How to Use Video Through Every Step of the Local Marketing Funnel

There’s no dismissing the importance of SEO. It’s absolutely necessary to get found online and to source as many relevant views to your content as possible.

But trying to rank for poor quality or misaligned content just won’t work. Not even the best SEO can save content that people don’t find valuable. 

And value matters today. Consumers want to solve problems, so that’s the kind of content Google is going to surface. Plus, it’s generally believed that search engines favor engagement and use it as an indicator of the quality of content. Things like time-on-page can indicate to Google whether it’s doing its job right — serving up relevant content to the right people.

When it comes to ranking videos in Google, however, you’ve got to look beyond technical SEO. You must think of the larger objective: engaging more buyers with content that solves problems. 

After all, if your content isn’t educating and converting, no amount of SEO will solve that problem. 

Take DIY pest control company, Solutions Pest & Lawn. They created a YouTube video that ranks on the first page of Google for the term “How to get rid of roaches New Orleans”.

Their video shows viewers four ways to deal with roaches. It’s a perfect example of how to give your audience exactly what they want. The video has generated just over 29 thousand views since it was published. 

So, how do you bridge the gap and create the kind of video content that ranks well in search engine results and gives buyers what they want?

In this article, I’ll cover both these areas. We’ll explore video marketing funnels and why every local business should have one. I’ll also share a five-step framework for producing effective videos and five tips to optimize and give you the best chance of ranking high on YouTube and in Google’s carousel search results.

Why your brand needs a YouTube marketing funnel

All marketers are familiar with the marketing funnel and how it supports specific objectives at each stage. 

Source: Britannia Press

A YouTube marketing funnel works the same way. It’s a funnel designed to attract, educate, and later, convert viewers into paying customers. Along with other content you produce, your video marketing funnel supports your buyer’s journey.

Video funnels are vital, especially today, because people are watching more videos than ever before and brands are spending more money on video to keep up with an increasingly competitive landscape.

Ideas are everywhere

Creating videos for your funnel may seem like a slog, but it shouldn’t be. While there are many ways to source content ideas, one of the easiest is to repurpose already popular blog post content. 

This works for two reasons: Firstly, your audience is filled with people who want to solve problems. If your blog post has generated a lot of traffic and engagement, you have a winning idea. 

Secondly, your winning idea has been validated. If people are searching for it, a video has a high probability of being successful, as research shows 80% of people would rather watch a video than read a blog post.

To get started with repurposing, simply sort your blog content based on the number of views they’ve received. The most popular blog posts should be considered for repurposing. 

If your blog posts are on the long side, why not consider segmenting ideas and using them in separate videos within your funnel?

Create videos for each stage

The videos you produce need to satisfy buyer needs at each stage. This means producing content for the top, middle, and bottom of your funnel. 

Here’s what each stage should accomplish: 

Top-of-funnel content: Diagnose a problem 

At the top of the funnel, your viewers may be aware of a problem they face, but they might not completely understand it. To guide them along, create videos that educate them on the nature of the problem they face, which factors influence the development of the problem, and how to best diagnose their problem.

Pisgah Pest Control educates local residents in their video. They share why and how pests became a problem in the area. 

Middle-of-funnel: Show how your business solves a problem

So you’ve helped viewers diagnose and better understand the problem they face; now it’s time to position your business as a solutions provider. Create videos that demonstrate your product or service in action. 

If you’re a Californian interested in maintaining your garden throughout the driest periods of the year, you may have considered which types of plants to grow. Garden center McShane’s Nursery created a video to help its target audience. The video provides a walkthrough of the center’s plant selection along with advice on why each plant would make a perfect addition to a drought-tolerant garden. 

Bottom-of-funnel: Share proof to persuade

Having attracted and educated your viewers, it’s time to give them a reason to commit financially. Videos at the bottom of your funnel should be designed to show how your business has delivered on its promises. 

Painter/decorator company Matthews’ Painting shows they delivered excellent service in a short video testimonial. While they didn’t necessarily create a perfect YouTube Video, anyone in search of a trustworthy painting company is likely to watch this video and appreciate its humble and transparent nature.

How to create powerful videos

Now that you know how to find ideas for videos and what kinds of videos to create, here’s a five-step framework for creating them effectively.. 

Hook your audience

It’s important to grab your audience’s attention immediately. In fact, YouTube recommends that you hook your audience within the first 15 seconds or you’ll lose them.

But how can you engage your audience that quickly?

Lead with a strong statement or question that gets them thinking. 

In McShane’s Nursery’s video above, Shaun McShane challenges a misconception. He tells viewers that it’s possible to create a beautiful garden with drought-tolerant plants and save water. 

Identify a problem

Viewers seek out content that satisfies a specific need. Whether entertainment or education, that need is typically associated with a problem. Identifying your buyer’s problem is an important step in delivering a powerful message in your video. It helps stir an emotion. And as all savvy marketers know, people often make purchasing decisions to relieve a pain in their life.

Agitate the problem

Identifying a problem, while important, isn’t enough to influence buyers. You need to agitate it. You need to create context through examples and share why a certain problem must be solved along with the consequences of not addressing the issue. 

In their pest control video above, Pisgah Pest Control uses a doodle to illustrate why pests find their way into a home and what kinds of pests you could end up dealing with if you don’t take action.

Provide a solution

Introducing your solution is the easiest part, but don’t gloss over how it applies. Take the time to close any open loops by answering questions you may have introduced earlier. Also, be clear about how your solution provides benefits to the buyer.

Close with a call to action

Finally, end your video with a call to action. This can be anything from an invite to visit your website, downloading a guide, or watching the next video in your marketing funnel. Whatever it is, make it relevant to your buyer and where they are in their buyer’s journey.

Tips for getting your videos to rank in YouTube and Google

Once you’ve created high-quality videos, it’s time to give them the best chance at ranking in YouTube and Google. Follow these six tips to position your content competitively:

1. Tools to find your keywords 

There are many ways to find terms to use as keywords for your videos. And while they may all offer a collection of results, Ahrefs, Ubersuggest, and Google Trends offer insights that are helpful for content creation and rankings.

While Ubersuggest doesn’t offer a YouTube keyword tool, it still helps you gauge search volume. It also offers a ‘Content Ideas’ tab filled with results of content that currently ranks competitively in search results. You can use these ideas to create stronger videos. 

Google Trends is best used as an indicator of interest in a certain topic. 

Google Trends shows search interest relative to the highest point on the chart for the given region and time. A value of 100 represents peak popularity for the term, while a value of 50 means that the term is half as popular, and a score of 0 means there isn’t enough data for your term.

It’s important to note that when turning to Google Trends, you should select YouTube Search to get YouTube-specific results, as these will differ from Google web search results.

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