how to use video to nurture leads through the marketing funnel

#WistiaFest / @ellieeille

How to Nurture Leads with Video

Ellie Mirman, VP Marketing, Toast


First, what do we mean by “lead nurturing”?


“Lead Nurturing” is all about identifying lost opportunities in the funnel.


“Lead Nurturing” is the process of building relationships with your audience over time –

instead of losing them right out of the gate.


What percentage of your contacts are moving from one step of the funnel to the next?


If lead nurturing is effective, you’ll see more customers and revenue from the same top of the funnel marketing efforts.


Therefore, measure the effectiveness of your lead nurturing by the lead-to-customer percentage.


Nurturing Requires:

Content & Distribution• Email text• Images• Ebook offers• Case study videos• Presentations

• Email

• Retargeting display

or cpc ads

• Phone calls

• Events


Nurturing Requires:

Content & Distribution

That’s a whole separate presentation.


Nurturing How-to Playbook

1. Start with your goal

2. Identify message and desired action

3. Create and launch

4. Measure and analyze


How to use video to nurture leads


Start with your goalTARGET MARKET

PROSPECT

LEAD

OPPORTUNITY

CUSTOMER

EVANGELIST


Start with your goal

• Where are you losing people?

• Why?

• What message will get them to the next stage?

• How will you communicate that message?

Goal

Message

Desired Action


Industry Expert Interviews• Example: Toast

• Goal: Attract prospects

• Message: Thought Leadership

• Desired Action: Visit/View, Subscribe


Educational Series

• Example: Shopify

• Goal: Attract leads

• Message: We are a resource for you

• Desired Action: View, request more info


Campaign Promotion

• Example: JetBlue

• Goal: Attract prospects

• Message: Buzz and PR coverage

• Desired Action: Book a flight, customer loyalty


Product Features

• Example: Toast

• Goal: Convert Leads

• Message: Superior product ease-of-use

• Desired Action: Get a demo, be a customer


Demo Confirmation

• Example: Toast

• Goal: Demo show rate

• Message: Build personal connection with sales rep

• Desired Action: Follow through on demo


Customer Case Studies

• Example: Toast

• Goal: Convert Leads

• Message: Customers like you are successful

• Desired Action: Get a demo, be a customer


Brand Values

• Example: Yoh

• Goal: Attract prospects or win customers

• Message: This is how our brand is different

• Desired Action: View, choose this firm


Recruiting Inside Peek

• Example: Acquia

• Goal: Attract and close new employees

• Message: Why it’s great to work here

• Desired Action: Apply, refer, accept offer


A Brief Detour to Talk About Distribution…


Distribution Channels

Email Marketing

Paid Media/Retargeting

Social Media

Website (Smart) Content

Offline Activities


How targeted can you go?

• What actions have they taken?

• What actions have they NOT taken?

• What demographics better qualify them?

• What do you not know about them that you wish you did?

NOTE: Targeting increases relevancy but does not make sense if you don’t have a significantly sized target segment.


When you measure a lead nurturing campaign,you’re measuring the effectiveness of the

Content & Distributioncombination


Ultimately, you want to measureemail open rates

ad click through ratessocial media impressions

number of video viewslead-to-customer conversion rate


Distribution Quick Tips• Use trigger-based email campaigns to automatically send

relevant nurture videos to segments of leads

• Test everything about your video ad creative – headlines, copy, video length, video subjects, video CTA

• Embed videos straight into social media to cut down out the extra step of the click to view

• Adapt website CTAs to segments of visitors to send them to relevant content

• Don’t underestimate the nurturing you can do 1:1 through your customer-facing teams


How to measure your lead nurturing videos


Two Simple Questions:

1. Did this increase my goal success rate?

2. Why or why not?


Example 1: Industry Expert Interviews

Did this increase my goal success rate?

Goal: Attract prospects through thought leadership content, resulting in more views and prospects

Results: Choose a quantitative metric (pageviews, CTA clicks, etc.) and compare against other or non-video content



Why or why not?

• Small sample size (3 video posts out of 30 total) – will need to keep producing to see more consistent trend

• Top posts had a lot of social media traffic - sometimes LinkedIn, sometimes Facebook

• Could be tied to recognizable name, extra promotion by the expert, and/or tailored content


Example 2: Customer Case Studies

Did this increase my goal success rate?

Goal: Convert more leads and opportunities into customers by showcasing successful customers like them

Results: Choose a quantitative metric (conversion rate to customer) and compare to similar groups of leads



Why or why not?

• Viewing a case study video shows you’re more engaged –could be selection bias, try comparing to other active leads who didn’t view case studies

• Viewing a case study validates customer success – try comparing to leads who read written case studies but didn’t view videos to determine if video is a more effective medium


Where can video help YOUR lead funnel?


Step 1: Identify Opportunities

• Start with your goal: customers, partners, candidates

• Outline the steps, e.g.:

• Visit – Lead – Opportunity – Customer

• Inquiry – Evaluation – Negotiation – Partnership

• Visit – Application – Interview – Hire

• Measure each stat over time and analyze


It doesn’t have to be pretty…

It just needs to keep a pulse

on and identify areas

to improve


Step 2: Brainstorm Solutions

Challenge Solutions

Low website conversion rate • A/B test landing pages – content, form, layout/design

• New offers• A/B test CTAs or change location or

replace CTAs with embedded forms

Website traffic not growing • Create unique, PR-worthy content• Newsjacking content• Test new referral sources

Opportunities not closing • Identify sales training gaps• Create content around top objections• Create nurture streams for old opps

Etc. • …


Step 2: Brainstorm Solutions

Identify what’s lacking & brainstorm ways to fill the gaps

Talk to Sales Talk to Customers Analyze Success


Step 3: Create and Launch


Step 4: Measure & Analyze

• Bring it back to the GOAL, METRIC, and ACTION

• Two simple questions:

1. Did this increase my goal success rate?

2. Why or why not?


Takeaways

1. Start with the goal. See where the leaks are in your funnel and develop a plan to improve those areas.

2. Consider the content and the distribution method. Determine the messaging and desired action, and remember that there are many channels to nurture leads: email, paid, social, website, offline.

3. Measure the lead-to-customer conversion rate. That’s ultimately what you’re aiming to affect.


Thank You

elliemirman.com/wistiafest

how to use video to nurture leads through the marketing funnel

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