Epic Transformations: How Video Marketing Production Can Skyrocket Your SAAS Success!

Video has become an indispensable tool for marketing, with an overwhelming 91% of businesses making use of the medium this year, according to a study cited by video-sharing platform Dailymotion. With 83% of consumers stating that they prefer video format over text or voice as the primary format of consuming information, it is no surprise that video is playing a huge role in online marketing.

This is especially true for SaaS brands. In a highly competitive market, these companies must put their best foot forward to stay above the fold. The industry is projected to grow at a 13.7% CAGR, bringing it to $819.23 billion by 2030. That’s why partnering with a forward-thinking SaaS marketing agency is such an important strategic decision for any SaaS company. 

Why should SaaS companies concern themselves with video this year?

It’s simple.

Each SaaS brand finds it increasingly difficult to stand out in a crowded sea of competition. Showcasing value to prospects (and keeping existing customers happy) has become more challenging than ever.

Video marketing production can make all the difference. 

A well-produced explainer or product demo video can concisely and clearly show users exactly what a SaaS platform is capable of doing. 

Interested in learning how video marketing production can skyrocket your SaaS success? This article is for you.

Here is what we will cover:

• Statistics that speak to the power of video marketing production for SaaS companies
• Why video marketing is a game changer for SaaS
• Five crucial strategies for SaaS video marketing success
• Four common mistakes made with SaaS video production (and how to avoid them)

Ready? Let’s go. 

The Power of Video Marketing in Numbers

With SaaS video production, marketers move away from vaguely described feature sets and text-heavy descriptions. Instead they bring their solutions to life through visual storytelling. 

Video gives potential buyers a first-hand glimpse of a SaaS product's most tangible benefits, workflow, and user experience.

Video production has become particularly critical for brands that want to boost engagement and cut through the digital noise. Consumers increasingly prefer online content that focuses more heavily on visuals. 

The human brain is wired to capture and digest visual information 60,000x faster than raw text. This is a fact, not a sales pitch to encourage you to hire a SaaS Fractional CMO.

When done well, SaaS video production can supercharge your marketing ROI, driving brand awareness, understanding of your services, products, and sales.

As noted by the digital asset management firm Dash, 96% of marketers saw increased user understanding of their services or products when using explainer videos in their online marketing efforts.

Similarly, an overwhelming 95% of marketers who incorporated video into their marketing efforts said making that change played a role in increasing their brand awareness. The number of brands that saw an uptick in website traffic following video marketing campaigns is slightly lower but still impressively high, at 91%.

Conversion rates are significantly higher for businesses that incorporate video. According to a 2019 case study by Smart Insights, landing pages, blogs, and websites with embedded video content see an increase of up to 86% in conversions than those without. 

SaaS Video Production Translates to Positive ROI

For SaaS companies, higher conversions directly translate to more trials, most qualified lead (MQL) growth, and revenue. 90% of marketers witnessed a significant boost in MQL generation and monthly recurring revenue (MRR) with the help of video marketing.

Overall, 92% of video marketers say video delivers a good return on investment ( ROI). However, as noted by Forbes Magazine, there are many other positive metrics in between:

• Videos increase time on page for 87% of SaaS companies 
• Video marketing reduces support ticket requests for 57% of surveyed marketers
• 96% of online users said a video convinced them to purchase an app or software.
• 66% of customers would rather watch a video than read a product description.
• 91% of users are asking brands to include more videos on their website.
• More than 50% of online users are more likely to share a video with their loved ones, colleagues, or friends than any other type of online content.

Why Video Marketing is a Game Changer for SaaS

- Humanizing the Brand

Any tool that helps you evoke positive emotions and strike genuine human connections with customers can make a huge difference in your ability to get qualified sales leads through the funnel, especially in an industry often perceived as impersonal and complex.

Humanizing your brand is where SaaS video production shines. With visual content your SaaS brand can “show not tell” how amazing your product is and why customers should try out your solution.

Another great way for your SaaS video to win positive online engagement involves leveraging behind-the-scenes video footage that brings your brand's personality and the people behind the product into the limelight. 

Through video, customers feel they are getting an insider or privileged peek into the company, mainly through day-in-the-life videos.

But wait, there is more!

Introduction to key team members and company culture make your potential customers feel invested in the real-human talents behind the SaaS product. This combination of external validation and personal touch bolsters trust and rapport with customers., positioning your brand as more than just another SaaS vendor but a team devoted to their day-to-day success.

- Complex Concept Simplification

Most SaaS products come with a laundry list of nuanced functionality and intricate features. Potential buyers and decision-makers will easily feel overwhelmed if you bombard them with dense descriptions and documentation.

