Too many B2B marketing efforts fall short because they forget that even though they are “business to business” they really are targeted at a person. A consumer who doesn’t change his/her personality or characteristics simply because he/she is at work. B2B marketing has historically been sterile and easily forgotten. But it doesn’t have to be that way, and using video marketing in your B2B efforts helps to humanize your messages.
B2B video views continue to leap ahead of other types of content. Why? They’re quick, easy to engage with, add personality to a marketing message and can be just as entertaining as they are informative. They’re also easily shared. So if video is the medium most people are engaging with, it stands to reason your B2B marketing plan should be heavy on video content.
Not sure where to start? We’ve compiled 15 B2B video ideas sure to convert customers and drive revenue.
If you’re ready to incorporate more B2B video into your marketing efforts, here are 15 video production ideas to help you develop content that stands out and makes an impact:
1. Brand videos
B2B brand videos are the perfect idea to lead off our list because they are such a vital tool for telling your brand story, showcasing your culture and establishing your CEO and other executives as industry influencers and leaders. Brand videos can humanize your company, helping to earn trust from current and potential customers while differentiating your company from your competitors. As a bonus, they can also attract new talent.
2. Customer onboarding
There is perhaps no more important period in a client relationship than the beginning. The processes and policies you establish upfront will guide not only your day-to-day interactions but the trajectory of your entire relationship with a client. Short videos are best here. Get the whole team involved so they can start to put faces to names. Explain your processes, demonstrate any software or systems they may be unfamiliar with, and set the tone for long-term success.
3. Customer stories and video testimonials
The most compelling marketing messages to attract new customers often come from the mouths of your current customers. Customer stories and video testimonials are social proof that you deliver on your promises, which is important because most potential customers find external messages about your company more credible than your typical advertising campaigns.
4. Product review/product demo videos
Like customer stories and testimonials, product reviews offer an outside perspective on your company, its people, its products and its promises. Reviews are further social proof that someone has worked with your company, used your products and enjoyed more success because of it. Additionally, video demos are an easy way to showcase your products and demonstrate why they are relevant to your prospective customers. Larger or more sophisticated B2B marketers often tailor their product demos to specific segments of their audience or to a particular prospect.
5. Promotional videos
Promotional videos can include anything from a teaser of a new feature set or upcoming product launch, to promos for a live event or webinar. Be creative when thinking about promo videos. They don’t have to be long, and depending on how they’re used, they can be very lo-fi in terms of production value. Short-form promotional videos are great for enhancing your companies social presence as well.
6. Video ads
If you’ve got a healthy advertising budget, your media mix should absolutely include video ads. In fact, given what we know about online video consumption, video ads should be at the top of your list. According to twitter, video tweets receive 10x more engagement than tweets without video. And that’s just one channel. Regardless of where you advertise, make the most of your media budget by using the proven ROI of video.
7. Social media videos
Speaking of twitter, a strong social presence is essential in today’s marketplace. You simply can’t escape the impact and immediacy of social media, especially for B2B brands. When it comes to social campaigns, you’ll find you can often resize and reuse existing video content or piece out long-form video into a series of shorter content for social consumption. But it’s also a good idea to think about the social channels you wish to engage in and create video content that fits that medium and the expectation of its users.
8. SEO videos
Many companies, B2B and B2C alike, overlook the impact video can have on their SEO rankings. Just as you would analyze the search habits of your audience to write a keyword optimized blog post or website copy, you can do the same with video content. Take those same keywords and topics and generate video content that speaks to what people are searching for while relating it back to your industry, company or products.
9. Virtual events/Live videos
The idea of creating live videos can cause heartburn for the uninitiated. What if something goes wrong (see idea #12)? What kind of software is needed on the backend to keep things running smoothly? Will people even attend? The answers to these questions are: people don’t want perfection, they want authenticity; it’s easier than you think to create a virtual/live event, particularly with the right partner; and people absolutely will attend. In fact, according to a 2021 survey by Statista, 40% of the events respondents plan to attend in 2022 are expected to be virtual. So start thinking about how your event can be one of them.
