The modern marketer has a lot to think about. Brand, channels, journeys, formats, testing, content types, personas… it’s enough to make your head swim. When something helps cut through everything in a clear way, it can only be a good thing.
As a content format, video can be used to help at every stage of the marketing process. From awareness right through to retention, bringing value to your marketing efforts.
We’ve talked before about why videos in general are so effective as a content type, and explainer videos in particular can deliver on your marketing goals. They’re flexible, easy to track, and our brains are hardwired to love them (which translates as engagement).
All this means the chances are you’re already using videos in some form. In 2021, around 9 out of 10 UK businesses call it “a vital aspect of their marketing strategy”.
But are you using it to support sales? More specifically, how can you leverage the cheerful format of the explainer video to bring you more orders?
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Video in context, the marketing funnel
All businesses have a marketing funnel. For some, it’s just “in the back of their head”, for others it’s the central backbone to their marketing efforts. What they all have in common is the question of how you move customers from being aware of your product to actually buying it.
The marketing funnel as it’s normally understood has the three phases of awareness, consideration, and action, with retention bringing up the rear. The exact details of the funnel and how it’s arranged will be pretty much unique to your own business. You’ll have to tailor it to suit your own situation.
To meet the aim of moving customers through the funnel, each stage must address particular states of mind and ways of thinking.
So awareness content will look to show a customer who it is for, how is it different? Why should they care?
Awareness will begin to foster a sense of real engagement. What problems does the product solve? Develop empathy for their situation and needs.
Action will see them, hopefully, buying your product. Overcome their last objections, offer them something a little extra to push the sale over the line.
Where do explainers fit into that? Everywhere!
Meeting customer needs with explainer videos
Explainer videos explain stuff. It’s really that simple. The complexity comes from how you craft the message, set the creativity alight, activate your video content, and track the results.
At every stage of the marketing funnel, you have the opportunity to make the final sale easier (and more genuine) with explainer videos.
As your prospective customers become aware of your product, you can show what your product is all about and who it has been designed for.
As they consider your, and others’, products you can show why your product will suit them better and how you’ve understood their problems.
As they become ready to buy, you can assuage last-minute fears and support their buying experience. The Call to Action can be a real difference-maker here.
You can do all this with explainers? Yes, you can. Of course, that won’t be the only content you use and you may need multiple explainers to use throughout the touch points in your customer journey, but explainer videos will have an important part to play in that journey.
An explainer video will bring its lighthearted, captivating, and helpful nature to bear on the viewer at every stage. It’s why they are so effective in video marketing.
Actions to take to improve sales with explainer videos
The first key to effective sales improvements using explainer videos is tying down your objectives. Your objective will set the heading you aim for, so it’s important to nail this early on. These will be substantially different for each stage of the funnel. An explainer video that seeks to show why your shampoo is great for people with dry hair is far removed from a video that seeks to empathise with people who have to wash their hair frequently. Try not to aim for one explainer that “does it all”, it’s really hard to pull off. Better to aim for one super-clear message.
Your audience will also change as you move down the funnel. Figure out who you’re talking to, and how and when they will watch your video. Likewise how you activate your video will depend on what stage they are at.
Carefully consider your call to action (CTA) — a video’s value is seriously diminished without one. Once again your CTA will be specific to the aims of the video, but this is your chance to gain some serious return on your investment. The best bit? You’ll be able to see who watched the video and who followed the call to action. That’s some seriously powerful marketing data.
The payoff with this per-video planning is that you get to provide specific answers, overcome specific objections, and reach specific audiences. You can test what works in specific circumstances.
So, as your sales team takes over the lead and gets that inbound (or outbound) conversation going, they’ll be talking to a customer who’s informed, engaged, has fewer objections, and is ready to commit.
Get ready for a seriously happy sales team, all thanks to explainer videos.
Are you looking for an explainer video to boost your sales?
Hurricane can help you with your explainer videos. From concept to the final video (and beyond), you’ll be glad we’re on your team.