So, you’ve built a fantastic product, and now you’re pumped up to design a great product video marketing strategy to get it on the market and start winning customers.

While in theory, this sounds like a solid plan, product marketing isn’t all sweets and candy. Many companies spend a lot of their time creating product videos and come up significantly short, while others miss out on the very crucial elements of what’s needed to create effective video content, causing their campaigns to flop.

So, if you’re struggling with your product video marketing strategy, this is the article for you.

In this article, we’re going to focus on:

We're going to examine three strategies that you can employ, whether you are a B2B or a B2C product marketer for a SaaS or an eCommerce company.

First, let’s start with the attributes of a stellar product video strategy.

How to keep your audience engaged

When designing a compelling product video, marketers must start by understanding what keeps their audience engaged.

Google recently conducted a study in which they asked 12,000 YouTube viewers, (consumer and business users) what keeps them engaged with a particular piece of content and ranked those responses in order of importance.

Google recently conducted a study in which they asked 12,000 YouTube viewers, (consumer and business users) what keeps them engaged with a particular piece of content and ranked those responses in order of importance.

Most respondents in the survey said they stay engaged with a piece of content if it teaches them something new, while other aspects like “high production quality” and “relates to my passion” aren’t earmarked as being as important when compared to educational aspects of videos.

This pinpoints a key point businesses need to take into consideration when publishing video content - they shouldn’t be selling when it comes to product video marketing.

The aforementioned study highlights the importance of educating and engaging your audience by providing them with content that improves their knowledge of your specialist area. This applies to any video marketing strategy, whether an acquisition strategy, engagement, or retention.

Similarly, there are also other interesting responses like “the video makes me laugh” and “it's inspiring,” which both redirect us to the tone of the video and respectively rank second and third.

Therefore, your product video marketing needs to incorporate a differentiated tone of voice. And while you’re at it, you should also ensure that the tone used for your product video is fun and consistent with brand messaging. The tone is not highly prized when it comes to acquiring customers. But, it is a crucial aspect you will need when it comes to maintaining healthy rates of customer retention.

How to create a product video marketing strategy by use case

Regardless of the intended end goal of your product video marketing, you must follow a precise framework to guarantee successful results.

Always start with the strategy before thinking about distribution and style.

How to use product video marketing for customer acquisition

If your goal is to acquire new customers through video marketing, you need to start with a strategy.

Refining your strategy will enable you to consider your ideal customer demographic, market competition, and future trends. You will then need to consider the appropriate distribution channels for this strategy.

For a SaaS company, the strategy could be getting users to increase ARR. Whether this is a B2B or a B2C, the standard distribution for that strategy could be Youtube, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok (yes, even for B2Bs).

These channels are ideal to start with, as they allow you to test and track metrics with ease. Then, you'll need to strengthen your distribution strategy by utilizing digital PR; you'd be surprised to see the distribution rate you can get if your PR campaign incorporates video content.

As for the style, a customer acquisition campaign can use video content that’s either live or animated. However, it’s important to note the style should be guided by the campaign and your audience.

If we refer back to some of the things that matter to users in their viewing habits, one particular example from Cascade springs to mind, in which humor is used to capture the viewers’ attention.

The video performed very well – it was 60 seconds long, and most viewers watched it to the end, which is unusually high.

Here’s what you need to keep in mind when it comes to customer acquisition with product video marketing:

For ToFU (top-of-funnel): program a 90-second to 2-minute long-format ad.

For MoFU (middle-of-funnel): follow with a 30-second MoFU ad to the viewers that watched over 30% of the first video.

For BoFU (bottom-of-funnel): target 6-9 second ads for double site visits or visits to landing pages like a demo, trial, or sign-up pages.

The first 5 seconds are everything: mention your company brand, ideally through your company logo (and specific product name), and also a catchy product one-liner or creative platform tagline.

