Video Marketing: The Strategy Every Business Needs (Complete Guide)

Have you ever wondered why big brands and personalities produce videos on YouTube and social media? They do this because they understand the importance of video marketing in attracting and converting new audiences.

The rise of Marketing 4.0 (a concept introduced by Philip Kotler) has forced businesses to rethink how they engage with customers.

As consumers are becoming more informed and selective, they evaluate products not just on quality, but on trust, brand affinity, and emotional connection.

This guide will show you why video marketing is essential for success, the types of videos you should be using, and best practices to maximize results.

What is video marketing?

Video marketing is a strategy within content marketing that uses videos to attract, engage, and convert audiences.

When executed effectively, it grabs attention and delivers your message in a more emotional and engaging way than any other content format.

It’s important to note that producing random videos or creating viral content isn’t the goal of video marketing. Instead, you need a clear strategy, specific objectives, and a deep understanding of your target audience.

Video should always add value to your business and help you reach consumers at the right stage of their journey.

Among the examples of video marketing, we can mention:

• Institutional Videos
• Ads for social media
• Lives and Webinars
• Educational videos
• Product demonstrations

What are the benefits of investing in a video marketing strategy?

Those who implement videos in their strategies usually see the following benefits:

Faster information delivery

The digital environment is saturated with information. Videos allow information to be transmitted quickly and efficiently.

Studies show that the human brain processes images 60,000 times faster than text. This means that a video can communicate a message in seconds, something that could take minutes in a written article.

Improved conversion rates

Video content can directly increase conversion rates.

Research by Aberdeen Strategy & Research shows that businesses using video see an average 66% higher conversion rate.

Videos help consumers understand products better, build trust, and make informed decisions.

Reduction in Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC)

Well-optimized videos, especially organic ones, can significantly reduce CAC by driving qualified leads without relying on paid media.

When optimized for SEO, these videos continue attracting leads for the long term.

Building authority and credibility

Video content is the best way to build authority and credibility in the market, especially if the person in front of the camera has a strong personality.

When a company teaches something or participates in conversations, it positions itself as a reference in its niche and creates a relationship of trust with the public.

In addition, the public will start to see you as a reliable source of information and solutions.

8 types of videos used in marketing strategies

There are several types of marketing videos that you can leverage depending on your business goals, audience, and stage in the sales funnel.

Let’s explore the most effective types of videos that can take your video marketing strategy to the next level:

1. Institutional Videos

Institutional videos showcase your company’s values, mission, and the people behind the business.

They’re excellent for building trust and attracting potential employees or investors.

• Example: A startup could produce a video about its mission to drive social change, engaging both customers and investors.
• Benefit: Enhances brand visibility and conveys a sense of authenticity.

2. Testimonials and Success Stories

Nothing is more convincing than seeing and hearing satisfied customers talking about their positive experiences with a product or service.

To give you an idea, the probability of someone buying a product with five reviews is 270% higher than buying a product without a review (Spiegel Research Center).

Testimonials are powerful because they trigger the mental trigger of social proof, demonstrating that the product truly delivers what it promises.

• ‍Example: A SaaS company could feature a testimonial from a customer whose workflow was improved by the product.
• ‍Benefit: Increases social proof, enhancing the likelihood of conversion.

3. Product Demonstrations

Product demos showcase how your product works in real-life scenarios, helping prospects visualize how it solves their problems.

• ‍Example: A software company could demonstrate how its tool integrates with other platforms to improve efficiency.
• ‍Benefit: Boosts trust by showing tangible results.

4. Lives and Webinars

Lives and webinars are powerful tools for building relationships with your audience, answering their questions in real-time, and educating them about your products or services.

• Example: A financial advisor might host a live webinar on "How to Build a Secure Retirement Plan," providing value and demonstrating expertise.
• Benefit: Webinars and live sessions help build authority, engage prospects, and convert them into loyal customers. They can also be recorded and repurposed as evergreen content, extending their value over time.

Also read: How to Host a Successful Webinar in 9 Steps

5. Tutorials

Tutorials (or how-to videos) are designed to teach the audience something, like how to perform an action with a product or service.

They are extremely valuable for nurturing leads who are still in the consideration phase and can be shared on social media and YouTube.

• ‍Example: A project management software company could create a tutorial on "How to Efficiently Organize Your Team’s Tasks Using [Their Software]."
• ‍Benefit: Tutorials help move leads down the funnel by offering solutions to their problems. They also showcase the practical use of your product in real-life situations.

6. Behind the Scenes

Behind-the-scenes videos are effective for building trust and humanizing the brand or expert behind the business.

One of the best tools to share this type of content is Instagram Stories.

Because they are short and temporary videos, stories are ideal for showing spontaneous moments, reinforcing the sale of info products, and interacting with the audience.

• Example: A small business might show how their products are made or how their team works together to deliver excellent customer service.
• Benefit: These videos foster transparency, building stronger emotional connections with the audience and increasing brand loyalty.

