But as videos offer a wide variety of content types, marketers should be very careful to identify their audience’s needs in order to hit the mark with the right video format. And how can you determine which type of video will be more effective? A good strategy is to focus on the buyer’s journey, this basically means to use a specific video format according to the different stages of the buying process and the user’s informational needs. Let’s take a look.

Buyer’s journey: What is it and why is it so important?

The Buyer’s Journey is the entire process that a customer goes through from the moment they become aware that they have a problem or need, to the moment they finally purchase a product or service.

In this video produced by explainer video company Yum Yum Videos, you can check out a more detailed explanation of what the buyer’s journey is and how the inbound marketing funnel works.

This is how the process works, in a nutshell:

Awareness Stage: First, the customer realizes that he or she has a potential problem (or a particular problem) that needs to be solved.

Consideration Stage: Then, he or she starts to do some research on how to solve it and evaluates the options to finally come up with a solution.

Decision Stage: The cycle ends when the customer decides from which company he or she will purchase the product or service that will solve their problem.

For marketers, it’s essential to identify the target’s needs in each part of the cycle, in order to provide them the right content that will make a greater impact and lead them through the sales funnel. And video content is the best option to nurture your audience with the information they need while keeping your audience’s attention. If used wisely, they can be a great tool to boost sales as they can increase conversion rates by 80%. So in this article, we will analyze which types of videos will work better in each stage of the buyer’s journey to boost engagement throughout the process.

Awareness Stage

This is the starting point of the sales journey: Your potential customer realizes he or she has a problem or need and begins the quest for a solution. Here you have an opportunity to answer their questions and guide them while you position your brand as a reference in the subject. You only have one chance to make a good impression and engage them to continue with your brand, so make sure your content is on the right track and, equally important, high quality. These are the best video formats to make your debut:

1. Educational Videos

Your potential buyers are looking for a useful answer to their problems. With educational videos, you can educate them about certain subjects while you generate brand awareness, positioning yourself as an expert. This way, you can increase visibility and drive more visitors to your site.

2. Commercials

These are short videos created to attract people into your sales funnel with a fun and engaging storytelling technique. They are extremely effective to gain visibility with paid ads, increase brand awareness and drive traffic to your website.

3. Social Media Videos

The special feature of Social Media Videos is that they are created by taking into account each network’s practices and values, in order to optimize the content to the social platform of your desire. This kind of format will let you gain visibility in social media, increase engagement and drive visits to your site.

Consideration Stage

At this point, the buyers have already defined their problem or need, so videos in the Consideration Stage should educate them about solutions for their specific needs. The goal is to help the customer in their research by showing them the best solution to their needs. Let’s see which options you can use to guide them:

1. Explainer Videos

This type of content can explain products or services in a brief and friendly way. Basically, it starts with a certain pain point and then explains how that product can solve it. Mainly, it’s used in websites’ home pages and landing pages, because it’s an easy hook to catch the audience’s attention and explain an idea in just a few seconds, quickly delivering the most fitting information for this stage of their journey (when it’s done the right way). In addition, it’s a successful tool to use in YouTube ad campaigns and, to a lesser extent, Facebook and Twitter, due to its structure and short length -less than two minutes-

The main reason to use explainer videos in the consideration stage is that their main goal is to increase conversions and boost qualified leads.

2. Webinars

A webinar is a web based video presentation that is transmitted over the internet. The main objective is to educate the audience thoroughly on a certain topic but in a friendly and human way, because it’s usually lead by an expert on the specific subject matter. By doing this, it can position your brand as a reference on that subject and then increase subscriptions to your site and rise your conversion rate.

3. How-To Videos

As the name suggests, How-To Videos are made to offer your customers helpful guidance in a fun and entertaining way. It’s a step-by-step process that educates potential clients on certain topics or products using an easy and educative tone. This way, they can build product trust and increase up-selling. This allows your audience to get to know the solution you are offering them, and to choose your company over the other possible solutions they are considering.

Decision Stage

Now that the prospects are aware of their problem and have found a satisfying solution, it’s time for them to decide which company will solve that problem.

The Decision Stage is all about building trust with your brand and your product, so they will finally decide to purchase from you. Read on to know which videos will work best: 

1. Customer Testimonial

Frequently, prospects require external reviews from peers before deciding to purchase a product, and the numbers don’t lie, those reviews work. A customer testimonial video is a good solution to use to share your client’s experience with your product or service. It’s a powerful tool to build confidence and generate brand trust with potential prospects, which can lead to  growth in your sales rates.

2. FAQ Videos

The main goal of FAQ Videos is to provide, in simple terms, relevant information about common inquiries on the product and clear up any doubts the buyer may have. These kinds of videos are great for lead nurturing and lead trust -create a quality bond with your customer by clarifying doubts- and can help you reach a higher number of conversions, close more deals, and build product trust. 

3. Company Story Videos

These videos, also known as “About us” videos, present your brand, the working team and the values that you stand for. It’s a good strategy to show the human side of your company and build a strong connection with potential customers. If you can build trust with them, it’s a huge step towards the final goal: increasing sales rates.

4. Product Videos

A video about your Product should show its best features as well as the whole experience of using it: the benefits of your product and how it works, all of that in a brief and entertaining video. It allows you to build trust about your product, position it in the search engines and also bring your leads closer to the final purchase.

Summing-up

Understanding all the steps that a buyer goes through before purchasing a product will let you provide the right video content to make a greater impact. Because you already know that videos are highly effective for increasing conversions, if you  use them correctly. And choosing the right format according to the stage of the buyer’s journey – awareness, consideration and decision stage- will allow you to guide your potential customers through your sales funnel.

A successful video campaign requires a high quality video, and that’s not a cheap thing to do. So if you want to make the most out of your video marketing budget, it’s essential to customize your videos according to your customer’s needs.

Want more on creating a content marketing strategy for your organization? Check out Curata’s content marketing strategy guide below.