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Oct 22, 2020 Tribal Impact

5 Types Of Video That Work Best For B2B

 

As video continues to rise in popularity for marketing and sales teams alike, the question for many now is not, "Should we use it?". It's "What videos work best?".

41% of marketers not currently using video aim to include it within the strategy this year. Of those that do, 88% report a positive ROI. And with 59% of C-level executives preferring to watch a video than read the same content, sales teams are starting to embrace video at an accelerating rate.

If you're beginning to experiment with using video, then these five types are the best place to start.

 

Screen Demo

 

A LinkedIn survey shows that demos are the second most effective sales content (31%)  - only shortly behind product info, features and functions (35%). And more than 10% more than the third-favoured, best practices (20%).

 

most effective sales content

Source: LinkedIn

(Effectively, the top two slots both cover the same ground!)

Screen demos aren’t just useful for showing buyers how your tools or products work in practice. Service-based businesses can also use demos effectively to demonstrate how the processes or tools they use help them deliver exceptional services.

Here are a few ways B2B product or service-based businesses can use screen demos:

  • Software features. Demonstrate how easy it is to use each feature or how the features you use and how they work together to meet your buyer’s needs.
  • Client management systems. Show how you manage to maintain tight SLA communication and delivery standards.
  • Knowledge portals. Let your prospects explore the exclusive insights your clients receive.
  • Support functions. Show buyers see how easy and quick it is to contact and access after-sales support.
  • Coaching/training. Knowledge-based businesses can demonstrate how they deliver coaching/training.

 

How-To Videos

 

Car won't start? Need to perform a lockdown haircut? When faced with a practical challenge, most of us head to YouTube to find out how to do it. The same applies to B2B products. It's usually much clearer to watch how to do something rather than read about it.

Research from OKDork already shows us that “How” and “How to” LinkedIn blog posts receive 46% more views than other posts. Combing that logic and the success of LinkedIn native videos and YouTube suggests that "How-to" videos are one of the best places to start for B2B.

You're not limited to "How to use x feature of a tool/product" either. As TEDx talks show us, people want to watch how-to videos for business and leadership skills. You can easily find a how-to topic that relates to your areas of expertise or even your employee's personal skills, which can help build their reputation as an influencer.

 

 

 

Live Video

 

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B2B buyers are beginning to demand more authenticity from their buyers. One way of achieving this is by removing the filter and using live video - showing you're ready to risk "bloopers" and show your personal side.

The crave for brand authenticity probably explains why LinkedIn claims that live videos see 24x more comments and 7x more reactions than native videos.

If you’re not sure where to begin, here are a few ideas to get you started:

  • Ask me anything
  • Interviewing clients or influencers(or even holding a roundtable discussion)
  • Streaming live events (once the pandemic is over)
  • Showcasing or demoing new products (double points for authenticity mixed with one of the most favoured B2B sales content)
  • Showcasing your employers brand
  • Inviting customers to exclusive “sneak preview” live events

 

Learn How To Align Sales And Marketing Around The Customer With Our eBook

 

Whiteboarding

 

Moz's Whiteboard Friday series shows just how powerful and valuable whiteboards can be when trying to explain complex subjects, products and services with many interlinking parts.

 

 

You can't skim read to the next section with whiteboards. Instead, you watch as the information unravels and all the moving parts come together. Their animated, wait-for-the-reveal nature means they can keep your audience glued for longer.

These factors may explain why studies show they improve retention by 15% compared with standard presentation-led videos. And why Moz's Whiteboard Friday series saw an average of 15k-20k views per post and 20-30% higher engagement than other formats.

 

Common Questions

 

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If your prospects and customers are asking the same questions, there may still be a gap in your content strategy. In which case, filing a short video addressing these questions is a quick way to fill it.

Or, the content format may be the problem. As we've seen, video can enable you to communicate things in ways that text alone can't - enhancing understanding, improving retention and giving you a chance to gauge your audience's reactions.  

 

Video Prospecting

 

Including videos within sales emails add a much more personalised touch and allow prospects to see your personality. Most importantly, they drive results. According to Vidyard, open to reply rates in emails have been seen to increase 8x when they include a video and 75% of late-stage prospects that received a personalised video closed.

It’s therefore clear why Hubspot named video prospecting as one of the top skills that sellers need to master in 2020.

It’s never been easier to include videos when sending emails, either. Tools such as Vidyard let you record videos at the click of a button and then embed them into your emails.

Video isn't going anywhere. It's been proven, time and again, to drive results. As with all things in sales and marketing, you need to experiment and measure what types of video work best for your audience at different stages of the buying cycle. But before you have that data, these ideas should get you off to a positive start.

 

 

sales and marketing alignment

 

About Tribal Impact

Tribal Impact is a B2B Social Selling and Employee Branding Agency.

We're a team of social media strategists, trainers, coaches, content creators and data analysts who are passionate about helping our B2B customers develop and scale their social selling and employee advocacy programs.

Learn more about us here.

Published by Tribal Impact October 22, 2020