Video, as any marketing expert would quickly point out, is one of the best SaaS Fractional CMO tips for clinching sales. Videos use the power of visual storytelling to make even the most complex concepts easy to understand.

You can use animated explainers and product demo videos to seamlessly illustrate the features of your software in an easy-to-follow, step-by-step process. With interactive tutorials, you can break sophisticated aspects of your product into bite-sized lessons so that customers can learn at their own pace.

By simplifying complexity, video helps SaaS providers clearly communicate value and build confidence in their problem-solving abilities.

- Building Trust and Credibility

Your free trial period of seven days to three months may not be sufficiently long or compelling to build actionable trust with prospects. Typical buyers use this limited privilege period to get familiar with the UX and UI of the software solution.

Offering freemium features will not be of much help for building long-term credibility and turning leads into premium upgrades, as noted by Harvard Business Review.

The intangible nature of cloud-based software presents another challenge. Video as a marketing or educational medium is perfectly equipped to help you perk up your real-world credibility through genuine customer stories.

One of the most tactical B2B SaaS SEO ideas is to feature well-produced case study videos and genuine testimonials. This way, your potential customers will see real clients getting actual results from your SaaS product or service.

Getting video feedback from satisfied customers about how some problems were solved and critical metrics enhanced gives social proof that bolsters your brand's claims and credibility.

Nothing instills confidence like seeing tangible results, and video offers that validation in a dynamic and authentic format. You can easily turn skeptical leads into subscriptions by showing your software in action through use-case videos.

- Boosting Engagement & Retention

When brands want to effectively find, attract, and convert new customers, they turn to link-building campaigns, snippet optimization, and other SaaS SEO tips.

However, SaaS companies cannot simply ignore existing customers. That would have an insurmountable negative effect on brand engagement and the bottom line.

You must continue to engage with and delight current clients if you want a high percentage of subscription renewals. Video marketing is well-suited for a variety of tasks to make this a realistic expectation:

• Interactive video content offers an engaging format to provide ongoing support and education, both which are crucial for retention.
• Tutorial videos can serve as an on-demand training tool available to customers 24/7, whenever they need to brush up on something.
• You can create instructional playlists for easy self-guided learning
• Include polls and quizzes within videos to boost interaction and keep users engaged
• Explainer and product update videos keep clients informed on new features so they continue to extract value. 

Well-crafted video content helps you prioritize the customer experience. This will boost long-term loyalty and reduce churn caused by a lack of skills or frustration.

Key Strategies for Successful SaaS Video Marketing 

1- Targeted Content Creation

As with any subset of SaaS marketing, audience profiling should be the first step toward targeted video content creation. Conduct top-down market research to fully learn the ins and outs of each segment of your target audience —be it the initiator, buyer, decision maker, influencer, or end-user.

Smart SaaS companies go beyond basic customer demographics, such as age, gender, and interests. Log the shared traits of your typical customers, along with their challenges, concerns, and purchase patterns.

Once you have done the research, the next sensible step is to build your SaaS buyer personas. Give them a face, a background, and an identity, making sure each persona has a buyer’s journey and story.

Off the back of the buyer personas, tailor the scripts for your SaaS video production to suit the various points in the buying cycle.

Videos that focus on educating about typical pain points and challenges are worth the investment if your target is prospects at the top of the sales funnel. These are initiators who just became aware of their needs and are investigating your product - perhaps for the very first time.

As your leads progress to the evaluation rung of the sales funnel, you will make the most impact with use-case and case-study videos highlighting specific customer solutions. For personas nearing purchase or contract signing, tutorial videos are popular for simplifying the buying process and addressing final concerns. 

2- SEO Optimization for Video

The value of optimizing your video for search as part of your overall SaaS SEO marketing strategy is absolute. Video results cover more and more real estate in search engine results pages (SERPs).

Generally, your optimization focus should be squarely on video descriptions, tags, and closed captions. When done correctly, these on-page SEO elements drive high-quality organic web traffic and visibility on media platforms such as YouTube.

SEO’s role in the first round of keyword research should dwell on the most commercially viable and relevant keywords related to your SaaS brand and services or products.

For example, Everbridge, which offers critical-events management solutions, should focus on primary keywords such as:

• Crisis management software
• Public safety management software
• Visual command center software

These target keywords will be optimized throughout all applicable on-page elements. SEO will optimize video tags, embedded text, meta descriptions, and titles with the highest intent keywords, among other SaaS homepage tips.

You must also recognize the power of optimized closed captions and transcriptions as part of your B2B SaaS SEO strategies. They not only ensure accessibility but can also dramatically improve the video’s chances of ranking.

