B2B Marketers: New to Video Marketing?

If you frequent this blog, you may have noticed an increased emphasis on visual content over the past few months.  While written content will always have an integral role in a business’ marketing activities, there is no denying that visual content has gained significant traction over the past few years.  Image-heavy sites such as Instagram and Pinterest have become go-to’s for millions of individuals.

While most B2C’s products and services lend themselves to visual content, this transition has been slightly more difficult on their B2B counterparts.  Many B2Bs have products, services, and value propositions that simply don’t translate into a single image as easily as a B2C’s offering.

However, the playing field is more leveled when it comes to video marketing.  Like photos, videos are more easily consumable when compared to text heavy marketing materials.   In addition, video provides B2B marketers with a more efficient platform on which to inform the viewer what it is the company actually does.  If you are a B2B marketer who is new to producing video content, here are a few suggestions for how to get the most out of your new endeavor.

Show, don’t tell: The luxury of being able to show, rather than tell, is a key advantage of video that is often overlooked.  Too often, a company’s video offering will simply be the “elevator pitch” read aloud by an employee.  Rather than taking this more “salesy” approach, tell the story of what your business does through the perspective of those you help.  By shifting the focus to the consumer, you are increasing the odds your message resonates, gets shared, and gains you leads.

Don’t forget about SEO: You may be surprised to learn that, “YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine next to Google.” ReelSEO also notes that Google owns YouTube.  This alone should probably motivate your business to have a presence on the site. To get the most out of your page-rank boost, embed your video with subtitles. Subtitles not only benefit the hearing-impaired, but will also allow the dialogue within your video to become searchable.

Remember, you aren’t Spielberg: If you have the budget and technical skills, a professional-looking video obviously won’t hurt.  However, you should not get hung up on your video lacking flashy graphics or seamless cut scenes.  If you tell a relevant, engaging story, your audience will not be focusing on production values.  On a related note, as The Garfield Group notes, your video “should probably end sooner than you think it needs to.”  You’re telling the story of your company, but you should not be telling the whole story.  Keep your topic focused to make sure viewers stay engaged without X’ing out halfway through.

Have relatable on-screen talent: While you are not setting out to make the next Lincoln or Argo, you still want to be thoughtful in selecting who represents your company in your video content. Another key takeaway from the Garfield Group article: “Creating interesting and engaging video content isn't about featuring the smartest person in the company, it is about tone and manner.”  It is much better to feature an everyday employee, with charisma and a dynamic voice, than to highlight your MIT-educated CTO whose voice puts people to sleep.

If you have experience in B2B video marketing, what other tips would you offer a first-timer? Have you had success with a particular style of storytelling? Any particularly memorable B2B videos you’ve come across are greatly appreciated!