Should your B2B have its own YouTube Channel?

Since the time of Television, brands have been using video formats to enthrall their audiences.

But for B2Bs, video marketing surprisingly still remains a relatively unfamiliar area even though creating and sharing videos online has existed for a decade or more.

YouTube’s burgeoning prominence and the rise of ‘YouTube’ personalities and increasing video consumption by users has turned it into an industry of its own.

B2Bs and Videos

Videos can help build better relationships with online audiences. Maybe this is why a 2014 report by Demand Metric found that 1 in 3 large companies produce over 100 videos a year.

 

Further, ForresterOpens a new window  once estimated that one-minute of video is equal to 1.8 million words! This is especially a useful statistic for B2B marketers whose target audiences are busy executives with limited time.  

With the growing popularity of online channels like YouTube, Vine, and Vimeo, as well as video marketing strategies taking a prominent place in digital media planning, video is becoming an increasingly effective marketing format.

But – is it right for B2Bs?

According to Forbes Insight, 59 is the percentageOpens a new window of senior executives who’d rather watch a video than read text. About 65% of those who view a video click through to visit the vendor website, 50% look for more information and 45% report that they contacted a vendor after seeing an online video ad. Furthermore, about 50% of those who viewed an online marketing video went on to make a purchase for their business.

So basically, given these interesting figures, this does make for a great form of content for B2Bs to exploit more.

Founder of Vidyard, Michael Litt was once quoted in a Convince and ConvertOpens a new window Opens a new window blog as saying, “Video is the next best thing to being in person, and that’s because it provides us with the feeling of being there and experiencing something first hand – even if, in this case, it’s actually a virtual experience.”

Joe Hyland, CMO, ON24 adds, “The coolest part about video is that it transforms generic, jargon-ridden content into a human story. The primary challenge B2B marketers have is that they are talking about a complicated product and benefit that usually isn’t tangible. Video forces you to think about how your company makes an impact in real life. Case in point, we’re wrapping up our latest video at ON24, and after going back and forth, we realized a simple story about the relationship between one marketer and one potential customer was the best way to explain what we do. Same principle applied to the video campaigns I led as CMO of Taulia, we focused on how our technology affected ONE person’s life.”

Jay Prasad, Chief Strategy Officer, VideoAmp contributes, “Buyers inside businesses want to see engaging yet highly efficient and relevant decision-support information. More and more, that means video. The old text-heavy B2B email sales pitch and PDF brochure that demands focused time and attention have given way to the content marketing explainer video or product demo video that conveys a value prop in 15 or 30 seconds. With everyone now using their phones as personal TVs, B2B video marketing is set free. And with the data targeting and efficiency of programmatic video, these videos can be distributed to the right decision makers with precision yet at meaningful scale.”

Linking video to your ABM and buyer journey optimization

With ABM the new order of the day for B2Bs, personalization is the name of the game. A hyper-targeted video content strategy that helps cater to every potential customer, with content that caters to their specific need at the given stage of their buyers’ journey could work wonders in B2B.  It is important for B2Bs to remember that B2B customers do a lot of research online before zoning in on potential vendors, so any content (and not just video) should always be created with the aim of helping to widen and deepen their knowledge about the category in general, and helping them move forward in their journey and make more informed decisions.

Joe contributes, “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…we aren’t marketing to businesses or consumers, we’re marketing to people! Videos are incredibly effective at putting a company’s value in first-person perspective and showing, not telling, their benefits. That gives room for the audience to imagine what their experience might be like and wonder what your company could do for them. That spark of curiosity is the key to starting conversations and increasing overall engagement.”

At the top of the funnel, the purpose of communication is to inform and make aware. Videos that talk about the company, brand and values, products, solutions help prospects gather relevant information about all the solutions available.

Mid-funnel, prospects are seeking data to back up their decisions, and opportunities to engage with the brands that have caught their eye.

Typically, in these cases, how-to videos, product selection guides, quick explainer videos and user guides may be best suited.  

At the bottom of the Sales funnel, the talk is more about potentially converting the prospect by getting them to share details, and express intent. In this case, recordings of webinars, actual use-cases or testimonials can be useful.

Post the sale, explainer, tutorial and refresher guide video content can really help with common customer service related issues. It can save B2Bs time and resources to create a series of self-service videos and share with users rather than focus on running smooth call centers or on-site visits.

This video that showcases how MasterCard transforms its corporate website with partner VML using Adobe Experience Manager and Adobe Analytics within Adobe Marketing Cloud is a shining example of how a B2B has used a product demonstration video to create more awareness.

 

B2B-specific pointers to make video work

Repurpose: Most B2Bs have spent years creating textual content. Considering that videos are now quite the trending format, repurposing some of your old textual content into multiple videos addressing various challenges and points of the buyer’s journey as well as specific pain points of the potential buyer could be a productive way of keeping up with the current trends of your readers without affecting your resources, time and effort.

