B2B Video Marketing: How It’s Reshaping B2B Marketing Strategies
Video marketing has been a major channel for B2C in terms of growing its customer base and improving engagement. Now, with more businesses taking notice of its success, the adoption rate among B2B is beginning to skyrocket.
It’s evident that video marketing is an increasingly crucial part of any modern-day growth strategy.
Like B2C brands, B2B marketers are taking advantage of digital channels such as YouTube and TikTok, along with social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, to create powerful lead-generating video content.
From showcasing customer success stories to demonstrating product features or providing how-to tutorials, videos have become an invaluable way for businesses to build relationships with their audience.
Benefits of Using Video in B2B Marketing
With B2B marketing becoming more competitive, businesses need to stand out from the crowd. Video is the perfect medium to help businesses to create valuable content that captures an audience's attention.
But brands are finding that B2B marketing provides a number of tangible benefits that help them achieve their goals. Below are four reasons why using video in B2B marketing campaigns is a great idea:
Better Brand Awareness
Videos effectively communicate your company's message and increase brand awareness. Because you can easily convey complex topics quickly, videos can be an excellent tool for introducing potential customers to what your company does and how it stands out from the competition.
Videos can also be used on more than one platform, including video-sharing outlets like YouTube and Vimeo, social media sites, and email campaigns. This allows you to reach a larger audience and enhance your online presence.
Boosted Engagement
People are more likely to watch a video than read a long article or blog post because they find it more interactive and less intimidating to consume information. Videos also present a unique opportunity to personalize content by adding visuals such as images, logos, music, or voice-overs that help draw viewers in and convey key messages about your business's services or products.
Increased Conversion Rates
Videos have been shown to increase conversion rates because they engage viewers in ways text cannot match. By creating high-quality videos that showcase what makes your business unique and highlighting customer stories or testimonials, you can create an emotional connection with potential customers that could lead to increased conversions down the line.
Additionally, including calls-to-action (CTAs) within your videos can encourage people who view them to take specific actions like signing up for newsletters or registering for webinars on related topics, which will help drive conversions even further.
Improved Search Rankings
Websites with videos are far more likely to rank higher in search results than those without. This means that if you include videos on your website or blog, you will have a better chance of appearing at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs) for relevant queries.
Overall, video is becoming an increasingly important part of B2B marketing strategies, allowing businesses to create engaging content that stands out from the crowd while increasing brand awareness and boosting conversions. With this in mind, it's important for marketers to recognize the value of video and incorporate it into their overall marketing strategy.
Challenges and Solutions to B2B Video Marketing
While video can be an incredibly powerful tool for B2B marketers, some challenges are still associated with it. However, where there are challenges, there are also solutions. Below we run through some of the common challenges marketers face when creating B2B videos and how to address them:
Keeping Content Engaging
One of the main issues with B2B video marketing is that it can be challenging to create engaging content that resonates with a professional audience. Professional viewers have higher expectations regarding the content they consume and will often be more critical of what they see.
They also tend to have shorter attention spans than other audiences, making it more difficult for videos to hold their attention. To keep viewers engaged and ensure your videos are effective, it's essential to focus on creating high-quality content that is both informative and entertaining.
Try to include visuals like images and graphics and sound effects or music if appropriate. Use engaging titles and descriptions when sharing your videos to stand out from other content in viewers' feeds. Understanding your target audience and what appeals to them will also help you create content that resonates with them.
Choosing the Right Platform
Another challenge marketers face when creating videos for their B2B audience is choosing the right platform to share them. With so many different platforms available, knowing which one will provide the best results for your business can be challenging.
When selecting the best platform for sharing your B2B videos, consider the type of content you're creating, your target audience, and what platforms they are most active on. It's also important to remember that the same video can be shared across multiple platforms to ensure maximum reach and engagement. By selecting the right platform and sharing content regularly, you can maximize your reach and get the most out of your videos.
Managing Time and Budgets
Creating high-quality videos takes time and money—two things businesses typically don't have in abundance. The good news is there are ways to work around these constraints without sacrificing quality.
For example, consider outsourcing work to commercial video production companies if you don't have the internal resources or expertise to produce professional content. Also, by planning strategically, you can create a detailed production schedule to ensure maximum efficiency and minimize costs.
B2B marketing has created opportunities for organizations looking to reach professional audiences. While there are some unique challenges when creating videos for a professional audience, by following the tips outlined above, B2B marketers can create engaging content that helps them build brand awareness and play a significant role in driving new sales conversions.
Torrey Tayenaka is the cofounder and CEO at Sparkhouse, an Orange County based commercial video production company. He is often asked to contribute expertise in publications like Entrepreneur, Single Grain, and Forbes. In addition to Sparkhouse, Tayenaka has also founded the companies Eva Smart Shower, Litehouse, and Forge54.