I’ll be honest with you.
Getting someone to sign up for your SaaS product? That’s the easy part.
Getting them to actually use it? That’s where most companies completely fall apart.
I’ve watched this happen over and over. A company spends thousands on ads, their trial numbers look great, and then… nothing.
Users log in once, maybe twice, and disappear. The average free trial conversion rate sits around 18-25% depending on whether you require a credit card or not. But here’s the gut punch – most of those who do convert never become power users.
Why?
Poor onboarding. Confusing interfaces. And honestly, users just don’t understand how your product solves their actual problem.
But there’s a fix. And it’s not what you think.
Video is Your Adoption Engine (Not Just a Marketing Tool)
Here’s what changed my mind about video.
I used to think the video was just for the marketing team. You know- explainer videos on landing pages, testimonials, that sort of thing. Then I saw the data.
99% of video marketers say video has helped increase user understanding of their product.
That’s not a typo. Ninety-nine percent.
And landing pages with video? They see conversion rates jump by 86%.
But here’s where it gets interesting. Video isn’t just about getting signups anymore. The real power is in what happens after someone creates an account.
Think about it this way:
- Your SaaS might have 50+ features
- Your users have about 3 minutes of patience
- Text tutorials feel like homework
- Live demos don’t scale
Video solves all of this. A 90-second screen recording can show exactly how a workflow functions. No confusion. No misunderstanding. Just clarity.
And clarity drives adoption.
The Stages Where Video Actually Matters
Let me break down where video makes the biggest impact. Because just slapping videos everywhere? That’s not a strategy.
Stage 1: Before They Sign Up
Before someone even creates an account, they need to see themselves winning with your product.
Not “look at our features.”
82% of people have been convinced to buy a product after watching a video. But only if it’s the right video.
Keep it under 2 minutes. Nobody has time for your 10-minute product tour before they’ve even tried it.
Check out this video:
SaaS Explainer Video for ‘Flike’ Your AI Email Wizard 🚀 Product Demo Video
Stage 2: The Critical First 48 Hours
Okay, they signed up. Now what?
This is where most SaaS companies lose people. And I mean lose them. 90% of users churn without strong onboarding.
Here’s what I learned the hard way: users don’t want a comprehensive tour of every feature. They want to accomplish one thing that makes them go “oh, this is why I need this.”
Create short videos for each key action:
- “Create your first project” (60 seconds)
- “Invite your team” (45 seconds)
- “Set up your first automation” (90 seconds)
Each video should end with the user having done something meaningful. Something they can show their boss or use immediately.
One company I consulted for added onboarding videos and their activation rate jumped 42%. Not because the videos were fancy. Because they were clear.
Stage 3: Feature Discovery
Here’s a frustrating truth: Most users only use about 20% of your product’s capabilities.
They find what works. Then they stop exploring.
But those unused features? They’re probably the ones that would make them love your product. Or upgrade to a higher tier.
Interactive product tours increase feature adoption by 42%. But you need to be smart about it.
Don’t just spam users with “hey check out this feature!”
Instead, watch their behavior. When they do something manually that could be automated, show them a 45-second video right in the app: “Did you know you can automate this?”
Check out this:
Enterprise AI Agents: Automation Product Video | SaaS Explainer & Promotional Videos for AI Solution
Stage 4: Retention
Video isn’t just for new users.
Regular customers need content too. Monthly product update videos. Customer success stories showing what’s possible. Advanced tutorials for power users.
I’ve seen companies cut their support tickets by 62% just by creating a video help center. Because when someone has a question, would you rather read five paragraphs or watch a 60-second solution?
Yeah. Me too.
Check out this:
AWS Customer Success Story: Secutix | Amazon Web Services
Distribution
Creating great videos is half the battle. Maybe less than half.
You need to get them in front of users at the right moment.
In-app triggers are your secret weapon. When a user does something that suggests they’d benefit from a feature, show them a video about it. Right there. Right then.
Email works too. Video in emails can increase click-through rates by 300%. Put a video thumbnail in your onboarding sequence. In your feature announcement emails. In your “we noticed you haven’t logged in” messages.
Your help center should be video-first. When someone searches for help, video answers are almost always more useful. Keep the text article too, but lead with video.
And here’s something most people miss: arm your sales team with personalized videos. A 2-minute custom video addressing a prospect’s specific use case crushes any generic slide deck.
The Metrics That Actually Matter
View counts are vanity metrics.
Want to know what matters?
- Which videos correlate with higher activation rates?
- Do users who watch onboarding videos have better retention?
- Which feature videos lead to actual feature adoption?
Track these numbers:
Connect your video analytics to your product analytics. If users who watch your “advanced automation” video are 3x more likely to set up automations, that’s gold. That tells you exactly where to invest.
And watch drop-off points. If 70% of viewers leave at the 45-second mark, something’s wrong at that exact spot. Re-edit it. Or reshoot it.
Start Here
You don’t need 50 videos tomorrow.
Start with three things:
1. Create one clear product explainer for your homepage
2. Build three core onboarding videos covering your essential workflow
3. Record one customer success story
That’s it. Launch with that. Measure the impact. Then expand.
As you grow your library, organize strategically:
- Tag videos by user segment
- Tag by feature
- Tag by use case
So you can surface the right content to the right users.
Why This Matters Now
Most SaaS companies still treat video as a nice-to-have marketing asset.The ones using it strategically throughout the adoption journey? They’re destroying the competition.
Users today expect video. They learn from YouTube tutorials. They watch TikTok. They consume video constantly.
When your product education matches how people already prefer to learn, adoption stops being a struggle. It becomes natural.
The SaaS companies winning on adoption aren’t necessarily building better products. They’re just better at helping users understand and use what they’ve built.
Video makes that possible. At scale.
About the Author: Rees Gargi is the CMO at What a Story, where he helps SaaS companies grow using explainer videos, AI, automation, and modern marketing. He works closely with founders and GTM teams to simplify complex products, improve conversions, and build scalable sales and marketing systems.
