The Power of Video Marketing in the Customer Journey

Connecting with customers can be done in so many different ways. Undoubtedly the most effective is through video. It’s ranked as the most powerful tool for brand awareness. So it’s no wonder most successful brands have embraced The Power Of Video Marketing in their Customer Journey.

Consumer buyer behaviour has changed so much in the last decade especially with the evolution of digital. Most customers expect brands that they follow to have some sort of video content. Others rely on video to validate their decisions to make a purchase. So at that point it shows how important video content is at the acquisition stage of the customer journey. 

Video content drives so much engagement due to its entertainment factor. Whether humorous or factual, video keeps a viewers attention and focused on the subject matter. This allows brands to tell their story, immersing viewers in their brand identity and culture. 

Implementing different video types along key touch points in the customer journey delivers powerful brand storytelling. Where the consumer is in the customer journey when you target them is key when deciding what type of video content is best to be broadcast. 

Successful video marketing strategies involve a process of matching each stage of the customer journey to an appropriate video content piece. A best practice is to firstly identify the types of video marketing you plan to produce and then map them into your own customer journey. 

“52% of consumers say that watching product videos makes them more confident in online purchase decisions”

(Invodo 2018)

Where does the Customer Journey and Video Marketing collide?

Firstly its best to define the customer journey. 

There are four main stages:

The First stage in the customer journey is the Awareness stage where a prospecting buyer becomes aware of your brand. This can happen through a short Social Media Story or Customer Testimonial Video on a search result. 

The Second stage is the Consideration stage where the prospecting buyer has reviewed the benefits of a product or service and wants to find out more. Webinars are really useful at this stage of the customer journey. They don’t ask prospecting buyers to make a purchase and commit but provide very useful product information and facilitate two-way communication allowing for more customer nurturing. 

The Third stage is Acquisition, the conversion point where the purchase is made, at this point your video marketing strategy has reached its peak. Through a video lens the customer experience can sometimes become an infinite cycle. Loyal customers can be prompted to offer their own Testimonials after purchasing and experiencing a product or service. Explainer Videos are also very useful as they provide that high level of after sales service helping any bewildered customers with vital support. 

The Fourth and final Stage is Brand Advocacy, sometimes not considered as important as it should be. However, creating a community of advocates can seriously reduce your advertising costs. So its worth leveraging a Vlog channel like YouTube not only for search result visibility but also to build a community of followers for your brand. Think about producing Thought Leadership video content in your area of expertise. 

“72% of businesses say video has improved their conversion rate”

(Wyzowl 2016) 

• Connect with your Customers: Go Live and connect in real-time with your audience. Live streaming video content has been proven to drive more engagement and keep viewers on longer than  any other video type
• Search Engines Love Video: Video is ‘search result’ friendly. AI has the ability now to read audio through voice recognition and match keywords, making your video topic rank high for specific searches. Amongst other features Google has also updated it’s search results with embedded video snippets that autoplay after each other. Having a string of video content with brand keyword related topics will provide you with a strong organic search result
• Drives Email Marketing Engagement: Leveraging Video in your email marketing campaigns can have substantial benefits in terms of click through rates. Using specific keywords related to ‘Video’ content greatly improves your email marketing engagement
• Build Trust and Credibility: Driving credibility in your brand will involve a strategy that leverages a number of elements in your communication mix. Video content is a powerful tool in conveying your brand, your company ethos and culture. Storytelling is one of the most compelling ways in capturing an audience and driving brand advocacy
• Free Shares = Free Advertising: The initial cost of video production can easily be recouped. Most people are twelve times more likely to share a video than other types of content, resulting in your brand video content having a great opportunity to get large scale exposure through social shares

The ‘Social First’ Approach 

A relatively new term in digital “social first’ refers to maximising your social media reach through video marketing. Nowadays consumers are too often swamped by technology and advertising, they demand more engaging and intuitive experiences. As social media can be the first touchpoint in the customer journey, investment in social video marketing has become a key strategy for most brand leaders. Short, snappy, social media stories provide proof, authenticity and most of all attention. For most brands social media is now the number one traffic channel, followed by paid and organic search. 

“64% of customers are more likely to buy a product online after watching a video about it.” 

(Forbes, 2017)

Key Takeaways

• Define & Map your Customer Journey 
• Decide which video content best suits your brand and specific stages of your customer journey
• Engage with a ‘Social First’ strategy for video content development 
• Use video content across all your digital marketing strategy touch-points
• Identify key Influencers in your industry sector and consider approaching them for a partnership

We have worked with many successful Irish and International brands in developing their identity and ethos through brand storytelling. Please reach out and contact us if you are ready to rejuvenate your brand or indeed wish to develop a new one.