How to Use Video Across the Marketing Funnel

In today’s experience economy, video is the ideal way to immerse your audience in your brand and grow your business. Targeted video can be effectively deployed across all channels and at all stages of the marketing funnel throughout the buyer’s journey. 

Keep reading to see how you can acquire, nurture, and retain customers with the right videos. We’ll also cover which types of marketing videos work best at each stage. 

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Video Across the Marketing Funnel

Marketing funnel stages.

1. Awareness

At the top of the funnel, Awareness videos introduce your brand to an audience.

Here you’ll want to focus on communicating your brand values and offerings with personality. Publish where your audience consumes content most—social, OTT/CTV, Linear TV, and OOH are great options to consider.

RELATED: CTT/OTV Advertising: A Guide for Marketers

The video types that work best at the Awareness stage are:

2. Consideration

As your prospect moves further down your funnel, focus on your value propositions. Work on differentiating yourself from competitors by standing out with unique and memorable video content.

The video types that work best at the Consideration stage are:

  • Brand Commercials
  • Explainers
  • How-Tos
  • Product Spotlights

3. Conversion

At this critical stage, your focus needs to be on driving the sale home. Your buyer should know your brand at this point, so product-oriented videos work best.

Use video at the point-of-sale to drive conversions. Video across your website and eCommerce presence can be the tipping point and offer your customers a standout shopping experience that sets you apart from the competition.

FREE DOWNLOAD: Driving eCommerce Sales with Video

The video types that work best at the Conversion stage are:

  • Product Spotlights
  • How-Tos
  • Case Studies/Customer Testimonials

4. Retention

Your video marketing efforts shouldn’t end once a sale has been made. Once you’ve acquired a customer, use video to delight and turn your buyers into loyal fans

Retention videos not only drive repeat purchases but also make your customers a part of your brand community.

The video types that work best at the Retention stage are:

  • Culture Videos
  • Brand Commercials
  • Product Spotlights
  • Educational Videos

Now, let’s dig deeper into the types of videos you can leverage and focus on what makes each unique.

The 7 Types of Marketing Videos that Move Prospects Down Your Funnel

Brand Commercial

Make an immediate impression with a memorable Brand Commercial. Use this type of video to introduce your brand to new customers or to remind existing ones why they’re a part of your community in the first place.

Brand Commercials should focus heavily on your values and stay true to the feel of your brand. Traditionally, these types of videos ran exclusively on Linear TV, but in today’s digital landscape, you can reach your targets on a number of different channels, including social and OTT/CTV.

Any way you cut your Brand Commercials (pun intended), they are meant to introduce (or reintroduce you to your customers.

Use Cases for Brand Commercials:

  • Acquisition
  • Retention
  • Brand Marketing

Product Spotlight

Product Spotlight videos make your product the hero of the story. These types of videos can introduce a product, grow awareness, move prospects further down the funnel, or seal the deal with an immediate conversion.

Product Spotlights are particularly versatile. They can vary in depth depending on the use case. They can educate your audience and take on a more narrative feel that’s similar to Brand Commercials, or they can be short eye-catching videos that are integrated into your social or eCommerce strategies.

RELATED: How to Turn Photos into Videos Ads that Stand Out

Use Cases for Product Spotlights:

  • Acquisition
  • Retention
  • eCommerce
  • Product Marketing

Explainer

Explainer videos are just like how they sound—use them to tell your audience who you are and what you offer. Explainers are typically longer and dive deeper than Brand Commercials do, targeting audiences that are already in your funnel.

This type of video is particularly popular with brands that offer intangible products, like services or apps, as well as B2Bs. Use Explainers for brand and product education: focus on the problem your customer faces and then highlight the solution offered by your brand. You can get as granular as you want depending on what part of the funnel you are trying to target.

FOR B2Bs: How to Use Video in Your B2B Sales Approach

Explainers land you more leads, save customers time, and lessen the amount of work your customer support team has to field. You educate consumers about your products on the front end in order to avoid any issues post-purchase—decluttering the customer journey. 

Use Cases for Explainers:

  • Acquisition
  • Retention
  • eCommerce
  • Product Marketing

How-To

How-To videos provide your audience with step-by-step instructions on how to use your product. These types of videos work well in the consideration phase and also post-conversion. 

Integrate How-To videos into your eCommerce presence to give audiences an in-depth look into your product features or to address common questions about your offering. Once a customer has converted, use How-To videos to extend their experience with your brand while showcasing your product’s utility.

Use Cases for How-To videos:

  • eCommerce
  • Content Marketing
  • Product Marketing
  • Operations & CX

Educational

Educational videos establish your brand as an authority within your particular niche. Rather than focusing on your offerings or even your brand, Educational videos inform your audience in order to establish trust and expertise.

This type of video works well in your organic and inbound marketing strategy. Think about topics of interest that your brand can speak to with authority and then create content to share your unique knowledge and POV. Educational videos can be a subtle way to effectively introduce your brand to a new audience.

Use Cases for Educational videos:

  • Brand Marketing
  • Content Marketing

Culture Video

Culture videos highlight what life is like at your brand. These videos are meant to make potential customers or partners want to be part of what you’re doing.

By showcasing your brand from the inside, you make your brand accessible and trustworthy. A focus on the people that make your business run humanizes your brand.

Culture videos can work as a Brand Commercial, especially if the video focuses on your brand values. They can also be used as a recruitment tool, attracting new employees to join your company. 

Use Cases for Culture videos:

  • Brand Marketing
  • PR/Corporate Communications
  • HR & Recruiting

Case Study/Customer Testimonial

Case Study videos and Customer Testimonials use your audience to sell for you. These videos validate your product and brand with real customers’ opinions.

Customer Testimonials establish a level of credibility with audiences you are trying to target while communicating your brand’s value. Your customer becomes both the storyteller and the story, so choosing figures from your target demos is key. With a relatable and believable “star,” a Customer Testimonial video can be incredibly successful at driving a prospect to convert. 

Use Cases for Case Study/Customer Testimonial videos:

  • Brand Marketing
  • Product Marketing
  • eCommerce
  • PR & Corporate Communications

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