Through an intelligent combination of social media and email marketing, your target audience will be able to consume your video content. While it may take some experimentation, you will reach this point—so long as you don’t give up.

But having said this, it’s worth repeating that audience consumption, in all likelihood, isn’t your ultimate video marketing objective. Rather, you probably want to use video marketing to sell more of your product or service. Video marketing can certainly accomplish your goal. You just need to effectively leverage this tool as prospects move down your funnel.

Because this goal is so common, I wanted to dedicate a distinct chapter on how you can use video marketing to increase your conversion rates. By leveraging the effectiveness of video marketing at the bottom of your funnel, you can dramatically raise your channels of making that final sale.

(Carefully) Leverage Personalization

There are a variety of ways that prospects can enter your marketing funnel. Whether they download a free ebook, watch a webinar, or respond to a giveaway on your social media pages, these members of your audience are interested in your product or service. There was something you said or something that you gave away that spoke to these audience members. This is a promising start.

From here, however, you need to be even more aggressive in leaning into the power of video. One of the best ways to do this is to leverage personalization. Ideally, as we discussed in the last chapter, you should be trying to gather some information from every audience member before they click on your call to action. 

The bare minimum is an email address. This should be a mandatory field in the form above your call to action. Beyond that, though, you can include some optional fields. These optional fields can be things like the audience member’s first and last name. An optional field can even be their birthday. Keeping these fields optional presents the best of both worlds. For audience members who provide this information, you can add even more personalization to future correspondence. For those audience members who are more protective of their privacy, these additional fields—since they are optional—will not stop them from converting.

With the information that you have, you will want to add increasingly personalized content as your prospect moves down your funnel. If prospects are in the middle of your funnel, for instance, include the text “[Video]” in the subject line of an email. Use their first name in the text of the subject line and the salutation. When a prospect is at the bottom of your funnel and about to make a purchase, think about creating a quick, customized video just for them (I’ll get more into this below). Using Dubb, for example, you can also add a brief line of text at the top of your video, giving you an additional chance to add a personal touch to your video.

Personalization will increase the odds that you cross the finish line and make a sale, but you want to be cautious here. Sometimes there is too much personalization. While you may want to do some additional research that you can include in an email to a top 100 customer, for instance, it can take valuable time to conduct this research. Along with this, recipients can be turned off if it shows that you were doing extensive research into them and your company. There’s a fine line here, so you will have to use your best judgment.

Avoid Unforced Errors

Famed investor Charlie Munger has so many famous, witty quotes, but there is one in particular that is relevant for this discussion. Munger once said, “It is remarkable how much long-term advantage people like [Warren Buffett and Munger] have gotten by trying to be consistently not stupid, instead of trying to be intelligent.” 

We can adopt this same mentality when trying to convert prospects at the bottom of our funnels. By avoiding simple mistakes, we can dramatically increase our chances of converting that prospect. There are several types of mistakes that I’ve seen when clients attempt to convert warm prospects.

First, you can easily lose a warm prospect by bothering them. Yes, you want to stay in touch with prospects at the bottom of your funnel, but you don’t want to go overboard here. Your prospects are busy people and they have lives outside of work. Respect their time by strategically reaching out. They will thank you for it.

But on the flip side, you do not want to be unresponsive. It can’t take you a week to respond to a warm prospect’s questions or concerns about your product. Whether you are responding through a video email or something else, ensure that you are quickly responding to all of your prospects. Yes, we all get busy with our day-to-day responsibilities, but responsiveness is one factor—however small—that a prospect will consider before making a purchase.

Next, video marketers who stumble try to appeal to a wide audience—even as prospects move down their funnel. While it may feel inherently good that you are “keeping your options open” by targeting an extremely large audience, marketing to everyone means selling to no one. Don’t be afraid to tailor your message toward a specific group of customers as prospects move down your funnel. Losing prospects is a cost of doing business, but maintaining this narrow focus will increase your overall conversion rate.

You also don’t want to overpromise when interacting with your customers. This is especially critical for prospects near the bottom of your funnel. If you are sending personalized video content to a particular prospect, it is easy to overpromise to get that conversion. You may be tempted to say things like “Whatever you need, I am going to build it for you.” I urge you to resist the temptation. While you may win the prospect’s business in the short-term, the long-term damage will likely be significant. You will lose the trust of this particular customer. He or she will likely tell their friends or colleagues. Ultimately, your reputation will take a massive hit, and this will cost you much more than what you gained by making that initial sale. 

Finally, poor video marketers who fail to be concise will lose prospects throughout their funnel. We are all busy and stretched for time. The last thing that your prospects will want is a long-winded, unpolished video message. Get to the point and do your best to not waste your prospects’ time. They will undoubtedly thank you.

Even After Objections, Keep Providing Value

As your prospect is traveling down your funnel, you want to keep providing value. It isn’t all about “the sell.” Rather, it is about building a long-term relationship with your prospect. Even if you don’t immediately convert your prospect, the chase is not over. It may just be beginning.

Because of this, don’t immediately move on after a prospect offers an objection. Instead, recognize the prospect’s hesitation. In some instances, the prospect at the bottom of your funnel may simply need more time to think about a purchase. Your prospect may be in the process of comparing your product or service to your competitors. 

While your prospect continues contemplating the purchase, however, keep producing awesome video content. Keep showing the prospect how your product or service is going to help them solve their problems. A prospect at the bottom of your funnel is going to be more sophisticated than one at the top, so you want to ensure that your video content isn’t introductory or vague. Get into the specifics of your product or service and how it will make the prospect’s life easier. Invite your prospect to keep the communication channels open—whether it is through email, a video response, or a phone call. 

Yes, you can’t ignore making future “hard sells.” A conversion, in nearly every circumstance, isn’t going to magically happen. However, use these hard sells sparingly, and prioritize delivering high-value video content each time.

Converting Your Prospects

Seeing a prospect journey from the top of your funnel to the bottom is always exciting. It becomes more and more likely that a prospect will become a new (and hopefully recurring) customer. You need to be on your “A Game” to make the ultimate conversion.

Video can be one of your greatest tools in making that conversion happen. It adds that personalization element that is difficult to get with other marketing strategies. You can build a real relationship with your prospect, which will increase the chances that they make a purchase. 

However, it’s critical to use video marketing effectively here. Avoid the mistakes outlined above. Continue providing value—even if a strong prospect voices some objections. Perhaps a prospect truly needs time to think about making a purchase. Whatever the case may be, don’t hesitate to rely on video marketing when you are communicating with prospects at the bottom of your funnel.

If you are looking for an all-in-one video marketing solution, consider getting a free trial on Dubb.