Using videos to optimize engagement in search-driven buyer journeys

The system of acquiring a customer begins with your initially speak to. There are various phases a customer goes via ahead of starting to be a consumer and then a loyal customer. A customer journey commences with identifying or expressing a need to have. This need to have then has to be fulfilled in some way or the other. 

With around 8 billion queries per 12 months, actual purchaser journeys are intricate and may well consider weeks or months. Having said that, to simplify things, in this article is a snapshot of the critical stages a particular person goes via to come to be your buyer. Considering that just about 68 % of on the internet encounters start off with a look for motor all these levels can quite very well come about in Google alone:

• Recognition: when a purchaser finds out that you have a remedy to a problem, they wish to be solved. In a lot of (but not all) scenarios, this hunting journey starts off with a “how to” question. 
• Thing to consider: when a consumer provides you to the record of future alternative suppliers
• Selection: when a buyer believes you have the ideal solution and turns into a paying out consumer.

Companies have to have to aid buyers make the ideal final decision by giving details, assistance and instilling have faith in in your model as a result of the approach.

With online video information showing up all more than research results, it tends to make feeling to use movies for all these a few levels in the consumer’s journey. The finest issue about videos is that they rank extremely nicely, specially if you host them on YouTube and observe video clip optimization.

The two distinctive sections the place video clip can support your opportunity prospects at each stage of a purchasing journey are:

• Highlighted snippets: When Google consists of a online video in a featured snippet, that is a strong sign that persons are browsing for a online video tutorial to address their issue. If that’s your goal search query, making a video is a must, in particular when optimizing for the “awareness” phase in the funnel.
• Video clip carousels: Google involves video clip carousels when a video intent is implied. It is not at all hard to rank your movie there, particularly when it will come to certain (small-lookup-quantity) queries, like model-driven queries.

Here’s an case in point of each of these sections ranking on the incredibly top of the search end result site, pushing natural final results way beneath the above-the-fold portion of the display. Observe a quite-well branded movie by Lowes remaining showcased for a incredibly suitable – albeit longtail – query. I bet this generates pretty a number of sales opportunities for them. There’s also a different model – The Dwelling Depot – position its movie in the carousel underneath. Appears to be like like, both of these brand names are undertaking their homework well:

There are several distinctive sorts of video clip material that can be employed at each certain stage.  These movies assist to persuade the purchaser to go on their journey with you somewhat than with your competitor.

Awareness

As the name suggests, this video optimization technique guarantees that your focus on buyers grow to be informed of your brand.

The kinds of movie marketing content that function very best at this stage of the funnel include things like:

Make positive your films are nicely-branded to make recognizability: Use your symbol and coloration palette on your video clip thumbnail, as it is heading to exhibit up in search results.

At the time the recognition has been made, it is time to consolidate all that energy and transition your client to the following phase of thing to consider.

Thing to consider

You can increase your shopper expertise at this phase as a result of films that place your item in a way you want it to be positioned. A fantastic motive to use films at this phase is that they set your products in a true-lifetime context, that is, they display accurately how other people are applying your item.

The most helpful videos for this phase are:

• Explainer films to introduce your client to the products and explain what you provide in element. The explainer films current the issue, focus on how your corporation can prove the resolution and spotlight the capabilities of the products and its advantages to the client. Imagine of these video clips as lead magnets: You want them to present worth, not just chat about your item. 
• Solution demo video clips to describe how a solution or provider functions in depth. They highlight all the strengths of using the merchandise in an straightforward to comprehend structure. They frequently use stage by move guidelines to demonstrate how to use the product or service and may possibly consist of some ground breaking tips about where to use it. A excellent script and excellent presentation make it a standout merchandise demo video clips of all time. It is a good concept to generate an on-website video clip gallery on your internet site to share these demos with your site visitors. Videos do gradual down your pages, so mind your webpage load time when using embedded content.
• Storytelling films to present a lighter facet of your business, humanize it to make it join with the shopper. These films tell a story about your enterprise, its hopes, aspirations, and values. Normally, corporation personnel and executives communicate about the corporation, their experiences with it and their work. They are made to generate an emotive reaction that will strengthen the consumers’ partnership with your business.

As all of these movies are meant to be position in Google, make sure to match them to the real research queries that have better professional intent.

Decision

The third phase of the consumer’s journey is convincing the intrigued consumer that your solution or services gives the very best answer to their issue. 

This is the phase wherever the purchaser is now dedicated to acquire and needs a mild nudge in the proper route. This is the time when you have to have to emphasize on have confidence in-creating so the shopper trusts your brand and purchases your product. The most helpful videos at this phase are peer testimonials and evaluations.

• Video testimonies: These are the most effective forms of videos for have faith in and self-assurance-building in your probable shoppers and a will have to for the last stage of shopper acquisition which is direct conversion. 
• Shopper-pushed storytelling videos demonstrating how your consumers use the item in a more artistic context.

Your focus on lookup queries for these forms of movies contain:

• Your product and your manufacturer name: If you have an set up brand name (or if you are functioning toward that), your manufacturer identify is staying searched in Google, and these movies will make sure you will have yet yet another asset you command in manufacturer-pushed SERPs. If you are doing a good position monitoring your manufacturer in natural search, you by now know your important brand-driven search queries.
• Competitor-driven research queries: These are look for queries checking out your competitors’ choices and comparing two opponents.

These films should also be reused in two significant methods:

• Embed them on your critical landing internet pages: Video clip content material is a perfectly-recognized way to increase conversions but in this situation it is a superior way to enable your customers experience at home as they will see the very same video on the webpage immediately after clicking the link on YouTube. It is also a fantastic concept to curate these movies on your devoted buyer testimonials webpage.
• Use these movies for your remarketing campaigns. You can use retargeting on YouTube to serve them to people who already went via phase #2 in the shopping for journey but have not transformed yet.

Summary

Using video clips in your natural lookup approach to have interaction shoppers at each and every key phase of their getting journey is a single of the most effective illustrations of how Website positioning and profits can assist each individual other. Include things like movies in each Web optimization and CRO strategies and you will most likely see much greater results on both fronts.

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Ann Smarty is the Founder of Viral Content Bee, Brand and Neighborhood supervisor at Online Marketing and advertising Ninjas. She can be identified on Twitter @seosmarty.

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