If there’s one dominant trend on the web today, it’s video. You can see it all around you, especially how every major Internet player – especially the biggest social networks – are now rushing to reinvent themselves as video innovators. In fact, some experts predict that by the end of 2017, 74 percent of all Internet traffic will be video.
While many people still think of video as a B2C marketing phenomenon, there are actually quite a few ways that you can use video for B2B marketing:
#1: How-To Videos
There’s one thing that the web can’t get enough of these days, and it’s how-to videos. In the B2B space, this is especially true for software vendors, where you can watch videos on how to do just about anything with a particular piece of software.
You can think of how-to videos as part of the trend toward self-education on the web today. Instead of calling up a sales rep and asking how something works, potential B2B buyers are increasingly comfortable using video to find out about a product or a service.
#2: Customer testimonials
One other type of video that works very well in the B2B space is customer testimonials. You can read how a product helped some company, but there’s nothing quite like seeing a person from that company explain in everyday terms how that product helped them. That’s what makes customer testimonials so powerful – they have a type of authenticity that you can’t find in a slick product trailer.
#3: Event videos
Let’s face it, most B2B events like industry trade conferences, are relatively expensive to attend. Most companies, if they send anyone, will only send 2-3 people at most. That means everyone else in your company is missing out on the insights from the event. So that’s where event videos come into the mix – they are a great way for a company to make highlights from the event readily available to everyone. You have to think like a media company here – it’s best to divide videos into specific speakers covering specific topics.
#4: Product videos
The classic use of video marketing, of course, is to promote the upcoming launch of a new product. Think of these “film trailers,” only instead of a film, you are teasing the release of a new product. And, similar, to the big film studios that release these trailers, you have to think about an entertaining way to present your product that leaves audiences wanting more. In a best case scenario, people will be so intrigued by the video that they will begin tweeting about it on Twitter, or blogging about it. Often, though, it’s only the biggest B2B companies – like GE and FedEx – that have big enough budgets to make something that is truly cinematic. But, even for small businesses, there’s a lot you can do with an iPhone, Instagram and a few video-editing apps.
The big wildcard factor in 2017 will be “live video” as platforms like Facebook Live begin to take off. For B2B companies with a well-developed Facebook presence, that might be one way to embrace video in a more cost-effective way, such as a live video feed from a corporate event.
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Dane
Dane Cobain is a published author, freelance writer, book blogger, poet and (occasional) musician from High Wycombe, UK. Before going freelance, he worked as a social media marker, now specialising in writing about publishing, technology and marketing.