Let's be honest.
2020 hasn't gone even close to how we thought it would and with the challenges still in front of us, as marketers we're on the lookout for ways to keep audiences engaged and sales pipelines flowing.
Video marketing and sales is something that's been growing in popularity over the years.
We've gone on about it quite a lot ourselves in the past and as a Vidyard partner have an interest in seeing video sales and marketing growing in use.
If you're not using B2B video marketing or video for sales yet, check out our guide to Video for Sales and see how you could be winning more business.
One thing about using B2B video marketing, is that it's a lot cheaper than you imagine it is.
You're not filming a Hollywood blockbuster and many smartphones, with 4K capability and features like SlowMo capture and facial recognition as standard, mean you can create professional looking videos with technology you already own.
That's all great you say. But isn't video marketing more B2C and suited to happy looking millennials on YouTube selling fashion or holidays?
No. No it's not.
The interesting thing is, as video is becoming easier to produce and publish, it also has a growing potential to influence the decisions of specialised B2B buyers and CEOs.
In fact, research by Wyzowl found that 74% of business people have been convinced to buy a product or service after watching a brand's video.
So what's the best way to use video in your B2B marketing strategy?
If you're trying to target and influence business owners and managers, try some of the techniques listed below as part of your overall marketing campaigns.
- Inform - Use video as part of targeted campaigns to simply and quickly explain your product or service and discuss how it could benefit prospective customers.
- Educate - Highlight the key features of what you're offering and the precise steps that should be taken to get the best use out of your product or service.
- Personalise - With video being so easy to make, use it to your full advantage. If you're targeting senior B2B executives or CEOs, why not personalise each video to include their name or company name?
- Entertain - Yes, B2B products and services can be complex and niche, but that doesn't mean that you can't generate interest in your business simply by creating something cool that captures the narrative of your brand.
- Report - At Six & Flow, our accounts team often produce client reports in video form. Having someone talk directly through the wins, losses, problems and solutions is a surefire way to inform time-poor clients of important points that may be missed if you send over lengthy documents or confusing spreadsheets.
- Facebook Live - Consider using Facebook and Instagram's live video features to interact directly with prospects, leads and customers. Hold live Q&A sessions, or present opinion pieces on industry-specific topics.
- Linkedin - As a B2B marketer, you should be creating a library of assets on Linkedin with all of the above types of video content included. The more native videos you have on Linkedin, the better the algorithms will serve you in boosting your brand as an industry thought leader.
- Email - Help your emails standout by shooting a short video with useful information that you can send to prospects or customers. These are great for follow ups after meetings or to send some quick information.
- Demo - Are your prospects looking for a quick demonstration on your product? Shoot a video and send it to them to look at. It's better than trying to organise diaries and spend the day travelling.
By the way, if you'e looking for some tips on what types of videos to create, give this blog a read.
What video software is best for B2B marketing?
Vidyard - Vidyard is a great option for B2B video marketing, especially if you're new to it as they give you the option to start for free. With Vidyard you can shoot and host all kinds of videos direct from your webcam and share them in a few clicks via email or on social media.
Animoto - This is a cloud-based video creation service with a simple drag and drop interface which will help you create video slideshows in minutes using photos, video clips, music and text.
Vyond (was Go Animate) - A simple to use cloud based platform with a library of stock illustrations, animations and sounds. Great for creating short explainer videos and highlighting important industry statistics.
Adobe CC - At the more expensive end of the spectrum we've got Premiere Pro and After-Effects, which basically gives you the power to produce whatever kind of videos you can imagine. Be warned though, there'll be a lot of learning involved for this one.
Boost your B2B marketing and sales with video
Whatever way you look at it, or whichever way you start to use it, video is a hugely successful tool for marketing and sales in B2B.
Make sure to keep content consistent with your brand voice, but don't be afraid to try new things - experiment and find what works best for you.
