By 2019, it’s expected that video will be responsible for 80% of all global internet traffic. These stats explore how to make the most of video through each purchase stage. 

From a sales and marketing perspective, including video within your content strategies is increasingly important. As an easily digestible, quickly accessible content format, video is a great way to grab attention, share complex insight, and create a memorable experience with your brand. For that reason, video should be used to support sales and marketing efforts through all funnel stages.

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But if you’re yet to include video in your content strategies, the following stats (from HubSpot, Bufferapp, and Wyzowl) help to show the value of video through every purchase stage.

Value of Video At Each Stage of the Buyer’s Journey

The Buyer's Journey is the staged purchase progression of a prospect, from Awareness of a challenge, to Consideration of solutions, to a final Decision. Developing video content to address buyer’s challenges through each of these stages can help build stronger relationships and trust with prospects, which in turn can shorten sales cycles and lead to greater ROI.

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Using Video At The Awareness Stage

1. Video included in an email leads to 200-300% increase in click through rate.
2. Including video on a landing page can increase conversion by 80%.
3. Combining video with full page ads boosts engagement by 22%.
4. 76% of businesses said that video has helped them increase traffic to their website.
5. 65% of executives will visit a marketer’s website after viewing a video.

Remember, at this stage, prospects are aware that they have a challenge but they are not yet sure how to resolve it.

Typical Awareness Video Formats: Educational videos, How-to and FAQ videos work well here, as do vlogs (regular video blogs. For example you might create a weekly vlog exploring key topics, explained by a brand thought leader). Adding these types of video to your blog content, landing pages, emails and in your social media messaging is a good way to build initial awareness relationships.

Using Video At The Consideration Stage

1. 91% of consumers have watched an explainer video to learn about a product or service.
2. 97% of businesses said that their explainer video has helped viewers increase understanding of their product or service.
3. 79% of consumers would rather watch a video to learn about a product, than read text on a page.
4. 62% of businesses have an ‘explainer’ style video.
5. 39% of executives have called a vendor after viewing a video.

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At this stage, buyers have identified their problem and are searching for more middle of the funnel information on possible solutions.

Typical Consideration Video Formats: Creating more in-depth videos, such as webinars and video case studies can showcase how possible solutions may look for your prospect, and help to align your services as a trusted option.

Using Video At The Decision Stage

1. 90% of users say that product videos are helpful in the decision process.
2. 84% of consumers have been convinced to make a purchase after watching a brand's video.
3. Enjoyment of video ads increases purchase intent by 97%.

At this stage, buyers know the solution or approach they need and are looking for data and endorsements to make an informed decision.

Typical Decision Video Formats: This stage is your opportunity to eliminate any doubts; video testimonials and case studies, product walkthroughs, webinars, training videos, personalised strategy explanations and more can be used to provide that final decision information.

Using Video To Enhance Return On Investment

Video content is a powerful tool for engaging prospects. When used in conjunction with other content, nurture and social selling activity, it builds trust, boosts conversion rates, and drives sales. Hubspot, Bufferapp, and Wyzowl found that:

1. 96% of B2B organisations use video in some capacity in their marketing campaigns.
2. 73% of B2B organisations using video report positive results to their ROI.
3. 82% of businesses plan to spend more on video throughout 2017.
4. 99% of businesses plan to continue using video through 2017.
5. 59% of executives would rather watch video than read text.
6. 43% of people want to see more video content from marketers in the future.
7. Companies using videos in their marketing grow revenue 49% faster year-on-year than those that don’t (Aberdeen Group, 2015).

In all the above examples, video has demonstrated its value in prospect engagement.  From inbound to account-based marketing, video is a valuable way to engage, nurture and build long-term, personalised customer relationships. Make the most of video to foster the engagement you want.