Video is one of the most popular avenues for digital marketing in 2021 and YouTube is a great place for marketers to get started. However, if you want to maximize your impact, you’ll need a solid sales funnel strategy.
A sales funnel is a guided journey your prospects take from the first contact with your brand to a completed purchase.
Here is a guide on how to create a YouTube sales funnel and optimize content for each stage, which will in turn help turn prospects into buyers.
1. Top of the funnel (TOFU): awareness and discovery
The first phase of your sales funnel is bringing awareness to your brand. Having a hand in how people discover your brand gives you the power to mould the narrative and introduce prospects to your product or service in a positive light.
This is the part of the funnel where you’ll reach the widest audience; therefore, your content shouldn’t be too long or promotional.
Pro tip: don’t forget SEO
Apart from the content, work on SEO to give your content the best chance at getting discovered.
Use appropriate keywords, optimize thumbnails, and include meta descriptions. Keep this advice in mind for YouTube videos at every stage of the funnel.
Related: 15 Simple Tips to Increase Your Video Views on YouTube
TOFU videos
TOFU content includes bite-sized, fun social shares and educational content.
At this stage your aim should be to help your audience realize what problem they are facing.
A great example of this is the way someone would end up in a sales funnel for a healthy meal kit delivery service.
People that don’t know that there are companies that deliver fresh ingredients and recipes to their clients’ doors are not going to look for a service like that. However, they may search for ways to incorporate healthier habits into their lives and this is where the company’s video explaining their service comes in.
Educational videos work well for this stage because they show how your product or service solves a problem people are experiencing. A great example is this viral video from the Dollar Shave Club.
2. Middle of the funnel (MOFU): researching solutions
Once your leads understand their problem and make contact with your brand’s messaging, they’ll want to see some videos that dive deeper into your product or service.
MOFU videos
For this stage, explainers and how-to videos would be ideal.
The reason?
Well, since you sparked your prospect’s interest, they will now want to know how to use your product/service, and what long-term benefits they will experience if they make a purchase.
Explainers are particularly useful if your product or service is complex.
Similarly, how-to videos also help demystify your product/service. They offer step-by-step guidance so there’s no room for confusion post-purchase.
If you’re not familiar with the results of these types of videos, here’s some psychology to back up the genre.
In general, how-to videos and explainers allow brands to showcase their personality and get close to their customers.
Here’s an example of a how-to video by Dyson:
In our experience, videos for this stage of your sales funnel should be kept short and to the point.
Consider our example of a healthy meal delivery kit again. At this stage, people may want to know which menus they can choose from; if the kits are sustainable; how to choose the right menu for them; and whether or not they’ll get a discount if they order for their entire family.
You can even compare your offerings to a competitor’s. There is no need to call them out; instead, you can highlight your USP and explain how your brand is the better option.
At this point, you can also guide your leads to a questionnaire or survey to qualify them appropriately. You can leave the link in your video’s description.
3. Bottom of the funnel (BOFU): making an educated purchase decision
The last stage of your sales funnel is where you can hit your sales qualified leads with long-form, in-depth videos that convert.
At this stage, people are well aware of their problems and the solutions that are available. They’re determined to go through with the purchase and may need a bit more convincing to pick you over other alternatives.
BOFU videos
To sway leads at this crucial stage of the funnel, offer social proof via testimonials and case studies.
This type of content can be very effective, in fact, a survey found that 62% of people feel that video testimonials/reviews help them in making a buying decision.
This testimonial video from Apple is a masterclass in effective storytelling:
To end up with a great testimonial video, you need to ask the right questions, here’s some inspiration.
Case study videos are also great for showcasing how you helped your previous clients/customers achieve their goals.
Focus on incorporating the right amount of storytelling and facts to make the video engaging and convincing.
Tips on how to optimize your funnel
Once you have a funnel strategy in place, remember to optimize it as you go. Here are some tips to get you started:
1. Extract insights from data
Use data to analyze your keywords, identify customer types, and build personas to improve targeting.
To obtain these insights, you can take advantage of Google Analytics and a CRM software.
2. Survey your customers
Learn about buyer motivations and emotions. Use these insights to tweak your strategy.
3. Use A/B testing
Test variations of your messages and CTAs to optimize your conversion rate.
4. Upsell, cross-sell or down-sell
Guide customers to other, more appropriate, products/services your company has to offer.
5. Create a loyalty program
Touch base with customers post purchase to gather feedback and offer incentives to keep them coming back for more.
Final thoughts
A recent report found that video is the number one medium for keeping brands top of mind. So, optimizing your sales funnel with the right type of content for each stage is a smart move.
A video-backed sales funnel will help you convert leads that are already there, interested in your product or service. Use the tips to optimize your funnel and tweak it as you go to make it even more effective.
If you need help with brainstorming video content ideas, feel free to hit us up.
Talk with a video strategist
This post was written by Petra Odak. She is the CMO at Better Proposals, a simple yet incredibly powerful proposal software tool that helps you send high-converting, web-based business proposals in minutes.
Petra is a solution-oriented marketing enthusiast with more than 5 years of experience in various fields of marketing and project management.