You’re probably already using video in your online marketing portfolio, but there are always things you can do to make your content better. Fine tuning your video marketing skills sometimes means looking at who you want to reach within your target audience, and giving them material they need according to where they are along the buyer’s journey. The content you want to deliver to a new lead is quite different from what you’d present to a prospect that’s ready to write a check. It’s critical to appreciate the difference between top and bottom of the funnel videos and understand why you need both.

It’s essential to understand the difference. The distinction between video marketing to the top and bottom of the funnel lies in what you’re trying to do. From the widest part of the cone to the neck, here’s what you need to focus on:

  • Interest
  • Learn
  • Evaluate
  • Justify
  • Purchase

You can see from this list that it’s impossible to accomplish all of these goals with one video: You need to focus on one and direct your efforts toward that audience.

Top of the funnel videos are geared towards interest. An in-depth explainer video or customer testimonial simply won’t work for leads just reaching the stage of interest. At this point, engaging them means providing more general information that leans towards entertainment. Introduce your team, develop a how-to segment or create a list of best practices for some task they deal with everyday. As you get them interested, they’ll be motivated to learn more about your company and its offerings.

Bottom of the funnel video must be properly targeted. Prospects that you’ve qualified along the way are far beyond the learning phase. They’ve already done their research on products and know how your company can help them solve problems. At this point, they want concrete information that will help them make buying decisions and justify making the purchase from your company – as opposed to one of your competitors. This stage of the sales funnel is where you need to present a case study or video product demonstration.

Don’t forget the middle. Of course, you must focus on every stage of the sales funnel to find success in video marketing. Once they’re interested, your target audience will want to learn more and begin comparing the pros and cons of different products. As they narrow down their list of potential products, they’ll need to justify the purchase to stakeholders. So never underestimate the importance of the middle of the funnel.

As you hone your video marketing skills, it’s important to keep in mind that your audience is at different stages of the sales funnel – which means all viewers aren’t going to be interested in the same content. Some need to learn the basics of a topic, others want to hear more about what your company does, and still others are comparison shopping as they prepare to make a purchase. Keep the differences between the top and bottom funnel videos in mind as you’re creating and publishing content for your target audience.