3- Leveraging Social Media Platforms

Running a successful SaaS brand calls for a carefully curated online image. Social media engagement is crucial for SaaS brand success because customers want to feel connected to a company they trust.

Videos help you to make the best use of multiple social platforms to engage prospects and existing customers in the places where they spend most of their online time. Your video marketing strategy should be tailored to the characteristic strengths of each social platform.

For channels like TikTok and Instagram, known for short-form video, your SaaS video production should focus on 15-30 second snippets, highlighting your product's core features or benefits. These bite-sized videos are excellent for introductory educational and engagement purposes.

Q&A sessions and live demos are more suited to professional social platforms, such as LinkedIn and Facebook. On these platforms, your targets will immerse themselves in a live, interactive experience with your product and subject matter experts.

LinkedIn Live and Facebook Live events offer an incredibly interactive environment to address your prospects’ frustrations in real time while building trust and credibility. You can then share the social proof from live comments and engagement across additional social channels.

Even weak associations and connections on LinkedIn can deliver fruitful relationships in the long term, according to a study cited by USA Today.

4- Interactive and Live Video Sessions 

Most people perceive SaaS brands as faceless companies with one mission: to make more money than their rivals. SaaS companies can leverage the interactive element of live video to humanize their brands, giving customers a glimpse into their company’s heart.

These interactive, live videos allow your brand to engage clients in real-time, creating an immersive experience that fosters more robust, longer-lasting relationships. Live webinars, in particular, offer a dynamic format for educating your target audience with a chance for Q&As.

Moreover, interactive tutorials provide an opportunity for real-live video engagements with Q&A sessions. Incorporating pools and comments into the video live stream allows marketers to get direct feedback to better understand audiences. 

Repurpose the social proof and word-of-mouth from live comments by sharing across other marketing channels. Use tutorials to conduct live product demos, giving viewers a first-hand look at functionality and usability.

When done consistently, interactive live videos can build trust and brand authority in a way that moves prospects further down the sales funnel.

5- Email Campaign Integration

Email marketing continues to impress as a superb tool for digital outreach. It establishes a consistent port of contact with your leads and existing customers.

Since readers are likely to watch embedded videos from start to finish, integrating video into your email marketing campaigns delivers multiple benefits:

• Boost customer engagement for your SaaS brand
• Supercharge email marketing campaigns, making it possible to reach the hard-to-please target audience
• Improve retention with videos embedded in email campaigns
• Strengthen your brand's position and thought leadership

Compelling video pitches that tease a product's value proposition in 15-30 seconds are shown to drive higher click-through rates on email links compared to static images or text alone. Once clicked, well-optimized landing pages that continue promoting the same video increase MQL growth

Boost your SaaS success by including short video clips highlighting tutorial snippets, case studies, and feature updates in transactional emails, such as order confirmations. This helps bring branded content to recipients at all buyer journey stages.

SaaS Companies Excelling with Video Marketing

Case Study : DecisionLink

Background of the SaaS Company

DecisionLink (now part of XFactor) is a leading enterprise value enablement platform that helps companies quantify and validate business and product outcomes at scale. Through its flagship ValueCloud® platform, the SaaS firm transforms customer value into strategic assets that drive long-term relationships. 

ValueCloud provides a single source of truth for quantifying expected outcomes, enabling sellers to elevate conversations from product specifics to discussions of real ROI and business impact. 

Trusted by more than 200 enterprises worldwide, including high-profile brands such as DocuSign, CrowdStrike, Amadeus, Caterpillar, and VMware, DecisionLink knows that winning in the SaaS space takes more than helping companies maximize user LTV, accelerate sales cycles, and justify technology investments.

It also takes earning ongoing trust and repeat business by offering prospects and current customers valuable resources. What better way for a value-enablement brand to demonstrate its capability than by showcasing it with explainer videos that solve complaints and answer questions?

Video Marketing Challenges Faced

DecisionLink’s ValueCloud platform provides a multi-faceted customer value management solution with numerous capabilities. Communicating the breadth and depth of this sophisticated SaaS product to target audiences in an accessible yet compelling manner presented a critical challenge for the company’s go-to-market efforts.

The ValueCloud tool quantifies and validates customer value at every touchpoint of the buyer journey. This is one of the reasons it is a leading platform in this space. The SaaS video production needed to distill the platform's complex features and analytics into straightforward, easy-to-understand messaging about critical benefits and use cases.

Digital Authority Partners took on the task of crafting SaaS video production with the strategic goals of boosting engagement, enhancing DecisionLink’s brand visibility, and establishing a framework for ongoing marketing operations. 