Reuse: Videos don’t necessarily have to have a short shelf-life, the way written content may. For instance, once you have created a great video on a new product launch, you can embed the video onto other content formats like downloadable ebooks, pdfs and more using Slideshare or Uberflip, as well as in email newsletters.

Leverage social media: Video testimonials, besides hosting them on your own businesses website, go up on a range of social media channels to broadcast ‘how great your product actually is’, without needing prospects to come to your websites. Pre-event teasers or pre-product launch teasers can be a great way to enhance social media presence and engagement and create the right kind of desired buzz.

Leverage events: B2Bs either participate in or host events on a regular basis. Using footage from an event to create relevant highlights and embedding it in blogs or using them for social media promotions could keep the momentum going.

Tips for first-time B2B video marketers

How can first-time B2B marketers ensure that their videos are a hit with viewers? Just creating video content is not enough. Focusing on creating video content that works is more important.

• Assessing the kind of videos that are trending on popular channels like YouTube can be a great starting point. Especially checking out what your competitors or market leaders in similar industries are doing could help.
• When planning your video content, try not to fit too much into one video. With attention spans reducing and more brands competing for the same target’s attention, the key lies in creating innovative, crisp content. Share your core message within the first couple of minutes to create an impact. Ensure each video addresses different pain points or challenges along the buyers’ journey- don’t try to go through the entire journey in one video.
• When covering more complicated B2B topics  especially when dealing with how to use complicated machinery or equipment, how to use a particular software or solution, breaking down videos into a series could be a great solution. Getting an expert in the field to demo how it’s done would help too
• To create better brand recall, it helps to be consistent. Posting one video and then having a long gap of several months before the next one goes live might not be the best way to capitalize on videos as a content medium. Also, be consistent across channels and platforms – be everywhere your prospects may possibly look for video content about your category.
• Tell a story: no matter what the objective of the video, telling your audience an interesting story always helps to build relevance and connect. In B2B marketing, it is not as important to extol the virtues of your own solution as it is about helping the prospect solve their problems and learn about new ways of addressing challenges. The content needs to be directed towards that rather than just promoting your own brand. If readers find the content useful and credible, chances are they will come to you for more anyway.
• Try adding some humor to retain your audience’s attention. But also focus on creating value with every bit of content that goes out, just as you would with every phone call or in-person meeting.
• Besides this, depending on the type of platform you shortlist to host your B2B video content on, understanding the platform-specific dos and don’ts could help extract maximum value from your efforts.  
• Get your videos found more easily. Try to implement video SEO rules when creating and marketing content online. Nowadays, voice search is also critical to video and content marketing.

Will Voice Assistant Technology Improve the Retailer-Consumer Relationship?Opens a new window Read more about it here.

While creating and marketing videos, capitalizing on the best of Google Adwords for your Video Ads could create an additional impact and better traction online. Here’s a quick video tutorial just for you!

 

A few B2B examples that created the right kind of noise

In a Convince and ConvertOpens a new window blog, Oakley digital marketing director, Scott Alexander, spoke about customer-centric marketing where he explored why certain marketing sells and other marketing doesn’t. Oftentimes, the pieces of marketing that make a difference are the ones that offer a solution to a problem. S what has actually worked in the b2B space?

Cisco

With a back-catalogue in excess of three thousand videosOpens a new window , and a production rate of a thousand videos per year, Cisco has invested big into video marketingOpens a new window . Whilst there are only a handful of B2B businesses with Cisco-level resources, all businesses can learn a lesson from their approach—using video marketing to create an invaluable archive of problem-solving, sales funnel-targeted content. (source)Opens a new window

This recent video from the Cisco learning network garnered over 20k views within 10 days of upload.

 

Intel
Then there’s Intel who played the innovation card quite impressively. This tech giant also sports a rich bank of video content. However, unlike the typical B2B communiques, Intel went the extra mile to include the brand’s involvement in everything from wildlife photography to amateur rocketry

See how Intel used award-winning photographer and author of “The Handbook of Drone Photography” Chase Guttman’s expertise to explain how drones bring a new perspective on life.

 

So now, should your B2B have its own YouTube channel?

Videos can be a valuable ally for B2Bs.

But do you really need a YouTube Channel?

Depends on how much video content you have, whether you want to build an online community, whether you want your videos to go viral or just have a convenient, easy-to-access, consolidated place where customers can watch all your videos.

Having a YouTube channel for a B2B is by no means mandatory – there are other ways to distribute your video content (see box) but you can use YouTube for its many other benefits like:

-Showcasing product demonstrations and testimonials
-Creating an online community or fan following of your services
-Sharing your core expertise
-Put spotlight on the brand’s core personality