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7 Simple Ways to Leverage Video For Your B2B Marketing Strategy

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7 Simple Ways to Leverage Video For Your B2B Marketing Strategy

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Using video to build your business is a strategy hundreds of thousands of marketers and business owners implement every day. Uploading videos on social media platforms like TikTok does pretty good marketing. And along with it, using a TikTok bot will let you have more reach on the platform.

The reason for this surge in video demand comes directly from our internet behavior.

In 2019, internet users spent on average 6 hours and 48 minutes per week watching online video content. This has increased by 59% since only three years prior, in 2016.

The digital age is demanding more video content. With popular social media sites like Instagram and Tik Tok catching on, they’re doing everything they can to make their platforms truly video-centered. With TikTok being exclusive to video format and Instagram heading this way with their new ‘Reels’ tool, many businesses are mimicking this forward-thinking strategy and implementing it to their own marketing tactics.

As a business-to-business owner, leveraging videos into your marketing strategy is incredibly powerful. Arguably, one could say that a B2B company would benefit more than a B2C company.

This is because B2B organizations are service-based rather than product-based. As such, it can be tricky to take a photo of their offer.

On the other hand, videos give B2B brands the chance to educate, inspire, motivate, and establish their brand as thought leaders within the industry.

But how can B2B companies leverage video into their marketing strategy? Here are 7 simple ways you can begin your journey to thought leadership status, broader brand recognition, and ultimately, an increased revenue with video.

1. Create An Avatar Of Your Ideal Client

As with any form of content, it needs to revolve around your audience. When creating videos, you must know your viewer inside and target them with your messaging and marketing tactics.

The more detail you can provide, the more specific your videos will be. Once you can do this, you’ll gain more inspiration for video content, meaning it won’t feel so forced.

Your avatar needs to be based on solid market research rather than just wishful fiction.

Explore your audience’s:

  • Demographics
  • Pain points
  • Desires
  • Daily routines
  • Ideal solutions

Document them on your Avatar, creating the ideal client for your services. When creating your video strategy, pull up this document and ensure your content meets the needs of your target audience.

2. Map Out Your Process And Create Videos For Each Step

As a B2B brand, your funnel is your salvation. The onboarding, up-selling, down-selling, and the offboarding process is critical, and this is where your videos can make your brand the better choice.

Many companies use a sales funnel. While they do convert, and it’s clearly a good tactic, potential clients have to go through this process alone. That is, if the brand owner does not use videos.

Creating videos for each step of the funnel allows your viewer to feel supported throughout the journey. It also develops the relationship between owner and viewer, making your chance of converting the viewer into a much higher client or customer.

To do this with impact, you need to consider the customer’s position within the funnel carefully. Explore what they’ll be thinking at this stage. Consider their objections.
Your videos need to address these, and each stage will present new obstacles to smash through.

3. Don’t Be Afraid To Repurpose Your Existing Content

After following steps one and two, you’re likely to sit at your desk with a plan in mind. Now comes the tricky part: actually creating the videos.

Where should you start?

What should you talk about?

This is where repurposing comes into play.

Repurposing your content is an excellent way to save time, and due to it being in a completely different format, it works just as well as creating things from scratch.

Explore your pre-existing content. Do you run a blog? Have you sent out a lead magnet? Case studies? Any form of content you have already created can be repurposed into a video.

Make sure you create a script first and stick to it as best you can.

This doesn’t mean you need to memorize it word-for-word, but it’s better to indicate where you’re going when you’re in front of a camera.
Repurposing content is beneficial in that sense, too, because you’ve already written about it.

4. Be Strategic About Where You’re Posting Your Videos

While it’s an obvious point, it needs to be said: you should be distributing your videos on the platforms that help you achieve your goal. This is why each and every video you create needs to have a clear goal in mind with measurable KPIs to evaluate whether this goal was met.

For example, if your goal focuses on reach, posting your video on LinkedIn may be your safest and best option. (Especially as your audience sits within business).

That said, if you’re looking to nurture your leads with valuable content, sending your video via email to your list or placing it on one of your own landing pages may work better.

You can post your videos anywhere you like. If you want to post them on every social media platform, plus your website, plus your marketing emails – then go for it. However, make sure the distribution method matches your goal.

More times than not, you’ll find there’s more purpose in posting to one or two different platforms rather than all of them at once.

5. Post To Your B2B Blog

If you already run a blog, you’re aware of the massive range of benefits blogs can offer your brand. With higher rates of organic traffic landing on your site, capturing more leads, building more trust, and generally helping your business grow, it’s unsurprising that 33% of B2B companies use blogs.

When incorporating corporate video production, your next step is to take up vlogging.

Combine ‘video’ and ‘blogging,’ and you’re left with this clever marketing tactic. You’ll be diversifying your content type, gracing your site with a breath of fresh air, alongside meeting the demands of internet users by creating video content.

Remember, videos receive 12 times more shares than link or text posts combined. Leveraging this onto your own domain is a fantastic way to grow your brand with organic traffic.

6. Host Webinars

B2B organizations are in a unique position of being able to educate their audience in more depth. While a product-based company can educate their audience, they are limited to the topics they can cover.

However, when selling a service, as most B2B companies do, your subject knowledge is the source of your video potential and power.

As such, consider hosting a webinar. This can be live or pre-recorded, and it’s a great way to capture more leads which you can then focus on converting to clients and sales.

A webinar is an online seminar and focuses exclusively on educating the viewers. Plan your webinar in-depth, and don’t forget to rehearse first.

7. Ask Clients For Video Testimonials

The power and necessity of social proof are ever-present in our online world. When making a purchase, social proof allows buyers to overcome their objections and relate to previous buyers.

For a B2B brand, this is arguably even more important because their purchasing decision will impact their business rather than the person individually.

As such, asking your clients for video testimonials is a fantastic social proof strategy. These can be posted on your website, to your current leads on your email list, and on your social media.

These types of videos are versatile, though they may prove challenging to collect in excess.

Make sure you provide something in return when asking for a video testimonial. If a client is uncomfortable with being in front of the camera, do not force them. Instead, ask for a written form of social proof.

While it’s not as impactful, written testimonials definitely help along the buying journey, and they should be included on every landing page you build.

Videos And B2B Marketing

Videos are universally becoming the favorite marketing method. It’s clear that to build a brand – whether that’s B2B or B2C – videos are necessary.

The critical differentiator in strategy falls to the audience. While B2C videos may focus on the product, B2B videos need to revolve around providing value. Educational videos – the typical ‘how to’ videos – and testimonials are solid video styles.

Make sure, more than anything, you have a strong video marketing strategy behind your content. Follow the steps in this post to ensure your strategy is robust, and implement video into your B2B marketing strategy today.

Torrey Tayenaka is the co-founder and CEO at Sparkhouse, an Orange County based video production agency. He is often asked to contribute expertise in publications like Entrepreneur, Single Grain and Forbes. Sparkhouse is known for transforming video marketing and advertising into real conversations.Rather than hitting the consumer over the head with blatant ads, Sparkhouse creates interesting, entertaining and useful videos that enrich the lives of his clients’ customers. In addition to Sparkhouse, Torrey has also founded the companies Eva Smart Shower, Litehouse & Forge54.

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