Video can be a hugely effective (and multifunctional) tool in a B2B tech marketing toolbox. It’s a great way to interact with your target audience and current customers, and it’s valuable across a ton of different platforms. But all too often, video marketing for B2B tech is niched into TV advertisements or product demos. There’s a ton you can do with video. Are you missing out?
Here are some crucial stats that you need to know about video marketing before we get started:
- More video content is uploaded in 30 days than the major U.S. television networks have created in 30 years.
- 51% of marketing professionals worldwide name video as the type of content with the best ROI.
- Sixty-four percent of consumers make a purchase after watching branded social videos (via tubularinsights).
- Video drives a 157% increase in organic traffic from SERPs.
Are you convinced? Video is an extremely powerful marketing tool that can have a use in a broad variety of areas—as long as you’re willing to get creative. Here’s where B2B tech firms should be putting video marketing to good use.
Use video testimonials to build trust.
There will probably always be skepticism toward online reviews. How do you know if they’re faked or bought? It’s relatively easy for an employee to write a few sentences on a website and pretend they’re someone else. Although morally reprehensible, it takes no more than a few minutes. However, testimonial videos are much harder to fake. A fake video requires finding and hiring actors and writing a script; it’s a much harder B2B tech marketing endeavor to fake than adding a few sentences online.
Testimonial videos can garner you much more trust with potential customers than anonymous reviews can. If you have a great relationship with a few of your clients, consider putting some of your video marketing budget toward creating a few case study videos. Most often, your clients will be relatively enthusiastic about this, as it gives them some press as well.
Use explainer videos to increase conversions.
Do you have a landing page that is getting plenty of traffic, but isn’t converting well? Before you give up on getting conversions, consider adding a video to your landing page. Here’s why: Videos can increase the conversion rate of a landing page by 86 percent.
Typically, these videos feature an authority figure from your company (think CEO) discussing the value of a download. The videos should be conversational and light in tone. Always place landing page videos on autoplay. This catches the reader’s attention and lengthens the amount of time a prospect will stay on the page.
Use videos to drive engagement across channels.
Videos on social media aren’t new, but they’re still taking off; Social Pilot notes that Facebook videos get at least 59% more engagement than other post types.
If you’re using paid media as part of your B2B tech marketing toolkit, a video can be a hugely impactful content piece; according to Hubspot, 64% of consumers say that watching a video on Facebook influenced them to make a purchase.
Videos featuring company experts are widely popular, with many developing into weekly series. Facebook videos are still alive and well—just stay away from Facebook Watch or Facebook Live. Instead, post engaging autoplay videos straight to the newsfeed. Make sure that all of your social media videos have captions. Not only does this accommodate the majority of social media users who watch videos on mute, but it also provides the deaf community with inclusive video.
While there’s something to be said for the feel of at-home videos, the majority of your content should feel well-produced, with an opening and closing shot, correct captions, and high resolution. Social media videos are definitely less formal than a landing page or testimonial, but that doesn’t mean that they should look like a 70s home movie.
Use video to promote your events (and to re-engage attendees).
Videos can drive excitement for events, but too often people forget to capture video at the event itself. Consider creating an event highlight reel. This can show off company values, participants, and celebrations, and it can be posted to your website and social media channels for compounding impressions later on.
If you want to show potential employees what it’s like to work at your company, event b-roll can come in handy. By posting event video onto other platforms after the event has ended, you’ll be able to drive excitement and boost attendance at your next event.
Use video to bring your homepage to life.
What type of first impression does your website home page offer your visitors? Are there responsive graphics? Engaging images? Informative and relevant text? This is all well and good, but a homepage video can take your website to the next level. Videos on your homepage are a great way to increase the amount of time a visitor spends there, and also allows you to show off your company. A video can offer a good sense of what it’s like to work with your company, what your values are, and how you operate.
Convert Contacts with Gated Video Downloads
Another solid video marketing tactic is to create video content offers versus your standard eBook. Would you be more likely to download an eBook or a video? I hate to say it, but the majority of consumers would rather spend time watching a video than reading a book. An example of relevant video content would be a case study video, product demo, or a training or workshop. Another great reason to video hosted events—if you host a workshop, you can later gate that video content and post it on your website as a conversion opportunity.
Whether you’re looking for something as simple as a testimonial video, or as complex as an overarching video marketing strategy for B2B tech, New North is here to help. We’ve created videos and used video marketing as the centerpiece for clients’ marketing strategy. Learn more about what our expertise in video marketing for B2B tech can offer you here.
