SaaS Video Glossary

A bottom-of-funnel video is used at the decision stage of the buyer’s journey to provide proof and reassurance. It targets solution-aware viewers who are ready to commit, focusing on convincing them to choose your product (e.g., detailed demos, testimonials, or personalized offers)

A brand video reinforces your company’s identity and values, helping shape how people perceive your brand. It’s often used to build awareness or trust by showcasing your mission, culture, or story in an engaging way.

A call-to-action (CTA) in video marketing is a prompt that encourages viewers to take a specific action after watching the video. Common CTAs include clickable buttons or spoken requests to sign up, start a free trial, visit a website, or share the content, designed to convert viewers into leads or customers.

A case study video features a real customer’s success story, demonstrating how your SaaS product solved a problem or delivered value. It goes deeper than a simple testimonial by analyzing a client’s journey or a specific campaign from start to finish, often including data or results to illustrate the impact

Completion rate is the percentage of viewers who watch a video from start to finish. A high completion rate indicates that your video content is engaging and relevant enough to hold the audience’s attention all the way through.

A compliance video is an educational video designed to inform viewers (often employees or customers in regulated industries) about important laws, regulations, or company policies. It ensures that the audience understands and adheres to required procedures or standards, and is commonly used for training on topics like data privacy, security, or industry-specific rules

In video marketing, conversion rate refers to the percentage of viewers who take a desired action prompted by the video (such as clicking a link, signing up, or making a purchase) out of the total viewers. It measures how effectively a video turns engaged viewers into leads or customers

A customer onboarding video is a short explainer or tutorial that educates new users on how to get started with your software. These videos typically walk through initial setup steps, key features, or basic use cases, helping first-time users quickly understand the product and boosting their early satisfaction

A customer testimonial video showcases happy clients talking about their positive experience with your SaaS product. It serves as social proof for prospects who need to see real users’ success, spotlighting the benefits and results your software delivers. By featuring authentic customer stories, these videos help build trust with potential buyers

A customer training video is an educational resource aimed at existing users to help them become more proficient with your product. It often covers advanced features, best practices, or tips and tricks, enabling customers to unlock more value and encouraging deeper adoption of the software (which in turn can improve retention and customer success).

Engagement rate is the percentage of a video that the average viewer watches. This metric indicates how well your video holds interest – for example, if viewers consistently drop off at a certain point, it may signal a loss of interest or a need to improve content at that segment.

An explainer video is a short, engaging video that clearly explains a product, service, or concept in simple terms. In the SaaS context, explainer videos introduce what your software does and why it matters to the viewer, often breaking down complex ideas into an easy-to-understand narrative with the help of visuals and narration (It’s typically one of the first videos a SaaS company uses to draw in new customers.

A feature release video (or feature update video) announces and demonstrates new features or updates in your software. It highlights what’s new and how it benefits users, helping to keep existing customers informed and excited. These videos can help drive adoption of new features and show that you’re continuously improving the product (a tactic known to reduce churn by keeping customers engaged)

A how-to video is a concise, instructional video that provides a step-by-step guide on how to perform a specific task or use a particular feature. For SaaS companies, how-to videos (often found in tutorials or knowledge bases) empower users to get the most out of the software by walking them through workflows or problem solutions, which in turn can reduce support inquiries

In-app videos are help or tutorial videos embedded directly within a software application’s interface (for example, in tooltips, modals, or an in-app help center). They provide contextual guidance at the moment a user needs it, allowing users to learn features or onboarding steps without leaving the product. This approach extends the onboarding experience throughout the user journey, catering to secondary or advanced onboarding needs as users explore deeper features

An interactive video is an engaging multimedia experience that allows viewers to actively participate by clicking, choosing options, or navigating through the content. Instead of a linear playback, interactive videos might have buttons or branching paths (e.g., a choose-your-own-demo) that let the viewer control what they see next. This format can greatly increase engagement by personalizing the experience and keeping viewers involved.

A landing page video is a video embedded on a landing page (often a campaign or product page) to quickly convey your message and value proposition. A well-crafted landing page video can explain your offering in seconds, engage prospects, and often outperform text in capturing attention. By delivering a compelling overview and emotional appeal, it aims to increase conversion rates on that page.

