By David ClarkeA full 70% of people are watching videos while they research products which tells you everything you need to know about how consideration video works to get prospects to a final decision. It’s about shaping their intent to buy with middle-funnel ads that show exactly how a product helps, going way beyond simple brand awareness. The job for marketers is to use video to turn those curious viewers into actual customers.
Key Takeaways
- Explainer videos work. 92% of consumers say they’re more likely to buy after watching one, so clear product demos are non-negotiable for consideration.
- Keep it short. Videos under 60 seconds get 70% higher completion rates in the consideration stage, so your message has to be concise.
- Make it interactive. Adding things like clickable CTAs inside a consideration video can bump conversion rates by as much as 25%.
- It’s not just B2C. 55% of B2B buyers are using video to research their purchases, showing how important it is across all markets.
- Even simple personalization helps. Adding basic personal touches to a video can lift engagement by 30% during this phase.
Ninety-two percent of consumers report being more likely to make a purchase after watching an explainer video.
That 92% number comes from a recent HubSpot report on 2025 consumer behavior, and it’s a clear directive for anyone in marketing. Once a prospect is in the consideration phase, they’re done with vague brand messages. They want specifics. They need to see how your product or service actually solves their problem. A well-made explainer video is the perfect tool for this. It takes complex features and turns them into easy-to-understand visual stories that show how the thing works. For example, if you’re launching a new CRM module, your top-of-funnel ad might just show happy people at work, but the consideration video has to get into the weeds, walking a prospect through the dashboard, pointing out specific automation features, and showing the data flow. This is what builds trust and answers their questions before they even have to ask. We’ve seen this work time and again. You have to move from abstract promises to showing the goods. The trick is being clear without being boring. Nobody wants to watch a 10-minute tutorial in an ad, so you have to give just enough detail to build confidence without putting them to sleep.
Videos under 60 seconds achieve 70% higher completion rates in the consideration stage.
We see it on every platform, and a 2024 Nielsen study on digital video consumption confirms it: people’s attention spans are short. So while I’m a fan of detailed explainer videos, you have to put those on your landing pages or dedicated product sections on your website. For the actual middle-funnel ads running on Google Ads or Meta Business Suite, you have to be brief. A 60-second time limit forces you to do what many marketers hate doing: get straight to the point. You have to find the single most compelling benefit, or the one pain point you solve better than anyone else, and build the entire video around that single idea. For a new cybersecurity tool, that means a quick demo showing it stopping a simulated attack in seconds, not a long talk about its AI architecture. It’s about making an impact, not listing every feature. The old way of thinking was to throw more information, more features, more reasons to buy at the customer, but in a consideration-stage ad, more just means more people tuning out. Focus on the most exciting part of your story. To really grab them, you should use tactics from trending video ads that are designed for quick attention.
| Factor | Traditional Explainer Video | Optimized Consideration Video |
|---|---|---|
| Consumer Purchase Likelihood | 92% more likely to buy (general) | 92% more likely to buy (after watching) |
| Video Length for Ads | Potentially longer, detailed | Under 60 seconds (70% higher completion) |
| Completion Rate (Consideration) | Lower for longer videos | 70% higher (for under 60 seconds) |
| Conversion Rate Impact | Standard conversion rates | Up to 25% increase (with interactive elements) |
| Engagement Boost | Standard engagement | 30% boost (with personalization) |
| Focus in Middle-Funnel Ads | Broad brand messaging | Specifics, product benefits, problem-solving |
Integrating interactive elements like clickable calls-to-action within consideration videos increases conversion rates by up to 25%.
An IAB report on 2025 interactive trends pointed this out, and it’s a huge opportunity for consideration videos. Passive viewing is fine for brand awareness, but it does nothing to push a prospect along. Adding interactive elements is how you get them to engage instead of just watching. And I’m not just talking about a “Learn More” button at the end. I mean clickable hotspots that show extra product details, polls that ask about their preferences, or even branching stories that let people choose the use case that applies to them. For example, a B2B SaaS company selling project management software could let viewers click to see either a “Marketing Team Workflow” or a “Software Development Workflow,” which customizes the video on the fly. This kind of personalization makes the viewer feel like you get them, and it respects that not everyone’s path is the same. The biggest mistake is to just use these tools as a gimmick. They need to offer real value and lead the user to a logical next step, like downloading a paper or booking a demo. It also makes tracking things like video ad attribution much more straightforward.
Fifty-five percent of B2B buyers use video to research purchasing decisions.
Video isn’t just for B2C, and a 2026 eMarketer report proves it’s now a standard part of the B2B buying process. Anyone still thinking B2B decisions are made only from whitepapers and spec sheets is behind the times. Yes, those documents are still important, but video is a much more engaging way to explain complicated ideas and build some rapport. When it comes to B2B consideration videos, being authentic is often more effective than having a slick, high-budget production. Testimonials from current clients work really well, especially if they talk about specific ROI or how you solved a problem for them. Can you imagine a video with the head of IT at a real company explaining how your security solution cut their incident response time by 30%, with screenshots of their actual dashboard? That’s so much more powerful than a sales pitch. B2B videos are also great for getting ahead of common objections. A short video explaining your implementation process or post-purchase support can put a buyer’s mind at ease about things that might otherwise kill the deal. You have to remember that B2B buyers are still people, and they respond to clear, trustworthy communication, especially when they’re about to spend a lot of money. This is also how you start to think about ways to boost CLV with video upselling down the line.
Personalized video experiences, even at a basic level, can boost engagement by 30% during the consideration phase.
This 30% engagement boost, found in a recent Statista study on personalized marketing, shows where video advertising is heading. Sure, fully custom one-to-one videos aren’t realistic for big ad campaigns, but basic personalization is absolutely doable and works incredibly well. This could be something as simple as dynamically putting the viewer’s company name in the video’s intro, mentioning their industry, or showing product features that match what they’ve looked at on your site before. An e-commerce platform could, for example, show a pre-populated store template for “Boutique Clothing” if it knows the viewer has been browsing that category. The tech for this is built right into platforms like Vidyard or TwentyThree, so it’s more accessible than ever. People who say personalization is too complex or expensive for ads are working with old information. Even these simple personal touches make a connection and make the viewer feel like the message was meant for them, not just blasted out to everyone. Making this shift from broadcast to tailored content is how you get real conversion gains in the consideration stage. Too many marketers think consideration videos need to be polished, feature-packed infomercials, and that’s just wrong. Authenticity and directness matter way more than production quality. The focus should be on solving one specific problem for one specific audience, and doing it fast. Learning how personalized video ads work is a good next step.
What is a consideration video?
It’s a marketing video that educates potential customers on a product’s specific benefits and features, helping them evaluate if it’s the right fit and pushing them toward a decision.
How long should a consideration video be?
For ads, you absolutely want to keep them under 60 seconds to get the best completion rates. You can always use longer, more in-depth videos on your own site for people who want all the details.
What kind of content works best in middle-funnel video ads?
The best content shows off product benefits clearly, demonstrates the product in action (like a quick tutorial), or uses testimonials from happy customers to build trust.
Can consideration videos be personalized?
Yes, and you should do it. Even basic personalization, like adding a viewer’s industry or company name based on data you have, makes a big difference in how much they engage with the video.
What is the main goal of using consideration video in advertising?
The goal is to give prospects enough good information to clear up their doubts, show them why your solution is the best one, and get them to move from just looking to actually buying or signing up.
