If you’re tired of creating social media content that racks up likes but falls short when it comes to getting leads and making a real impact on the bottom line, then you’re in the right place.
Keep reading, and we'll demonstrate how you can avoid planning your own “marketing funeral” and instead:
- Create captivating video content that grabs your audience's attention on social media;
- And ensure that everything you produce aligns seamlessly with the marketing funnel, guiding your audience from awareness to decision.
Explore our webinar, 'Want results? Add video to your marketing funnel', featured below. It delves into the article's key points and guides you through the process of making case study videos.
Navigating the marketing funnel
Before we dive headfirst into video, let's revisit the user journey and how it aligns with the classic marketing funnel.
- Awareness awakens: At the pinnacle of the funnel lies the awareness stage. Here, the mission is simple - grab eyeballs and make a memorable first impression. Your content should shine in this space, dazzling your audience and creating that initial spark of curiosity around the problems your product/services solve.
Example: Chilipiper posted “3 steps to increase conversion on LinkedIn.” This is a great example of content that creates awareness because it helps people who might not know about Chilipiper by addressing a problem they face.
- The interest adventure: As potential customers delve deeper into the Interest and consideration stage, they're actively searching for answers. This is where the content starts painting vivid pictures of how your offerings can be the solution they seek.
Example: Take Hubspot as an example. They shared a case study called “How Lyte reduced customer churn to just 3% with Hubspot CRM.” This is a perfect illustration of content that piques interest because it demonstrates to potential Hubspot CRM users why they should choose it, using a real success story and builds trust.
- Decision day: Finally, at the base of the funnel, we have the decision stage. Here, the goal is to convert interest into action. Your content should focus on unveiling the magic behind your unique value proposition and persuading viewers to take the plunge.
Example: For instance, Mailchimp offers a great example of bottom-of-the-funnel content. They have a post that says, “Segment with advanced AI tools for up to 141% more revenue” along with a call to action for a free trial. This encourages potential customers to take the action that you want them to take.
Quick heads-up: None of these content examples are in video format, but the exciting part is they easily could be! And if they were, they might experience a remarkable 5x increase in engagement, as suggested by LinkedIn.
Drawbacks to not using the funnel for content planning
If you’re not using the funnel when planning your content and just blindly posting “fun content” that isn’t related to you or your offerings and doesn’t take into consideration your audience’s different needs depending on where they are in their journey, here are the risks:
- Information gap: Your content won’t be educating your audience, leaving them in the dark about what you offer.
- ROI blues: Countless hours and resources invested in social content might yield a disappointing return on investment.
- Wrong crowd: Instead of your ideal customers, you could be attracting a sea of mismatched prospects.
Video: The funnel’s best friend
Why is video content well-suited for every stage of the marketing funnel?
- Engagement: Video content captures attention and keeps viewers engaged longer than text or images—5x more on LinkedIn to be exact.
- Storytelling: It allows you to tell a compelling brand story and connect with your audience on a personal level. 91% of people want to see more videos from brands in 2023.
- Demonstration: Video can effectively showcase products or services in action. 96% of people watch videos to learn about products or services.
- Emotional impact: Videos can evoke emotions, which can influence buying decisions. 89% say that watching a video convinced them to buy something.
How to create videos for every stage of the funnel
Creating videos for every stage of the funnel doesn’t have to be complicated. Why? Because you already have the content you need. Here's how we repurpose our existing content to craft videos tailored to each stage of the funnel.
Quick note: Before we craft our content we always choose:
- Our audience (in this case it is social media marketers),
- And the goals for our content (it’s different for each stage of the funnel).
For more more content ideas, check out: How to fuel your content engine: Give your content a second life using video
Awareness stage
Goal: More reach on LinkedIn (tracking impressions)
For the awareness stage, we are going to use an article that we wrote titled, How to get more LinkedIn followers with video (we reached 10,000 by doing this). This article targets marketers on LinkedIn, offering them a high-level solution to grow their LinkedIn followers. This is where we introduce video as a solution for them.
Here are three ways we would break this article up and use it for the awareness stage of the funnel:
Interest and consideration stage
Goal: Traffic to our site (tracking clicks)
Now that our audience understands the potential of video in their social media strategy, they're eager to dive deeper into the "how" and "where." Which platforms are the best fit, and how do they get started? This is where we come in with insights straight from our webpages and the benefits of text-to-video AI.
Here are 3 videos we made just using our Storykit AI product page:
Decision stage
Goal: Conversions (tracking form fills)
For the decision stage, our target audience is quickly moving through the funnel and know that they want a video platform now, we just want to convince them that we are the best solution for them. We are going to do this by using a few case studies that show the results that our clients have had using our tool.
In the previous example above, we highlighted Hubspot's use of a case study as middle-of-the-funnel content. However, we want to illustrate how you can leverage the same content by approaching it from different angles for various stages of the funnel.
Here are 3 videos we made using our Canon and Listgrove case studies:
Further reading: ‘Use your case study to create leads’
These examples illustrate how you can transform your existing content into videos tailored to each stage of the funnel, making your brand more engaging and memorable. This approach increases the likelihood of converting your ideal audience. You can replicate this process for various pieces of content and different buyer personas, allowing you to experiment and identify what works best.
How to distribute your videos to drive better results
Now that you have your videos for each stage of the funnel, what do you do with them? Here is how you should think about distributing them on paid and organic social:
Organic posting: Regardless of the stage, every video should be posted organically across relevant social media channels multiple times. This ensures that you reach and engage with your audience at various points in their customer journey.
Paid campaigns: Paid campaigns can be effective at every stage of the funnel. Continuously expand your reach and connect with a broader audience. However, remember to align your campaign goals with the type of content you're promoting.
- Awareness stage: Focus on impressions to maximize visibility and brand recognition.
- Consideration Stage: Optimize for traffic to drive users to explore your offerings further.
- Decision Stage: Concentrate on conversion goals to encourage action.
Paid retargeting: Utilizing retargeting campaigns is particularly valuable for the bottom stage of the funnel. It helps you stay top of mind for those who are in the decision-making phase, ensuring your brand remains a strong contender as they make their final choice.
Remember that the key to successful distribution is not just the frequency but also the relevance of your content to each stage of the funnel. By choosing the right distribution strategies and platforms, you can effectively nurture your audience from awareness to conversion.
Want to learn how to set up your full funnel video ads strategy step by step? Check out this article: Maximize social media video ads: The full-funnel approach
Conclusion
By aligning your videos with each stage of the user journey, you'll not only captivate your audience but also nurture them into loyal, devoted customers. It's time to unleash the full potential of video and witness your business ascend to unprecedented heights of success. Get ready to dazzle, engage, and conquer!
