Video Sales Funnels: How to Generate Leads Using Video

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Funnels. Love or hate them, they are essential for growth. And while every funnel is specific to a business and its audience, there’s something all marketing funnels have in common. They are designed to generate leads and sales. In this blog post, I’ll focus on how video sales funnels can help you attract more leads to your business.

What is a video sales funnel?

A sales funnel is an automated selling system. Think of it as a 24/7 salesperson. It’s the perfect tool to help you generate leads and sales online. Sales funnels also make it easier to track every aspect of your video sales funnel. 

Because videos are digital, with the help of analytics software you can gauge how well each video you produce performs, and make the necessary tweaks to improve the effectiveness of your overall funnel.

Why do video sales funnels work?

Video sales funnels are designed to attract and convert buyers into leads and paying customers. They deliver value at the right time as your buyers move along the buyer’s journey. 

Does video really matter?

Good question. Here’s how powerful video is today. 

1. Over 2 billion people access YouTube 

YouTube is the perfect ecosystem for your video sales funnel. It’s the second-largest search engine in the world and has 2 billion monthly active users searching for content in almost every niche under the sun. There’s a good chance your buyers are on YouTube. 

2. People use videos for answers

Google research shows that YouTube viewers use the platform for help with problems they experience with their work, studies, and hobbies. Have a solution to sell? Make a series of YouTube videos for your captive audience that’s looking for answers to problems you can help them solve.

3. Google is prioritizing video in search results

Google has begun showing video results for more than 20% of all search queries. This means optimized videos can make it onto page one of Google, a feat that can empower SEO initiatives, driving traffic and lead generation.

Video Carousel search results on page one of Google – a chart showing growth in results.
Source: RankRanger

4. Social media video consumption is exploding

People love consuming videos on social media. Facebook alone gets over 10 billion video views per day, while Twitter receives 2 billion views. If you’re looking for your audience, these platforms could hold the key to greater exposure for your brand.

5. Video influences product purchases

Ecommerce can be a tough market, but video has made it easier. According to research by Brightcove, 85% of millennials buy products or services after watching a video.

6. Ad spend is growing

In 2019, video marketing spend rose to 84%. If you’ve wondered when to jump on video, this may be a good enough time. With ad spend increasing, your competition is likely capitalizing on greater reach with targeted video marketing campaigns.

A bar chart showing change in marketing budgets devoted to online video according to marketing professionals worldwide as of August 2019.

How sales funnels work

Video sales funnels are easy to understand. With the goal of generating leads in mind, here’s a breakdown of how a basic video sales funnel works: 

  1. People find your brand and content (via search, organically on social media or via paid ads)
  1. Your audience watches your videos and begins their journey down your funnel. This typically includes watching a few videos filled with content that helps them better understand the problem they have and how your solution can help.
  1. Armed with more knowledge, your viewer becomes more interested in how to solve their problems and the details of how your solution helps. This step usually includes visiting a landing page to gather more information and becoming a lead. 
  1. Depending on how your campaign is designed, retargeting landing page visitors with remarketing ads can be used to drive conversions. 

Editor’s note: Normally, you’d need to connect the dots yourself. But with tools like GetResponse Conversion Funnel, you can create effective video funnels using ready-made templates.

GetResponse Conversion Funnel.
GetResponse Conversion Funnel

Generating leads with video sales funnels

Like the marketing funnel, the video sales funnel is also made of top, middle and bottom sections. These work together to take buyers from problem-unaware to product-ready states. At each stage of the sales funnel, care must be taken to deliver the right content for the best possible outcome. 

To give you the best chance at producing impactful videos for your sales funnel, here are five powerful tips: 

1. Identify your top-of-funnel traffic source

Building a funnel means finding a place to establish your brand and position your video content. For example, YouTube offers a tremendous amount of opportunity. Given the size of its user base, it’s the perfect ecosystem to leverage as your source for top-of-funnel (ToFu) engagement. 

Your ToFu content should be designed to attract viewers to your brand and make them want to learn more about it. And as Google is also prioritizing YouTube videos in search, the more optimized your top-of-funnel videos, the better. You’ll be able to get more traffic to your video content, traffic that can be funneled to a landing page to collect leads.

An image showing Google search results for youtube seo.