10. Webinars
Did you know that 54% of B2B professionals watch webinars on a weekly basis? That’s why they’re such a great platform for unveiling new products or upgrades to existing offerings. And why they are also the perfect way to begin establishing the expertise and influence of your company and its executives. Honestly, we feel that your B2B marketing plan should include a calendar of webinars at whatever cadence makes sense for your company and industry. These can be live-streamed, pre-recorded or a mix of both. In fact, according to LinkedIn, brands that live stream benefit from seven times more reactions and 24-times more comments than those that publish pre-recorded videos alone.
11. On-demand video and evergreen content
Nothing cries out for B2B video like evergreen or on-demand content. Whether you reuse existing content (see idea #15) or create an entire library of fresh, new on-demand videos, your evergreen content will stand out above your competitors if it incorporates video. In fact, we highly suggest turning the FAQ section of your website into video content as a first step to testing the value of this type of content.
12. Behind-the-scenes videos
Successful video marketing isn’t just about high production value. Nothing humanizes a brand more than behind-the-scenes videos, especially if you include a few bloopers in the mix. Have some outtakes from a webinar or live presentation that didn’t quite work in the finished video? Did your executives have trouble delivering their lines? Maybe a prop didn’t corporate. Even filming internal planning meetings and other real-life moments can add that extra layer of humanity that will help set you apart and help prospective customers remember you when they’re in the market.
13. Tutorials
Tutorials are another category that makes perfect video content. Tutorial videos don’t have to be huge productions or even very long. In fact, your customers don’t want to sit through a drawn out explanation filled with extraneous details. Create short walk-through videos that hit one or two specific areas of a product. By creating a library of tutorials, you’ll help boost your SEO and create great social and FAQ content while adding to the knowledge base of your users and demonstrating that your company sticks around even after the sell. And, internally, tutorials are great for onboarding new employees. They also provide easy-to-access refreshers for your veteran employees on your internal policies, systems and software.
14. Animated explainer videos
Many people hear “video” and automatically think of expensive on-location shoots with talent fees and extensive post production. But don’t look past animated video, particularly when it comes to explainer videos. Animation is perfect for sharing tips, creating listicles, showing step-by-step directions, building awareness and more. And with some smart planning and the right partners, animated videos won’t break the bank.
15. Repurposed videos
Just as recycling is good for the planet, it’s also good for your marketing budget. Do you have older videos that are still relevant? Perhaps you have b-roll or cut scenes that you’ve never used. Recycle and repurpose this goldmine of video content to create a larger video library without requiring an exponentially larger budget.
Bonus content: the top 4 social media platforms for your B2B videos.
According to Entrepreneur Magazine, 70% of marketers in 2021 believe that videos showed a positive ROI. Ready to ramp up your video production? Make the most of your B2B video marketing efforts with these channels:
1. LinkedIn
There’s no question LinkedIn is the undisputed king of B2B social media platforms. According to LinkedIn, 96% of B2B marketers use the platform for organic social media marketing while 80% run ads. And who are they targeting? Oh, just the 55 million companies with LinkedIn profiles.
2. YouTube
YouTube isn’t just a free video-sharing website, it’s also the world’s second largest search engine by volume. More than 6 billion hours of videos are watched every month on YouTube, making it one of the most popular sites on the web. By utilizing YouTube for your B2B videos, you gain the power of allowing viewers to like, comment and subscribe to your channel.
Also, make sure to have good intros as they could increase retention and help your videos perform better. An intro maker for YouTube can help you in this process with the intro video templates they come with.
3. Twitter
Twitter is another natural B2B marketing tool because the platform has been increasing in popularity among B2B businesses because its audience tends to consume a lot of industry news, and ad views have 26% more viewership on this platform compared to others.
4. Facebook
We can’t forget Facebook and its more than 2.74 billion active users, 74% of whom profess to using the channel for professional work. Wouldn’t it be great to capture even a fraction of those eyeballs with your video content?
Your B2B marketing efforts could benefit from more video. We can help.
If you are interested in adding video production into your B2B marketing efforts, the experts at CROOW Studio would love to help. Contact us to see some real-world examples. We’re here to help, and our software and services make creating high-quality B2B videos easier than ever.