Strategies and Best Practices Implemented

With the challenge of conveying the intricacies of DecisionLink’s ValueCloud, Digital Authority Partners employed SaaS video production processes to create compelling visual narratives that simplified complex concepts.

Through meticulous research, scripting, and production, our video team was able to simplify DecisionLink's value proposition messaging while retaining the technical substance and credibility required by their target B2B audiences.

The final videos achieved the dual objectives of clearly outlining ValueCloud's differentiated value and functionality in a digestible format while strengthening awareness and perception of DecisionLink as the premier customer value management solutions provider.

Best Practices: 

The videos provided a captivating blend of animations and real-world examples, effectively communicating DecisionLink's value proposition. 

Notably, through relatable scenarios, https://vimeo.com/807687150 demonstrated a clear articulation of the software's benefits, including credibility gains, revenue increases, deal boosts, reduced discounting, and quicker deal closures.

Meanwhile, https://vimeo.com/805302931 effectively showcased the platform's interface, thus aiding user understanding. 

More than that, https://vimeo.com/787609848 stood out because of its concise explanation of intricate features, serving as a model for complex concept simplification.

Outcomes and Takeaways

The videos garnered significant engagement, leading to a 40% increase in user inquiries and a 25% boost in conversion rates.

The video campaigns helped DecisionLink effectively communicate and demonstrate real-world values to customers, including:

•  73% win rate increase achieved by one of its main clients, DocuSign
• 4.9x win rate improvement for BetterCloud
• 71% boost in average sales price for PlainView
• 45% shorter sales cycle for the Spanish IT provider Amadeus
• 17% reduction in discounting for Verint

Common Pitfalls with SaaS Video Production and How to Avoid Them

- Neglecting Mobile Optimization

With more than three-quarters of short video clips watched on mobile devices, you must optimize your SaaS video production for smaller screens. 

With a mobile-first approach, your product should focus heavily on easily scrollable transcripts and auto-play videos without sound. This will help ensure a seamless watching experience across devices.

If you neglect mobile optimization, you are simply locking out millions of users who spend an average of 17 hours per week watching online videos, according to HubSpot.

- Overproducing or Under-producing Content

When you produce and post too little video content, you have an anemic SaaS marketing strategy. It will not have the effect you sought when creating your SaaS marketing plan. Overproducing is also not good because it leads to content overload and resource wastage.

As part of your B2B SaaS SEO strategies, analyze user engagement, view-through rates, and other key metrics to determine the ideal length and cadence for various types of videos. Maintain consistency with a content calendar so customers know when to expect new information and develop familiarity with your style.

- Ignoring Feedback and Analytics

Turning a deaf ear to feedback and analytics is akin to throwing darts in the dark. You lose possibilities to differentiate your SaaS brand from your competition, spot opportunities for innovation, and identify emerging best practices.

Conduct scheduled and ongoing iterative tests and tweaks to continuously improve your SaaS video production. Fine-tune your future SaaS video marketing campaigns based on user feedback and KPIs like sharing/conversion data, top viewed segments, and completion rates.

Use cutting-edge tools to A/B test different elements to isolate the factors with the greatest impact on your marketing objectives. Maintain an open dialogue with end-users, buyers, and other stakeholders to integrate their changing priorities and needs into an evolving strategy.

- Misaligned Messaging

If you don’t have a cohesive messaging strategy, your brand loses resonance with the target audience. Misaligned messaging also translates to lost opportunities to cultivate a mutually beneficial relationship with your customers and prospects.

A coherent messaging strategy, on the other hand, can help you provide customers with useful answers and proactively address their pain points. Ensure your video content aligns with and reinforces your company's overarching brand message, values, and target audience

Be sure to cross-promote complementary assets like case studies, ebooks, and webinars to tell a cohesive story. Conduct audience research and competitor analysis to keep your messaging fresh, relevant, and differentiated from your SaaS product competition.

Summing Up

Video has tremendous potential to revolutionize your SaaS marketing. The visual storytelling of SaaS video production simplifies complex concepts and builds credibility through real customer stories.

More importantly, video marketing can humanize your SaaS brand, helping to establish customer trust and rapport.

To achieve the goals of humanization, trust, and rapport, software companies must prioritize SaaS video production through the use of targeted content, search optimization, and social media. Interactive live videos present incalculable assistance for guiding buyers through the sales funnel. 

Don’t fail to integrate video with email campaigns, too!

Although video offers immense opportunities for digital reach in the SaaS space, you must avoid common pitfalls like neglecting mobile or producing too much or too little content. Ongoing testing and analytics are also vital to continuously and appropriately improve your video strategies.

For expert assistance in SaaS video marketing, reach out to the Digital Authority Partners team today.