7. Courses

Courses can be both the final product and a tool to guide them to a higher-value product.

By offering courses that address topics relevant to the sector in which your company operates, you not only share valuable knowledge but also position your brand as an authority on the subject.

These courses can be used to teach the practical application of concepts and prepare the audience to make informed decisions in the future.

• Example: A digital marketing company could offer a free course on "How to Run Successful Paid Ads on Social Media," showcasing its expertise while promoting its services.
• Benefit: Courses can attract a targeted audience, generate leads, and help you establish credibility. They also serve as an excellent opportunity to upsell higher-value products or services.

8. Video Sales Letters (VSLs)

Video Sales Letters, or VSLs, are a video version of traditional sales letters.

They are designed to capture the audience's attention, build a persuasive argument, and finally lead the viewer to take action, such as buying a product or subscribing to a service.

• Example: A fitness trainer could create a VSL to promote a special offer on a personal training package, showcasing testimonials, benefits, and an irresistible call-to-action.
• Benefit: VSLs are perfect for cold leads as they build trust and provide persuasive reasons for the viewer to make a purchase decision.

After assembling your persuasive script, it's still possible to improve the VSL's results using a video hosting service that offers tools for this, as is the case with Panda Video.

Which platforms to use in my video marketing strategy?

Beginners think it's necessary to be on all social networks to succeed with video marketing. But that's not quite the case.

The important thing is to be in at least two places, which are:

1. A social network;
2. YouTube.

1. Social Networks

Social networks are one of the main channels for disseminating videos. Platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Kwai are ideal for sharing short videos that quickly reach a large audience.

The use of stories, reels, and regular posts is an efficient way to increase reach, generate engagement, and create a more direct connection with followers.

2. YouTube

YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world, after Google.

When you create optimized content, your videos have a greater chance of appearing in search results, both on the platform and on Google.

In addition, YouTube is perfect for building authority, which makes it the preferred place for those who want to produce longer content, from on-demand videos to podcasts.

How to create a video content plan

Camilo Coutinho is a reference when it comes to video marketing, and in his book "Videos that Sell More", he explains that content planning can be divided into 6 stages.

1. Briefing: The moment you describe what the project will be. What will your goal be? Who is your audience?
2. Research: Where your references are mapped, and you understand what people are looking for.
3. Planning: Where all the actions that need to be done and their processes are defined.
4. Action: Where tasks are actually executed, organizing them according to the days of the week.
5. Measurement: Monitoring performance metrics is essential to understanding what is working and what needs to be improved.
6. Improvements: Make adjustments to the strategy according to the analyses made in the measurement.

Video Marketing for Infopreneurs

For infopreneurs, video marketing is one of the most effective tools to promote and sell their digital products, such as online courses, e-books, mentorships, and workshops. By creating videos focused on educating your audience, you can significantly increase your sales and build a loyal customer base.

Let's explore some ways in which video marketing can be applied in this sector.

1. Free introductory classes: Give a "taste" by providing free classes from your course, to show the value you offer and encourage users to sign up for the full product.
2. Student testimonials: Videos with testimonials from satisfied students who have achieved results with your courses are extremely persuasive.
3. Product launches: Launch strategies are much more impactful. This can include teaser videos, live webinars, or behind-the-scenes footage that create anticipation for the launch of your new course or training.

How to Measure Success with Videos

Knowing what is working and what needs to be improved is essential for a video marketing strategy.

Fortunately, there are several metrics that can be tracked to ensure that your videos are achieving the desired goals:

1. Views: This metric indicates how many times your video has been watched.
2. Retention rate: Refers to the time viewers are watching your video.
3. Click-through rate (CTR): CTR measures the percentage of people who clicked on a link, CTA button, or banner associated with your video.
4. Conversions: How many desired actions are completed after watching the video? It can be registering on a landing page, such as buying a product.
5. Social interactions: Likes, comments, shares, and other social interactions are signs that your content is resonating with the audience.

How to Use Videos at Each Stage of the Sales Funnel for Infoproduct Sellers

Here's how to structure a video marketing strategy for digital products at each stage of the funnel:

Top of the Funnel (ToFu) - Attraction and discovery

At this stage, the focus is not on selling the product, but on creating a connection and attracting people who may be interested in the content and the expert's authority. The goal is to present the infopreneur as someone trustworthy and relevant, generating value and arousing interest.

The recommended types of videos are:

• Short explanatory videos
• "How-to" tutorials
• Videos on social networks (Reels, TikTok, and Shorts)
• YouTube Lives‍

‍Middle of the Funnel (MoFu) - Consideration and engagement

In the middle of the funnel, you have already attracted the audience's attention, and now it's time to engage them and build trust, demonstrating that your infoproduct is the right solution for their needs.

