With the explosive growth of social media, video content has overtaken other types of content in sheer popularity. According to Wyzowl's State of Video Marketing Survey, people are likely to spend around 100 minutes watching online videos every day, and that makes it one of the most effective marketing tools for B2B businesses. Advertisers can share product information through videos and use them through the entire buyer journey to convince buyers of the viability of the products. Companies can also produce support videos that respond to common queries and concerns by buyers and which can be watched by customers at any time.

While video production was once an expensive enterprise, the proliferation of advanced and affordable video technologies and mobile devices has made it easier and cheaper for most businesses.

It is not necessary to make a significant investment to get started in video marketing. It is possible to make decent videos using a smartphone and affordable or free online video editing tools. There will be a certain degree of a learning curve, of course, but that is usually easily overcome. However, for successful marketing, businesses will need to ensure that they produce useful and informational content that does a clear-cut job of explaining their products and services. Videos that explain everything in easily understandable terms will stand a better chance of convincing and converting buyers.

Here are the benefits of video marketing for B2B companies:

A) Video Marketing Boosts Conversions and Sales and Deliver Great ROI

People prefer watching videos to reading content. Over 83% of the B2B businesses that use video marketing report that it has increased their sales leads and conversions, giving them a good return of investment (ROI). Many buyers prefer to do their research and get their information from videos rather than by contacting salespeople. And sales cycles tend to shorten with video marketing as viewers are usually in their comfort zone and are, therefore, more likely to decide to buy.

B) Video Marketing Helps Build Trust

Building and maintaining trust is crucial for long-term business success, and videos can help with that. As long as your video content is more informational than advertorial, you will be able to set yourself up as an industry leader and influencer. Most viewers are more interested in what they can gain from watching the videos than in blatant sales pitches. It is important to use the marketing videos to emphasize more on expertise and useful knowledge and open a dialog based on that. If buyers find the videos engaging, they will be more likely to take the desired action and purchase the products and services.

C) Video Marketing Improves Brand Awareness

Video is more engaging, memorable, and popular among consumers than any other type of content. Videos can be effective tools for brand promotion and, at the same time, help meet other marketing goals such as better conversion rates and improved product understanding.

D) Video Marketing Helps Communicate The USP

Communicating your company's unique selling proposition (USP) or what makes your product unique is another crucial marketing objective. Videos help companies deliver their USP to their prospects, which helps them understand the problem you are solving apart from the value offered by your brand.

E) Video Marketing is Great for Product Launches

Virtual product launches are becoming popular as they allow more people to see what is on offer. Additionally, the product launch videos can show the product features in great detail and explain how they work and how they can benefit the user. Explainer videos, which use live-action, text, and animation, are also perfect for breaking down hard concepts so that they are easier for the audience to understand. Many B2B businesses report seeing success with such explainer videos.

F) Video Marketing Engages Viewers

One of the reasons why video marketing is more effective than other marketing methods is because it is visual and audile, and it doesn't require too much work from the audience. Increasingly, people either have short attention spans or have too little time to spare in their busy lives. Many of them are put off by having to read long and time-consuming text descriptions. They would much rather see a video that shows them the product and explains everything in simple terms. And if B2B businesses make the videos as creative and engaging as possible, they will have the edge over their competitors when it comes to garnering views and improving conversions.

G) Video Marketing Encourages Social Media Sharing

Using video content for marketing on social media can be as effective for B2B businesses as it is for B2C companies. Potential buyers are also people, after all, and may share the general public's preference for video content. They will be more likely to click on videos than on other advertising content, and, if they find them informative, engaging, and convincing, they might consider buying the products and services. Additionally, they could share the video content with their social media followers and, that way, get it before a larger audience, leading to more potential business leads.

H) Video Marketing Helps Connect with Mobile Users

Increasingly, people connect to the internet via their mobile devices and view videos on them. The videos are likely to get more views from mobile users than desktop users. As smartphones have become widespread, most businesses can expect to get a bigger audience for their videos.

While video marketing helps B2B businesses there are certain guidelines to be followed to stay on top of the game. Let's look at some of these dos and don'ts:

Do's of Video Marketing:

• Chalk up a video strategy and plan out your video content to get the best results.
• Make promotional videos that tell a story. Viewers prefer story-telling over a dry litany of facts and how-to-use instructions. So, the more you can present the content in a way that touches people on the emotional level and entertains them, the more they will appreciate your videos.
• Consider live streaming videos and interacting with your current and potential audience. You can organize live Q & A sessions and interviews with industry leaders and influencers to build brand awareness. It will also help to present positive and informative testimonials from your employees, business connections, and customers. For example, you could have a video in which customers talk about what their situation was like before they discovered your products and how their business came to benefit from them. You could have your employees talk about the positive company culture and how much they enjoy working for you and making a difference in the world.
• Make well-presented demo videos showing how buyers can benefit from your products and services.
• Create cornerstone video content that you can reuse in multiple ways to get more marketing mileage. You could shoot a lot of footage at one time and cut it up to make several videos.
• Experiment with short and long video versions and with different introductions and calls-to-action. You should also find out if you can get more web traffic with animated videos or live-action videos. You can then go with what works best for your business.
• Use pre-recorded video clips for customer support.
• Use your video content in your email marketing campaign to increase your click-through rate.
• Consider employing artificial intelligence to transcribe your video files and add subtitles to the videos.
• Optimize your marketing videos for different uses. For instance, if you enable multiple language subtitles to the videos, it will be possible for people from around the world to understand them. Also, some people may have hearing disabilities or may simply prefer to watch videos with the sound off, and the subtitles will allow them to figure out what you are saying.
• Optimize your marketing videos for use on different online platforms. That will make it convenient for viewers to share and advocate your content with other people.
• Keep up with technological advances in video production and marketing, and with upcoming new social media platforms for video sharing. Incorporate the ones that can benefit your business.
• Optimize your video content for SEO on different video sharing platforms. That will make them more findable on the platforms as well as in search engine results. Additionally, make sure that your titles and descriptions are sufficiently enticing to make viewers click on the videos.
• Include your contact information and links to your website. Furthermore, link to the pages featuring your products and services in the video description section. You want to make it as easy as possible for buyers to contact you.

Don'ts of Video Marketing:

• Don't make overly long marketing videos, or else you will lose viewers. Most people don't have the time or patience to watch long infomercials.
• Don't hammer in the marketing pitch right at the beginning of the video. People will tune you out if you bombard them with messages to buy your products and services. It is likely to be more effective if you show them through your videos why they need to buy them.
• Don't underestimate your audience or take them for granted, and make sure that your content quality remains consistently high.
• Don't add technological flourishes just because you can. If they don't advance your marketing efforts or are relevant in some way to the video-making process, you will just be wasting valuable time.
• Don't wade too much into controversial territory. While using a bit of controversy to get more attention can be a useful marketing technique sometimes, it could backfire on you if you do it too much and could end up harming your brand.

Video content is likely to continue earning points for B2B marketers in the foreseeable future. It may become more interactive, allowing for viewer inputs and improved real-time engagement. With more customized and personalized video marketing, B2B businesses can boost their conversion rates and count on better ROI.

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