What makes a B2B video successful? Well, it turns out the answer is a lot of the same things that make a B2C video successful. CI Design's video production team leader, David Busse, shares his insights based on his experience making award-winning B2B videos for clients in Milwaukee and across the country.
1. I exist, therefore I am…content
Since branded content has found a home with influencers, “traditional” video has shifted away from filling that marketing need and back toward a form that let’s viewers know they are being advertised to. This means there is less pressure to create videos that feel like consumable content, but you must still engage with audiences so they don’t click away. We find that testimonials, stories, brand videos, and docu-style videos are a great way to connect with audiences in a way that feels authentic to businesses.
2. Getting the feels
The biggest day in advertising, when brands compete for the coveted prize of earned media, is the Super Bowl. To win, brands must rise to the top by connecting with audiences through emotions like nostalgia, heart-felt moments, or laughter. Similarly for B2B, marketing how you want your customer base to feel about your brand can be much more effective than an ad that explicitly explains what your company does. This marketing is becoming more popular in the B2B world and can help lead to imaginative ads that people want to share.
3. Distribution Strategy
Avenger’s Endgame cost $356 million to make and the studios spent another $200 million marketing the film. The studios know that even the most anticipated movies won’t reach anyone without a distribution strategy. Your videos are no different. Make sure you consider how to distribute your videos and budget for it. Whether that’s streaming ads, social media, broadcast, events, sales presentations, or other uses. Plus, a solid strategy can help inform the content of the video. We can help you with your strategy too!
4. Less is more (effective)
Clients tend to want their videos to serve many needs. In our experience, this usually dilutes the original message, effectiveness, and impact. Allowing your videos to speak with a more focused message and purpose will allow them to resonate with the right audience and give them something meaningful to take away.
5. Beware information overload
When you do need to make an information-dense video, such as a product, demo, or training video, we recommend approaching it from a high-level overview. When you get too deep into the details, you risk losing your audience. We typically suggest using your videos for overviews and keeping the highly technical stuff on the webpages and guides.
6. Get creative with office space
Most work in the modern knowledge economy looks the same: a bunch of people slouched in front of glowing screens, tapping furiously on a hunk of plastic buttons, on a desk that was cleaned before the camera started rolling. To create an engaging video, think creatively about how to shoot in your office, or utilize concepts that don’t require an office shoot at all.
7. Plan ahead for precious executive time
Putting your executives on camera is an effective and popular video marketing strategy, but scheduling multiple executives on the same day can be difficult. We plan weeks or even months ahead of time to get the right people on camera. Then, when we are shooting, we will try to ask a few questions that can be used for content in the future.
8. Lead time
A typical timeline for a B2B video from concept to final delivery is 2-3 months. The timeline can be faster or slower depending on how things are planned, schedules, and the time it takes to receive feedback.
9. You might not need a video.
As much as I hate to say it, videos aren’t always the answer. At least, they aren't the only answer. Videos benefit from being supported by a strong brand message and marketing strategy. It’s beneficial to have those in place before making a video. Once those are created, you will find it easier to make the most of your video projects.
Want to see David’s knowledge in practice? Check out some of the fantastic video projects the in-house team at CI Design has worked on recently.
Find out how our award-winning video team can help your team. Drop us a line at hello@cidesigninc.com.
David Busse is our in-house Senior Producer and leads our video production department. He’s won several Emmy awards for broadcast spots CI Design created for the Milwaukee Brewers, and is an all-around nice guy.