Video is Coming. Why You Need a B2B Video Marketing Strategy!

Have you heard of Game of Thrones? Well, I’d like to say I’m a bit of a fan of the TV show.

I recently decided to re-watch the previous seasons before the 2019 premiere. As millennials like me usually do, I took to the internet to see how many episodes I would need to watch each week before the final season airs. Next summer seems far away, but there are a lot of episodes!

Why Video Makes Sense in B2B

If internet users could choose, 72 percent would prefer watching video over reading text when trying to learn something new. Many marketers have figured this out: those using video content as part of their marketing strategy are seeing increases in sales, website traffic and time spent on sites (HubSpot).

Search engines like video, too, as they’re deemed high-quality content. And, video paired with the right metadata and tags can really boost SEO efforts on your website (Digital Marketing Institute).

If social media is important to your marketing efforts, here’s more good news. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram favor video in their newsfeeds, so your followers are more likely to see your company when they’re scrolling if you post video content. Finally, at the risk of stating the obvious, YouTube’s popularity is ubiquitous, with more than 1.8 billion users every month. If you’re not sure where all of your video content should live, YouTube is a great place to start.

How to Use Videos in Your B2B Marketing Strategy

Video isn’t reserved for the B2C space anymore. B2B marketing videos alone account for more than 859,000 hours of YouTube views. Seventy percent of B2B customers watch branded videos before making a purchase decision (Google), so having video content is a huge asset.

By using videos in your B2B marketing efforts, you’ll be able to tell a story and connect with your audience on a different level. When a face-to-face conversation isn’t an option just yet, video is the perfect way to reach out to your potential customers — or re-connect with your current ones.

If you’re unsure about how to integrate videos into your B2B marketing strategy, here are a few ideas to get you started:

1. Tutorials

How-to videos are all the rage and are considered one of the most effective video marketing strategies (Forbes). Picking up a phone isn’t always an option in the industrial B2B space. Step-by-step tutorials make it easier for viewers to problem solve and for you to answer your customers’ questions, not to mention … WAIT! What was that last step? Rewind!

2. Webinar Recordings

Uploading webinars to your content hub or YouTube channel is a great way for customers and potential clients to hear from your subject matter experts and for you to repurpose existing content. Making webinars available after live presentations allows viewers to listen to specific topics of interest and may even encourage them to join your next event.

3. Company Culture Videos

What’s it like to work at your company? What does your team look like? Global communications and commerce make it easy to do business around the world, but sometimes it can be nice to put a face to a name. Video is a fun way to share aspects of your office, team and culture with customers and potential clients.

4. Product Demos

Products are often large and complex, making them difficult to transport to events where customers can interact with them. No problem. Video is the perfect medium to show the inner workings and design features that make your offering unique. Whether online or on-screen at an event, video can be a highly effective and cost-efficient way of telling your product story.

Whether you’re already using it as part of your strategy or not, your B2B customers expect videos. No matter what industry you’re in, there’s an opportunity to create video content, so use it to your advantage.

Winter is coming, video is here, and it’s not going anywhere.