The recommended types of videos are:

• Webinars and Lives
• Product demonstrations

Bottom of the Funnel (BoFu) - Conversion and purchase decision

At the bottom of the funnel, leads are almost ready to make a purchase decision. At this stage, videos should be focused on encouraging conversion, highlighting the benefits and differentials of your product or service, and offering a push to action.

The recommended types of videos are:

• Video Sales Letters (VSL)
• Testimonials and success stories

Video Marketing Strategies That Have Worked in the Real World

1. Hot Ones and Heatonist

Heatonist is a company that sells hot sauces in the United States and gained worldwide recognition through the Hot Ones show, featured on the First We Feast YouTube channel.

Instead of following the conventional path of creating a recipe channel teaching how to cook with hot sauces, Heatonist took a different approach: they invested in a unique and engaging show where the audience watches celebrities go through a fun and unusual challenge—answering questions while eating progressively spicier chicken wings.

Big names such as Tom Holland, Jimmy Fallon, Anitta, and even members of Slipknot have participated, contributing to the show's massive success.

The reach of Hot Ones has made it both a commercial and audience hit. Here are some key indicators that prove its impact:

• The First We Feast YouTube channel receives more than 50 million views per month, with Hot Ones being its top-performing content.
• The Heatonist website gets over 400,000 monthly visits.
• 33% of Heatonist's traffic comes from organic search, with top queries related to Hot Ones.
• Over 100,000 visitors come from social traffic, with YouTube accounting for 94.75% of that.
• In 2018, 85% of First We Feast’s revenue came from content licensing, distribution, and e-commerce, while only 15% was generated from YouTube ads.
• Hot Ones’ success has even caught Netflix’s attention, as they are considering bringing the show to their streaming platform.

2. PLV Music

Aurelie, the creator of the PLV Music channel, proves that it's possible to earn a substantial income from music production without relying on viral hits or millions of streams on Spotify. In 2024, she earned over $120,000 solely from creating content on YouTube.

On her channel, Aurelie shares marketing and business strategies that help other music producers turn their passion into a full-time income. Her high-quality content not only helped her build a loyal community but also attracted partnerships with brands eager to promote their products in her videos.

Taking advantage of this visibility, she further diversified her income by launching an online course. Today, with 40,000 subscribers on her channel, Aurelie generates over $10,000 per month.

3. Semrush

A video marketing strategy doesn’t have to be entirely entertainment-focused—Semrush is proof of that.

The favorite SEO tool among marketers has a YouTube channel dedicated to educating digital marketing professionals through tutorials and practical tips.

This channel is strategically positioned to provide answers to common questions that every marketer will eventually search for on Google or YouTube.

By offering high-quality and relevant content, Semrush establishes itself as an authority in the industry, strengthens its brand, and showcases its solutions to potential customers.

Is It Possible to Do Video Marketing Without Posting Videos on YouTube or Social Media?

As contradictory as it may seem, it is possible to implement a video marketing strategy without having to create and post videos yourself.

Many companies leverage content creators for UGC (User-Generated Content), sponsored advertising, and partnership programs.

Today, podcasts have become a valuable platform for content marketing, often selling ad slots to brands promoting products ranging from antivirus software to hair growth treatments.

With over 100 million YouTube Premium users, integrating with content rather than relying solely on traditional advertising is essential to reach audiences effectively.

However, companies don’t need to rely solely on paid advertising.

For example, Insider has launched a program called Insider Connect, which allows individuals to create personalized online stores and sell Insider products through their unique referral links.

Partners can share these links on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, earning commissions on every sale they generate.

Another great example is Panda Video, which created an affiliate program called Panda Partners, allowing partners to earn up to 20% commission on every sale made through their unique referral link.

This strategy helps expand organic reach, attract a more qualified audience, and reduce customer acquisition costs.

Also know: Panda Partners

Best Practices for Getting More Results with Videos

To ensure the success of your video marketing strategy, it is essential to follow some best practices that can maximize the impact of your videos. Here are some of them:

1. Be clear and objective: People have a short attention span, especially online. Make sure your main message is clear from the beginning and avoid unnecessarily prolonging videos.
2. Invest in audio and video quality: A video with poor sound or image quality can turn viewers away. Even if you don't have a large budget, it's possible to record quality videos using a good smartphone, microphone, and lighting.
3. Use calls to action (CTAs): Never underestimate the power of a good CTA. Tell your audience exactly what you want them to do after watching the video, whether it's clicking on a link, subscribing to the channel, or directing them to new content.
4. Bet on storytelling: Telling a compelling story keeps the audience engaged. Structure your videos as a narrative, with a beginning, middle, and end, to capture attention and move the viewer.

Videos Are No Longer an Option

Video marketing has become a necessity for companies that want to grow and stand out in the market.

Now that you know the types of videos that can be used, the best platforms to distribute them, and how to measure their success, it's time to roll up your sleeves and start implementing video marketing in your business.

And if you have or plan to use VSLs and courses in your strategy, try Panda Video and discover how our platform can help you achieve new results.