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:
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 goal
TARGET 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
• 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
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
combination

Ultimately, you want to measure
email open rates
ad click through rates
social media impressions
number of video views
lead-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:
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

Example 1:

Example 1:
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:
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

Example 2:

Example 2:
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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