Mastering Bottom of Funnel Videos
Customers don’t always know it but they’re on their own hero’s journey. And it’s your brand's job to amplify it. And guide them from beginning to end.
Apple is an obvious example - but nearly all of their ads start with a central character who represents a potential customer. That character starts a journey and then uses Apple products to achieve some form of "success" in the end.
Some examples:
So this is where a lot of brands miss the mark when they’re creating their bottom-of-the-funnel content or ads. It’s push, push, push.
Instead of pull, pull, then push.
But this is where Donald Miller comes in and his book, "Building a StoryBrand.”
Where he shares a framework to create a powerful marketing narrative:
- A Character: Your potential customer. Where do they want to be? That’s the focal point of the story.
- Who Has a Problem: It has to be a real, relatable issue. Clearly identify the challenge they face.
- And Meets a Guide: Your company. Show empathy and authority. Position yourself as a trusted mentor.
- Who Gives Them a Plan: Outline the process steps they need to take. Or the path to results. And make it clear and easy to follow.
- And Calls Them to Action: This is dependent on their level of awareness. So either use direct response CTAs or more educational content for those still considering. Compel them to take the next step.
- They Avoid Failure: Show the real, relatable stakes of not solving their problem. What negative consequences were they able to avoid?
- And Achieve Success: Showcase how they can gain power, improve relationships, or reach self-realization. Paint a picture of the transformation your product enables.
So let’s look at Bare Performance Nutrition and how they use this framework in this bottom-of-the-funnel customer testimonial ad.
Pay attention to a few things:
- The entire minute and a half is a story about the athlete/customer - not the brand.
- The product isn’t mentioned until the 1-minute mark.
- The CTA is subtle but the product shots make it obvious.
But let’s put it into the StoryBrand framework:
- A Character: An athlete who had an eating disorder.
- Who has a problem: Wasn’t fueling herself properly and didn’t have confidence in herself.
- A Guide: The guide (BPN) helped turn her life around and helped her find another version of herself. That version is strong, confident, and happy.
- Who Gives a Plan: The guide shows how fueling your body correctly will get you there and will help build this new version of yourself. This is where they include product shots and brand mentions.
- And Calls Them to Action: There’s no hard call to action. But this video doesn’t need it. Instead, it uses relatability to drive action.
- They Avoid Failure: The athlete then becomes the guide for other people who feel the same. But it started with how she trained and fueled.
- And Achieve Success: The video paints a picture of her transformation and how she went from somebody who dealt with mental health and self-esteem issues into somebody who’s happy, confident, and changing other people’s lives.
The goal of this video is to highlight the transformation. Then bring the viewer on the journey of before and after. Then use the brand and its products as the guide from before to after.
This is the definition of pull, pull, then push.
You can watch it for yourself here.
