Integrating video into a website and sharing through video sites has great potential to build awareness and establish trust before a transaction. We're now seeing many more marketers using video as discussed in my previous post on inbound B2B marketing. In this post I'll use examples to review different approaches B2B companies can use video to really bring their offering to life.
At the last check, it was estimated that approximately 48 hours of video were being uploaded to YouTube every minute. If a picture is worth a thousand words, how valuable is a video when video search dominates internet search?
This data from YouTube is further supported by a recent survey which confirmed that B2B marketers need to focus on videos and images as part of their SEO strategy. Video appeared most frequently, and in over 70 per cent of Google search results, images were second and appeared in over 30 per cent of results.
The real trick with video is that only relevant and engaging video works. You can’t set out to create a viral video. Your audience decides if a video will go viral. Only when you start to think creatively about the type of video to shoot and post online, can you expect to produce something that ensures your stand out from the crowd. Video can help drive favourability and conversion even if isn't viral, so you should also think how video can help support the customer journey.
The traditional corporate video is dead. People don’t have the time to watch them and even less time to share them. And if they do, they will only watch it once. There is little interest and viral opportunity in a dull product demonstration video or a stuffy presentation delivered in an even stuffier conference room.
The best video content avoids broadcast and is information, helpful or entertaining. It is important in video for B2B buyers that you avoid talking specifically about products but create an interesting perspective on your company and what it does.
So, think about your company’s personality. What does the company stand for? What is its mission? What pain does it solve for its customers? Who are your advocates?
Examples of good B2B video are notoriously difficult to come by, but here are some credible examples that might help to get your creative juices flowing and help to position your business a little more effectively.
Let's start by looking at this impressive, and admittedly high production value, video, is the glass campaign from Corning which has achieved 15 million views on YouTube. We’ve selected this one more to illustrate how far you might stray from what you do in order to create a little magic.
In my next example, Rolls Royce focus their corporate video around their people, why they joined the company and what they are striving to achieve.
In the packaging sector, SCA has been running a design competition for several years and they create some interesting interview videos that are very different to the Corning example but which are used to convey important messages to interested audiences. This is a recent addition to YouTube so the viewing numbers are low, but it again demonstrates a focus that is deliberately shifted away from their core business in order to secure more interest.
Eloqua are a marketing automation (email marketing) giant of the content marketing space.
In this montage of simply-shot talking head videos, easily replicated with a basic video camera and tripod, respondents are giving feedback on the benefits Eloqua has brought to their business. Powerful stuff and content that can be easily spread online, used at shows or embedded in email.
This example shows how these videos can be placed on B2B publishing sites for awareness.
Our contemporaries over at SocialMediaExaminer.com are having tremendous success driving repeat customers to the website.
One reason for this is the use of video - see this example on content marketing
So, supplement your blog and add some moving images using a built-in microphone/camera, headset or free screen-cast software like Screenr that allows you to make a video from what is on your screen.
Finally, in the food ingredients trade, media owner William Reed Business Media, achieves notable success at trade shows by equipping journalists with equipment to record thoughts and perspectives at a show. These are quickly turned around and uploaded to the web, sometimes same day. View this example.
B2B buyers are hitting the Internet searching for new products, services and suppliers, and video is playing an increasingly important role in bringing companies to life – acting as your first impression. Once created, video can be used in a variety of ways, whether on the web, embedded email, as social media content, at exhibitions and conferences or as a press release.
By Rene Power
René Power, has been the Smart Insights Expert commentator on B2B marketing for over four years. He consults, talks and trains on the deployment of the full marketing mix within trade B2B sectors including packaging, food, science, construction, engineering and professional services. He specializes in integrating digital with traditional and demystifying digital marketing, social media and content marketing for trade B2B companies. A Chartered Marketer, René authors the The Marketing Assassin blog, shares updates on Twitter @renepower and you can connect via Linkedin. Rene also authored the recently updated Smart Insights Expert members guide: 7 Steps to Brilliant B2B Digital Marketing guide.
Turbocharge your results with this toolkit containing 9 resources
The Business-to-business Marketing toolkit contains:
Start your Digital Marketing Plan today with our Free membership.
Recommended Blog Posts
When times are tough, content marketers must keep assessing and making changes to their content strategies to ensure their content assets are working as efficiently and effectively as they can The best content marketers in 2023 already understand that taking …..
Why you need to rethink your B2B marketing strategy to keep up with the pace of change Let’s start with addressing the status quo. For a long time, tried and tested B2B marketing strategies have been based around a linear …..
7 steps ensure top-down strategic alignment between business strategy and partner marketing Aligning partner marketing with your organization’s overall business strategy and specific strategic initiatives is essential for driving success and maximizing the value that partners bring to an organization. …..
