B2B video marketing can be fresh, innovative, and engaging. In fact, the most effective videos are all of those things. Business decision makers want video to help them quickly understand an offer and keep them engaged.
They don’t want boring talking head videos so thick with corporate jargon and marketing speak that they’re not really sure what’s being sold.
Make sure your video marketing hits the mark with:
- The unwritten rules for great B2B Video Marketing
- B2B advertising examples so you can see the rules in action
- Advice on where and how to share your video
6 B2B Video Best Practices
Among B2B marketers, 73% say video marketing is effective or very effective in helping them reach their business goals. No wonder video has become the go-to marketing strategy across markets. The brands that get results are the ones that follow these six rules as they prepare their content.
1. Capture Attention Quickly
You have just seconds to capture the attention of your viewers. Whether they stumble across your video at a conference or are researching your brand on your website, they should instantly know that your video is worth watching.
Start with a video marketing hook that sets the tone. It could be an unexpected image, a startling fact, or an intriguing question.
2. Tell A Compelling Story
The hook captures viewer attention, but the story is what keeps it.
That story can be about your product or your brand, but some of the best B2B videos tell their customer’s story. By keeping the focus on the customer, you reassure them that the video will deliver relevance, not just marketing fluff.
Because you have a limited window to capture attention, we recommend starting with the problem the viewer is trying to solve. This video storytelling method tells viewers that you understand what they’re going through and know how to help.
3. Educate Viewers
B2B buyers tend to be much more informed these days. Most have done significant research before they reach out to a salesperson or book a demo. If your videos educate, they become part of that research process.
Think beyond your product or service to consider what decision makers need to know about the industry or market. This less-direct approach can help you build credibility and goodwill with your audience.
4. Deliver Production Quality
In today’s competitive online video space, you might think quantity is more important than quality. Everyone is making video content, so you need to keep up, right? Not so fast, production quality still matters.
Yes, authenticity makes a difference and yes, you need to be where your audience is. But if you want to stand out, you need quality explainer videos that build brand awareness. A low quality video opens up some uncomfortable questions about the quality of the product or service you’re providing
When planning and producing videos, pay attention to:
Choosing the right video production company can make a big difference to content quality, which can affect your ROI.
5. Build Trust in Your Brand
Business decision makers need to trust your brand before they will spend money and resources to buy from you. If you follow the first four rules, you’re well on your way to building trust with your audience. A few more considerations can solidify that feeling of trust:
Consistent branding and honest communication will reassure B2B shoppers that working with you is a smart business decision.
6. Ask Viewers to Act on Your B2B Video Marketing
The whole point of creating an engaging, high-quality B2B video is to get buyers to take action. You want them to buy a product, download a demo, or at least click a link. Your corporate video delivers the highest ROI when it inspires viewers to take the next step.
Luckily, conversion is one of the things that explainer videos do best. All you have to do is ask with a compelling CTA.
B2B Marketing Video Examples That Work
Now that you know the B2B video best practices, here are some real life examples of these factors in action. We’ve highlighted one thing each video does really well, but if you pay attention you’ll notice that many of these videos follow all six rules.
Elpha Secure – Captures Attention
This video for Elpha secure drops a powerful statistic right at the beginning. That, combined with the mixed-media video style, captures attention immediately. The viewer wants to know how they can avoid becoming part of the statistic. They stop their scroll and, before they know it, they’re learning all about what Elpha Secure has to offer.
Slack — Tells a Story
Slack uses a client success story model to get viewers invested in their product. They don’t just show you how Slack changes the office communication game. They also focus on people and their experience to tell an entertaining story. Did you notice how the subtle animation throughout the video shows Slack in action?
IdeaRocket – Educates Viewers
We created this video as part of our own B2B marketing strategy. This isn’t a hard sales piece. It’s designed to educate viewers who are higher up the funnel. But if you pay attention, you may notice that we slipped in plenty of details about what we do and how we do it. It’s more engaging than a simple clip video and educates viewers on how they might use animation for their marketing goals.
Arcade – Wins Through Production Quality
Detailed designs, fun camera angles and lots of movement bring a sense of quality to this video from Arcade. Everything from animation to sound effects is meticulously chosen to deliver a high-grade experience for the viewer. At just under a minute long, with great audio and eye-catching visuals, this video is ready for the winner’s circle.
Salesforce — Builds Trust
Salesforce pulls in globally recognized brands to build trust in their product. In this video, they partnered with Cummins, a brand with a reputation for excellence and efficiency. So when their director of global sales operations praises the Salesforce software you can’t help but assume he knows what he’s talking about.
The genius part of making a B2B marketing video with a well known client is that you can piggyback on their sterling reputation to boost your brand’s trust and clout. When you make a corporate video about the success of your clients, it’s a win for you, and a marketing boon for them.
Tavant – Invites Action
The end of this video from Tavant doesn’t just invite viewers to “visit our website” or “learn more.” Instead, they encourage viewers to contact them for a demo. Offering something a little more tangible means viewers can more easily understand the benefits of taking action, so they’re more likely to do so.
How to Get Your Videos In Front Of Decision Makers
Once you’ve created a video using the six best practices, the next step is actually sharing that video with B2B shoppers. The obvious first step is to give them to your sales team so they can use video as follow-up for sales conversations. Other options include:
- Incorporating it into websites or landing pages
- Sharing it on LinkedIn or other social media
- Embedding it into nurturing emails
- Including it in your FAQs, help center, or website chat bot
- Featuring them at conferences
- Creating a YouTube channel for them
Keep in mind that business decision makers are people first. That means they scroll social media and watch YouTube just like you do. It’s okay to place your videos on platforms that aren’t specifically designed for B2B conversations.
Effective B2B Video Marketing Starts Here
Engaging, high-quality B2B video provides value for potential leads and delivers a positive return on investment. With the right strategy, you can even use video for lead scoring. The best practices above can get you started, but to really jumpstart your video creation, contact the video marketing experts at IdeaRocket.