A middle-of-funnel video is used in the consideration stage of the buyer’s journey to educate and build trust with prospects who already understand their problem. These videos delve deeper into how solutions work – often showcasing your product in more detail or addressing common questions. The goal is to expand on the educational foundation, start presenting why your solution is the best option, and help viewers evaluate their choices (e.g., product webinars, detailed demos, or case studies)

A mission statement video highlights the purpose, values, or cause behind your company beyond just the product. It’s a “feel good” brand video that addresses what your SaaS business stands for and the positive impact you aim to make. By sharing your mission or social values, this type of video appeals to viewers’ emotions and can strengthen trust and loyalty among customers who align with your principles.

Play rate is a metric that represents the percentage of unique visitors to a page who actually clicked play to watch the video. A higher play rate means more people who saw the video thumbnail or title chose to start watching, indicating that the video’s placement, thumbnail, and title are effective at enticing interest. Marketers use play rate to gauge a video’s initial appeal and whether it’s being noticed by the audience.

A product demo video showcases the features, benefits, and functionality of your software, providing a visual demonstration of how it works. Demo videos are typically short yet comprehensive overviews meant to help potential customers understand exactly what the product does and how to use it. In the SaaS world, a good demo video focuses on solving a customer’s problem by walking through key features in action, often resulting in a “aha” moment that encourages viewers to take the next step.

A product launch video is a video created specifically to introduce a new software product or a major feature update. Its purpose is to build excitement and awareness around the launch, often by highlighting the problem the product solves and its standout features in a dramatic or catchy way. Launch videos are usually short and high-impact (akin to teaser trailers for software) – they stir up interest and hype, helping your announcement stand out and driving viewers to learn more

A promotional video is a marketing video designed to generate interest and excitement for your product, often used for campaigns or announcements. In the SaaS context, promo videos are like teaser trailers for software – short and punchy, focusing on catchy visuals and key selling points to grab attention. For example, a 30-second promo might be used to hype an upcoming product release or new feature, aiming to leave an impression and attract leads

A re-engagement video is a targeted video message sent to users or customers who have become inactive or disengaged. The goal is to win them back by reigniting their interest – often by offering a special incentive, showcasing new features they’ve missed, or reminding them of the value they can get from your product. For instance, if a user hasn’t logged in for a while, you might send a personalized re-engagement video with a discount or a demo of a new feature to encourage their return

A sales video is a broad term for any video used as a tool in the sales process to persuade prospects. This could include personalized outreach videos recorded by a sales rep, a tailored product walkthrough for a specific client, or a generic pitch video. The key is that a sales video is designed to promote your product or service with the aim of driving conversions and closing deals. By using visuals and storytelling, it can effectively communicate value propositions in a way that resonates more than plain text.

A short-form video is a bite-sized video content piece, usually under a few minutes (often under 60 seconds on social platforms), designed to convey a message or entertain quickly. Short-form videos (such as those on TikTok, Instagram Reels, or YouTube Shorts) are ideal for capturing attention in a crowded feed and are highly shareable. SaaS companies might use short-form videos for quick tips, feature highlights, or ads, where brevity and immediacy are key to keeping viewers engaged

A social media video is a video created specifically for social platforms (like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok) to increase brand awareness and engagement. These videos tend to be short, attention-grabbing, and formatted for the platform (e.g., vertical videos for mobile). SaaS social videos often highlight a key message or fun insight about the product in a very concise way, aiming to stop users from scrolling and encourage shares or comments. Each social network has its own best practices, so content is usually tailored (in length, style, and tone) to fit the platform.

Video subtitles are the on-screen text transcriptions of a video’s dialogue and narration. Subtitles (or closed captions) help viewers follow along by displaying the spoken words as text, and they serve multiple purposes: they make videos accessible to those who are deaf or hard of hearing, support viewers who speak different languages, and allow people to watch without sound (for instance, on mute in a social feed). Including subtitles in SaaS videos can broaden your audience and improve comprehension, ensuring no one misses your message due to audio limitations.

A top-of-funnel video is content aimed at people in the awareness stage – those who are just discovering they have a problem or need. Video at the top of the funnel is used to attract a broad audience and plant the seed of your solution in their minds. These videos often focus on identifying a common pain point or answering a basic question without heavy product pitch (e.g., an engaging problem/solution explainer, a thought-leadership piece, or a viral-style brand video). The goal is to generate interest and pull viewers into learning more, setting the stage for later, more product-centric content.

