The Ultimate B2B Video Marketing Strategy

Business-to-business (B2B) marketing must appeal to company decision-makers rather than consumers. This often requires different practices and types of videos than those used by business-to-consumer (B2C) companies.

Corporate videos are among the best options for grabbing viewers' attention and establishing a clear message about your brand. However, the best approaches vary by your objectives and audio, which you need to consider as you craft your B2B video marketing strategy. 

Why Video Content Resonates With B2B Audiences

B2B marketing differs from the usual advertising strategies directed at consumers. These campaigns must be targeted and solution-oriented, clearly laying out all the details businesses need to know. They must also persuade multiple decision-makers within a company to have any impact. 

Short-form videos are the most popular type of social media content today. High-quality videos capture and maintain viewers' attention, directing their eyes to essential details. Plus, with voiceovers, text graphics, and quick editing, videos give you multiple ways to communicate critical information in a limited timeframe.

Videos are especially beneficial for B2B businesses because they're easy to repost. Professionals can share your videos on social media, via email, or in person. Plus, videos demand less focus than written text or presentations, making them easier for viewers to follow.

How To Develop Your B2B Video Marketing Strategy

The best business-to-business strategies often vary. B2B marketers must follow trends across different industries and companies to understand their target audience's needs. In doing so, they can set stronger goals and objectives that help them attract potential clients. 

Set Clear Objectives and Goals

Start by defining what you're advertising, such as a product, service, or brand. This will help you determine your best approach and types of videos. Next, set a measurable goal for your campaign, such as the number of leads, increased web traffic, or level of social media engagement. These outcomes will help you identify your most beneficial strategies as you go. They can also help you determine if you have a reasonable video budget. 

That said, some B2B goals are more challenging to track than others. For example, online engagement can indicate better brand awareness, but you can't actually measure how many decision-makers know about your business. 

Furthermore, business leaders likely won't break existing contracts or partnerships to partner with your company. B2B brand awareness and growth occur organically over time. So, you should set realistic objectives and work with B2B video production teams that understand your goals. 

Understand Your Target Audience

Defining your target audience can be tricky, depending on your industry and what product or service you're marketing. At a base level, you're marketing to business leaders age 30+. However, the specific decision-makers you target may depend on what you're marketing. For example, business software is often marketed to office managers and team leaders, whom you may need multiple platforms to reach.

Most professionals use LinkedIn to expand their networks and learn more about industry developments. LinkedIn is generally the best social media platform for reaching B2B businesses, even if your target audience is younger.

Social media metrics automatically track which of your ad campaigns are most successful, often categorized by demographic. Additionally, many companies ask businesses to complete "Where did you hear about us?" surveys to track the most successful strategies and platforms across the sales funnel. Learning more about your target audience will help you determine better practices as you go.

Types of Videos for B2B Marketing

Business video marketing takes many forms depending on what you're advertising. The most common types of B2B videos include:

• Product videos provide brief overviews or demos of specific products, including their uses, benefits, and unique features. They should answer basic questions and help viewers visualize your product's functionality. 
• Explainer videos typically go more in-depth than product videos. They often focus on a specific topic, such as the product's usage or setting. They can combine voiceovers, demonstrations, motion graphics, and more to hold viewers' attention and share as many details as possible. 
• Testimonial videos use interviews and voiceovers to share past customers' experiences with your products and services. Some testimonials serve as case studies that follow how clients implemented and benefited from specific services. Client and customer testimonials are social proof that can convince B2B buyers you're a dependable business to work with.
• Webinars and podcasts can improve your brand's credibility and establish long-term connections. Educational content focuses on specific topics, such as how technology has changed your industry, giving viewers something to learn. You can then plug your products, services, and brand as appropriate.

How To Craft Compelling B2B Video Content

Videos are a unique medium that blends visuals and audio for attention-grabbing results. They can help you creatively communicate lots of information in a short amount of time. Plus, motion graphics, music, transitions, B-roll, and other elements can spice up your B2B video production for unique results. 

Build a Narrative That Engages and Converts

A good B2B video marketing strategy must engage viewers and persuade potential customers to consider your brand in the future. Most business decisions aren't made overnight, so your message should be memorable and impactful. 

The best way to build a marketing narrative is to consider the needs that your solution solves. For example, if you're marketing cybersecurity software, what are the greatest risks B2B businesses face from cybercrime? Most importantly, how can your software protect their business in ways other programs can't?

That said, you should avoid fearmongering, pandering, or other cheap advertising techniques in your B2B videos. These can impair your brand's credibility and cause business leaders to lose interest in your product or service. 

Instead, focus on the positives, such as your solution's benefits or customer testimonials. A B2B video agency can help you determine the best marketing strategy for your goals and objectives. 

Find the Right Keywords for Your Industry

Social media and search engine optimization (SEO) are crucial to digital marketing. Nearly every platform's algorithm prioritizes content based on what it deems "relevant," which is often determined by the type of content and its relevant keywords. 

Keywords consist of a single word or phrase that aligns with a person's search results or previous social media interactions. For example, LinkedIn may suggest a post with the keyword "AI software" to users who previously liked posts about artificial intelligence. 

Captioning your videos on LinkedIn, YouTube, and other platforms will help them stand out in their algorithms and make them easier to search for. Plus, including keywords and concise captions will communicate to viewers exactly what they can expect from your video.

Use Transcripts and Captions

Adding captions and creating transcripts from your videos can make them more accessible to everyone — even those who forgot their earbuds. Video captions are increasingly popular in the U.S., with over 50% of TV viewers using them. 

Plus, captions let social media users follow your video without ever tapping the audio button. Although it may take longer, writing captions can make your videos significantly more appealing and easier to follow.

Meanwhile, transcripts let people who can't or won't watch the video read all its details in text instead. Some businesses paste their transcripts in their video captions and YouTube descriptions for easy access, while others turn them into blogs and other content. Including transcripts in captions and on your website can boost your video's relevance in the algorithm, especially if multiple keywords are mentioned. 

Many AI programs automatically generate transcripts and captions based on your video's audio. However, these are often inaccurate and filled with other typos. A reliable B2B video production team may craft these details instead with better grammar, formatting, and timing. 

Choose the Right Platforms for Distribution

As discussed, LinkedIn is by far the best social media platform for reaching business leaders. However, other apps like Facebook and Instagram may boost your marketing channels for specific demographics and age groups. For example, if you're primarily marketing to start-ups, you may also benefit from TikTok ads targeting young entrepreneurs. 

Businesses may also benefit from YouTube B2B marketing. Even if you don't specialize in videos for YouTube, uploading your explainer and product videos will give people a clean channel of content to watch. This can make your online videos easier to find and share, even years later. 

Whether you're marketing on social media or a local TV station, you should be aware of your platform's format and guidelines. Paid promotions often require your video to fit specific resolutions, aspect ratios, and durations. 

Additionally, sharing improperly formatted videos can encourage viewers to keep scrolling and set a bad precedent for your brand. Fortunately, a B2B video agency can export your videos in the best formats for each platform if you communicate your distribution goals. 

Charter & Co Is Here To Help

Videos for businesses should be high-quality and visually appealing. An experienced video production company like Charter & Co can help you craft the best possible content for your B2B video marketing strategy. 

Contact Charter & Co today to discuss your video and distribution strategies.