Cut-downs are a must: use a funnel with multiple cut-downs at different durations (e.g., 90/30/9 seconds).

How to use product video marketing to drive engagement

Your product video marketing strategy shouldn’t just be limited to bringing in new leads and onboarding new customers. You also need to define a robust strategy that’ll help you engage your audience and existing customers.

As part of your engagement strategy, you shouldn’t be going straight to social and sending out a full-scale messaging blast, and trying to make sure the video is on every channel you own.

Instead, create a 3 to 5-step Electronic Direct Mail (EDM) cadence that links to the video target page, ideally on your page or website.

Use the same distribution tactic as in the above case and watch your engagement skyrocket. The video style here can be an explainer or an app video that shows product context through the UI or abstracted UI. Here's an example for Digital Ocean:

It is more of a long-form, two-minute video, but it has product abstraction written throughout it. Even after eight months, the video still has some significant ROI thanks to its story-driven approach. The video was mainly distributed through EDM and posted on YouTube.

“Eight months later, the video still has legs. The ROI we were getting, the cost per acquisition, and the ARPU (average revenue per unit) just for the views have really been effective. The cost has been low per customer when they’re transitioning from our YouTube to our website and purchasing our platform via that video.”

Adam Harder, the Senior Video Operations Manager at Digital Ocean


Here is another example, this time from Square.

In essence, you want the users to watch your video all the way through and understand how they can extend the use of your product and platform.

Here is what you need to keep in mind:

  • Localize if you’ve got a global presence. For example, in our projects with Square, we localized through translated voiceover and subtitles for Japan, UK, Mexico, and Australia. Localization strategy is a very inexpensive way to scale content production for your international audiences.
  • You don’t need to spend time talking about the problems. By this time, users have already passed that stage, and you need to focus quickly on the benefits. Engage viewers by highlighting what they can expect.
  • In the intro, you should introduce the name of your product in the first 5 seconds. For example, this is Digital Ocean Checkout.
    Utilize a ratio of 90% benefits and 10% CTA. Lead with the benefits followed by an obvious next action step that relates to a deeper interaction than just viewing the website. For example, start for free today or book a free demo.

How to use product video marketing for customer retention

Your third goal with your product video marketing strategy should be to retain existing customers, decrease your churn rate, and improve your NRR (net revenue retention). So, how should you go about maintaining users, and what type of content can be created from that perspective if NRR is the goal?

Here, your goal is to make a tangible impact with your videos. For instance, taking a beginner to an intermediate level or an intermediate to expert level. This way, users can get more value from your product and understand workflows they didn't previously.

You'll often find these types of videos in the style of how-to videos or walkthrough videos.

Here is what you need to keep in mind for your retention product marketing videos:

  • Deliver in 2-3 minute chapters: Break long-form workflows into easy-to-digest, shorter-form how-tos. If you need a longer duration, opt to create a playlist or video group instead.
  • Make sure there is a direct link to Support: The CTA, in this instance, should provide a link to support if the user has any additional questions.
  • Use a typographic thumbnail: Ensure that users can find the answers they need quickly.

Video content checklist

Keep the following in mind to define a winning strategy that will help you achieve your goals:

Decide on a strategy first

Always start with a clearly defined strategy. Once you develop the strategy, all the other aspects of your product video will begin to fall into place.

Pick 2-3 distribution channels

You can leverage many distribution channels to get the word out about your videos and your product. Spend time learning about your target audience and share your videos where they will make the most impact.

Create tons of assets with your videos

It is also helpful to get as many assets from each video effort as possible. For instance, you can create cut-downs, GIFs, stills, etc. By doing so, you will be packed with a wealth of assets from each video you put out, and you will be able to repurpose your videos and distribute them to other channels.

Do you need help defining the right strategy, cadence, and distribution method for your product videos? Our new VidiFit Quiz makes finding a quote and 'content fit' for your video project simple. Give it a go here so we can better understand your needs.