User-generated video content is any video about your product or brand that is created by someone outside your company – typically by customers or fans, rather than by your marketing team. This could include customer review videos, tutorials made by users, unboxing or setup videos, or community testimonial clips. UGC videos are powerful because they come across as authentic social proof; they show real people demonstrating or endorsing your SaaS in an organic way, which can strongly influence prospects. Many companies encourage UGC videos through campaigns or contests due to their credibility and engagement value.

A video advertisement is a promotional video used in paid advertising channels to reach a targeted audience. Video ads can appear on platforms like YouTube (as pre-roll or mid-roll ads), social media feeds, or other websites. They are specifically crafted to grab attention quickly and communicate your message or offer in a short span. For example, a SaaS video ad might highlight a killer feature or a time-limited offer in 15-30 seconds. These ads are an effective way to drive brand awareness, traffic, or conversions by placing your content in front of viewers who may not find you organically

Video A/B testing is the process of comparing two versions of a video to see which one performs better. In an A/B test, you might change a single element (such as the opening, thumbnail, call-to-action, or length) and show version A to half your audience and version B to the other half, then measure which video achieves a higher desired metric (like engagement, click-throughs, or conversions). This helps you optimize video content based on data – for instance, determining which intro keeps viewers watching longer or which CTA drives more sign-ups.

Video analytics refers to the collection and analysis of data on how viewers interact with your videos. This includes metrics such as view counts, play rate, watch time, engagement rate, drop-off points, click-through rate, and conversions. By examining video analytics, SaaS marketers can gauge viewer behavior and the performance of a video – for example, seeing how many people watch till the end or where they lose interest. These insights inform improvements in video content and strategy (like tweaking content to retain viewers or adjusting the video’s placement on a page for better visibility).

Video localization is the process of adapting video content to be understandable and culturally appropriate for different languages or regions. This can involve translating or subtitling the narration, recording new voice-overs in another language, and modifying on-screen text or graphics. For a SaaS company, localizing videos (such as demos or marketing videos) ensures that global audiences can fully grasp and relate to the message, thereby increasing the video’s effectiveness in non-English or international markets.

The video marketing funnel is a strategy of using video content mapped to each stage of the buyer’s journey – awareness, consideration, and decision – to guide prospects toward becoming customers (and beyond). Essentially, it means creating top-of-funnel videos to attract and educate new audiences, middle-of-funnel videos to build trust and address deeper questions, and bottom-of-funnel videos to convince and convert. By embracing video at every stage of the customer journey, you keep viewers engaged and help move them closer to purchase, ultimately driving more conversions and even improving retention

Video SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the practice of optimizing your video content so that it ranks higher in search engine results and is more discoverable. This process involves steps like using relevant keywords in your video titles and descriptions, providing an accurate transcript or captions, creating a video sitemap, and ensuring your video is embedded on pages in a way that search engines can index. The goal of video SEO is to maximize your video’s visibility on platforms like Google and YouTube, attracting more organic traffic by making it easier for people to find your video when they search for related topics.

View-through rate (VTR) is a metric used largely in video advertising that measures the percentage of viewers who watched a certain portion of the video (commonly 30 seconds or the entire video, whichever comes first). A higher VTR means that a larger fraction of people are sticking with your ad instead of skipping or dropping early, indicating that the content is engaging or relevant to them. Marketers look at VTR to judge the effectiveness of video ads – for instance, a compelling ad will have a strong view-through rate because viewers choose to continue watching it.

Visual onboarding is the practice of introducing new users to a software product through visual means (like images, gifs, or videos) rather than long text manuals. In other words, instead of reading how to use the software, the user is shown how, which could include in-app animations or onboarding videos. This method can make the learning curve feel easier and more intuitive, as humans often absorb visual information faster than text. For SaaS companies, a visual onboarding strategy might involve a quick welcome video, illustrated tooltips, or short screencast tutorials to help users reach their “aha” moment with minimal friction.

A webinar is an online seminar or presentation, typically conducted live (but often recorded for later viewing), where a host (and sometimes guest experts) share knowledge on a specific topic. Webinars are a popular format for SaaS marketing and customer education because they allow for in-depth demonstrations or discussions and interactive Q&A sessions. They’re excellent for engaging your audience – for example, you might run a webinar to showcase a product use-case or to onboard new users with live tutorials. Webinars can be streamed in real-time or offered on-demand, and they help establish your company as an authority while also building a personal connection with viewers through their interactive nature.