2. Fill-out your funnel

Funnels only work if they are built to support the buyer’s journey. For instance, if you find that you can’t seem to generate more leads, examine your funnel. You may not have enough ToFu content to attract a wider audience to build a community that can later be converted.

Begin by filling your funnel with relevant videos. Do this by creating a clear video content structure that supports the attraction of new viewers and their education. Use a 60/40 (ToFu/MoFu) split and ensure that each video includes the following:  

A strong call to action

Calls to action are quintessential components of all effective marketing content. In videos, they guide viewers to the next step in their journey. 

For example, towards the end of videos, leave the audience with two action items. The first – an option to click on a link to generate more traffic for your site. The second – a request to like, share or comment on the video if they found it helpful.

Links to support content (and landing pages)

On their own, videos are capable of communicating strong messages but do require a little help to drive conversions. To get people from your video and onto your leads list, be sure to include all the necessary URLs and/or supporting content your audience needs. 

Branded intros and outros

Brand building is never done. And when it comes to video, give yourself the best chance at developing a lasting impression with the use of branding in your intros and outros. 

Both segments, while short, are moments where you get to position your logo and show off your brand and other video content. As more people come across your videos, they’ll begin to develop a degree of brand affinity that can influence the way they react to future videos and offers.

Nick Nimmin is a YouTuber who shares tips on how to generate more views and grow a YouTube channel. His intro lasts only four seconds but makes an impact. In that short time, you see his name and website URL clearly.

A screenshot of a Youtube video's intro.

Nick’s outro is designed to get more people to watch more of his videos. He artfully places relevant videos as his video ends, giving viewers the option to dive deeper into his channel

A screenshot of a youtube video showing an outro with related videos.

3. Be conversion-focused

Businesses cannot scale without leads and sales. And today, to generate both, you need to focus on moving viewers to your landing page to convert them. You can achieve both by offering videos in exchange for an email address or contact details. 

Have an on-demand demo, webinar, or online video-based course? Gate them with forms and use them to generate leads. 

Here’s an example of how Optimizely uses a quick 4-minute demo as an opportunity to generate hot leads. Note how they position tons of value on the right of the form in exchange for an email address.

Learn how Ravenol, a producer of high-quality lubricants for the automotive industry, uses webinars to attract 1200 in just 3 weeks.

4. Use ads to supercharge your funnel

Being online is as much about reach as it is about conversions. But unless you’re able to reach your audience, you can’t convert them. Paid video ads help target and reach more of your ideal customers. 

To boost your lead generation capabilities, dedicate budget to advertising MoFu videos on YouTube, Facebook, and other social media platforms to bring in more viewers. Each platform offers audience insight tools designed to help you identify buyers. Use these tools to target buyers by demography and interest. 

But don’t stop there. Once you’ve received the traction you need, consider remarketing ads to retarget viewers that haven’t become leads just yet. You can retarget buyers on various platforms, from social media to search networks, making it possible to serve your buyers with timely ads that move them further down the funnel.

Viddyoze is a video automation software. Using YouTube, they’ve created a catchy retargeting video campaign for people who’ve visited their website. Their video quickly gets to work explaining that your personal and business videos don’t have to look old and boring – enough to stop you from clicking the skip ad button.

A screenshot of a YouTube ad

Read more: How to create Facebook ads inside GetResponse

5. Create more optimized videos 

Video is getting all of the right attention in search engines. Google’s serving up more video results for various terms. Take this example of a search for the term “what is cloud computing?”. Results show content that speaks directly to the search query. 

A screenshot of Google search results including a video carousel with videos directly answering the search query.

Capitalize on this wave by optimizing your videos with the right keywords, titles, descriptions, tags, timestamps, and more to help them rank in Google. 

But do so sparingly. Littering your titles and descriptions with keywords can look spammy to YouTube and Google, resulting in poor rankings and unsatisfactory results. 

Wrapping up

Video sales funnels are powerful, trackable sales tools that video content creators can use to generate leads. Whether you pre-record videos to capture leads or plan to monetize your live videos, for your funnel to be effective, you’ll need to plan and create an ecosystem where buyers can easily spot the value on offer and take action. Be strategic and make your videos as impactful as possible.


Amir Shahzeidi
Amir Shahzeidi
Amir is the digital marketing manager at Uscreen, an all-in-one video monetization and OTT platform provider that empowers video entrepreneurs and creators to monetize their content and build thriving businesses around their videos.
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