain points and learn how your business can help address them.

Animated Explainers

Animated explainers (like this one) have become a staple in most video agencies’ arsenal since the style is designed to hook viewers right off the bat.

Explainers leverage animation and storytelling to describe the solutions your audience is looking for, while also subtly prompting viewers to take action. In 90 seconds or less, you cover three main points: What your products or services are, why they’re useful for your viewers, and why they’re better than the competition — and that makes them perfect for the consideration stage of your marketing funnel.

Product Videos

These pieces allow viewers to see exactly what your product is all about. Its features, how it works, and why it’s the best option they can choose. This example from Apple is about as good as it gets!

Well-crafted product videos are the perfect tool to show what characteristics and details make your products ideal for your audience’s needs and help you overcome some of the limitations of selling through digital platforms.

Instead of making your audience rely solely on your word, you want your audience to see for themselves. These videos give you ample room to do just that.

Best Video Types for Bottom of Funnel Marketing

Eventually, the most qualified leads progress down to the bottom of the funnel. At this stage, they’re considering your brand as the potential solution to their problem, but they may still have some doubts or need an extra nudge.

In short, your digital marketing content for this stage should focus on showcasing what makes your brand their best option.

Testimonial Videos

Testimonials are a vote of confidence for your brand, making them really hard to beat at this stage of a funnel. What could be better than another person recounting their experience with your products or how your services were exactly what they needed? Check out this EO video that leverages testimonials.

Testimonials are also great to help clear any doubts your leads may still have at this stage, and hearing another human share their real-life experience is as persuasive as it gets.

FAQ Videos

FAQ videos allow you to answer questions your core audience could ask about your business and what you offer. Especially those that are keeping them from committing to a purchase or whatever action your campaign is going for.

Additionally, you’re one step ahead of the game when you make a FAQ video. Instead of making potential customers waste time writing their doubts in an email or message, they can just watch your video then go right ahead with their purchase.

Wrapping Up

And there you have it! Whether it is an animated explainer or a testimonial, using video to leverage your marketing strategy brings a lot to the table.

Now that you know the basic types of video available for your business, the next step is to choose your favorite ones and start crafting your next marketing pieces.

Contributed to EO by Victor Blasco, an audiovisual designer, video marketing expert, and founder/CEO of the explainer video production company Yum Yum Videos. Besides running the business, he’s a lifelong student of Chinese philosophy and a passionate geek for all things sci-fi. He has also shared his expertise with EO on How To Leverage Video Content To Enhance Internal Communications and 5 key elements of effective whiteboard videos and How to use creative videos to transform email marketing from basic to bustling and Audience Research 101: The key to creating marketing videos that convert.

For more insights and inspiration from today’s leading entrepreneurs, check out EO on Inc. and more articles from the EO blog.