Azadeh Williams shares how B2B marketers can leverage video to bring campaigns to life and drive leads, without breaking the bank or your back.

There’s ample evidence to show video marketing is a powerful way to fire up your marketing inbound engine and build an emotional connection with customers. Sadly, few B2B companies leverage video marketing to its full potential, citing time, resources and expense as the main reasons they don’t attempt it.

Here I look at some of the ways B2B marketers can unlock the value of video in their media and marketing campaigns.

Why video is the new ‘gold’ in B2B marketing

According to Forbes, embedding videos on landing pages can increase conversion rates by 80 percent. Likewise, Unbounce says including a video on your landing page can boost your conversion rates by up to 80 percent.

HubSpot reports 72 percent of customers would rather learn about a product or service by way of video. Reports also show 95 percent of people have watched an explainer video to learn more about a product or service. 

People are also 27 times more likely to click on a video ad than a static one. 

It’s no wonder campaigns that incorporate video marketing enjoy 66 percent more qualified leads per year.

Don’t get left behind your competitors 

It’s fair to say companies who don’t use video as a significant part of their marketing efforts will end up missing out on attracting, converting and retaining the attention of consumers.

So what’s holding you back? Let’s take a look at some common reasons B2B marketers are reluctant to weave video marketing into their inbound strategy:

• Too hard basket: You need to find the right video agency, negotiate the pricing, sort the briefs, then juggle your video agency, PR agency, brand agency and social and digital managers. By the end of it, you’re exhausted and other marketing priorities are catching up fast. The solution? Find a media and marketing agency that can do the heavy lifting for you. Who knows how to integrate video marketing into your paid, organic, social, PR and lead gen inbound campaigns.
• Budget blowout: Mention the word ‘video’ and many a marketer thinks ‘budget suicide’. But contrary to popular opinion, video marketing shouldn’t be confused with an ad campaign, or a TVC. Video marketing can be very simple, targeted and can be produced at scale on a very reasonable budget. Short, sharp and sweet organic video content can be quickly and easily embedded into social media posts and EDMs. And scaled-out quickly at a fraction of the cost of an ad.
• Dancing in the dark: You decide to do a video campaign, produce a great video, pop it on social media, then… nothing. Why not repurpose your video content into blogs, or integrate them into a PR campaign? Some of the most successful, revenue-generating campaigns we’ve done have been when we produce a customer testimonial, repurpose it into a written use case, then pitch the story to press and embed it into award entries. The content can then all be amplified across your social and community channels.
• C-suite buy in: Another common reason video marketing never gets off the ground is when the C-suite doesn’t understand marketing, or the value video content can bring to the mix. Unlocking the value of video marketing needs to start from the top down. Which can, in many instances, be a slow burn. In this instance, start small, test your campaign and build gradually. 

Simple tips to get started

When it comes to producing great video marketing campaigns, education is key. Here are some simple ways you can start to incorporate video into your B2B marketing mix, without breaking the bank, or your back. 

• Create airtight processes and project management workflow: Video marketing needs a lot of collaboration and tight timelines. Ensure your marketing team has seasoned project management skills to ensure there’s a seamless collaboration with minimal delay. If there’s no in-house capability, enlist the services of a seasoned B2B integrated media and marketing specialist.
• Avoid cutting corners: Poor quality video can do more harm for your brand than good. Ensure the quality of your video content is premium, the audio and imagery is clear, the messaging is concise and the overall look and feel is on brand.
• Snackable content: Some of the best video campaigns are done in ‘bite-sized’ pieces. Try splitting a webinar into small, one-hour teaser clips, creating a series of vox pops off the back of a B2B event, or repurposing a podcast series into multiple video animations. These content pieces are perfect to create engaging social media cadences. Or to embed into your EDMs to support your inbound initiatives.
• Analyse the data: Keep track of all the data around engagement, click-throughs, conversions and lead generation. This will be essential if you want to demonstrate to the C-suite that video marketing works and needs ongoing investment.

You’re only limited by your imagination

With the proliferation of exceptional video marketing talent, creative project management tools and marketing automation solutions, scaling video marketing campaigns has never been easier. 

From customer advocacy videos, to product demo videos, webinar video content, vox pops and animations, B2B marketers have an exciting opportunity to leverage video to increase engagement, drive leads and build a memorable experience for customers beyond the product or service.

Found this article interesting? Read this article from Azadeh sharing 10 tips for marketing your startup.