Key takeaways:
Video marketing drives new and repeat business
Long-form video content is ripe for repurposing
Creating new content extends the value of each asset


B2B marketers, take note: video is here to stay.

Beyond serving as brand messaging and awareness play, video is helping businesses globally generate leads and drive sales. In fact, 89% of marketers say video gives them a good return on their investment.

This guide shares key video trends and statistics, video ideas to help businesses drive conversions, and B2B video marketing best practices.

In other posts, we’ll go over some cost-saving methods in video creation — this ROI guide is all about how to do more with each piece of content without spending money to boost its effectiveness.

Read on to learn how to maximize the value of your video content.

Socialive guide to repurposing LinkedIn Live livestream content

Benefits of B2B video marketing

Many are reluctant to dive into the world of video for reasons such as the perception that video is too expensive, complex, or time-consuming. It’s simply not true — recording professional video is as easy as jumping into a virtual meeting.

Our end-to-end video creation platform and those who shifted to remote work in 2020 prove that video creation is easier than ever, and the proof of ROI is in the pudding.

1. Video consumption continues to soar

Amidst a pandemic, there is no doubt video consumption continues to rise since it is the next best thing to communicating in person. People’s schedules have been disrupted by COVID-19, resulting in more time spent consuming video at home.

A 2020 study showed that the daily time consuming online content has doubled globally from an average of 3 hours to about 7 hours in 2020.

Video isn’t slowing down anytime soon, so if your business does not have a video marketing strategy, now is the time to get on board before you risk falling behind. Case in point: Cisco forecasted that by 2022, video will account for 82% of all Internet traffic.

2. People prefer video

Video content is king for a reason.

When asked how they’d like to learn about a product or service, two-thirds of people (66%) said they’d prefer to watch a short video in Wyzowl’s 2020 Video Marketing Report.

This compares to 18% who would rather read a text-based article, website or post, 4% who would like to view an infographic, 3% who would rather download an ebook or manual, 3% who would rather attend a webinar or pitch, and 2% who would like a sales call.

3. Video improves lead generation

Videos are effective tools for generating leads. In fact, 83% of video marketers say video helps them with lead generation.

There are several video marketing tactics that can be used to generate leads such as:

  • Producing gated content

  • Adding a call-to-action to videos

  • Including contact forms

  • Building a video post-click landing page

Social media channels such as LinkedIn can help your business drive quality, accurate leads with features such as Lead Generation forms.

4. Video increases conversion rates

Video is one of the fastest, easiest, and engaging ways to communicate with your audience as well as build a sense of trust. Not only are videos helping consumers better understand a product or service, but also improving conversion rates.

More than 80% of video marketers say video has increased traffic to their website, and the average time visitors spend on their page. Additionally, publishing video on your sites can contribute to improving your search engine ranking.

Video can be also persuasive in purchasing decisions, with 80% of marketers agreeing that video has directly helped increase sales.

5. Video humanizes brands

Video conveys emotional connection in a way that static press releases and corporate memos cannot. That’s why video is one of the most effective mediums to humanize your brand and boost engagement.

To squash the disconnect between a brand name and the people behind it, why not feature videos with executive leaders who work at the company? By showcasing personality and authenticity in videos, customers can connect with your brand on a new and interesting level.

6. Video reaches wider audiences

Audiences are consuming video like never before, so there is no question as to why social media channels like Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn are heavily prioritizing video.

For example, Twitter launched its own version of Stories called “Fleets,” while LinkedIn recently launched LinkedIn Stories. LinkedIn publicly shares how LinkedIn Live videos receive an average 7x more reactions and 24x more comments than native video.

Plus, each video that you create to drive brand awareness can easily be repurposed into demand-gen content. But more on that later.

Social media channels will continue to favor video by making it more visible in feeds, since it tends to outperform static posts. This gives businesses the opportunity to be creative and find new ways to stand out digitally.

Formats to improve video ROI

When planning to maximize the video’s ROI, first define the metrics you want to move and make a solid plan to track it. To determine the ROI video produces depends on your organization’s needs, goals, and budget.

Whether it is to drive more subscribers, leads, or sales, let’s dive into video formats commonly used by companies to help sell more.

1. Customer testimonials

More than 80% of people say that they’ve been convinced to buy a product or service by watching a brand’s video. So, why not let your customers drive sales for you through video testimonials?

Video testimonials are a powerful way to showcase product benefits to prospects. It not only shows a face to personalize your business, but also features real-life use cases reflecting the challenges your customer overcome. A persuasive case study includes specific numbers and successful outcomes.

Once you have a few customer video testimonials under your belt, you can use specific videos to target specific campaigns and gain lookalike customers.

Using Socialive, Boston Consulting Group’s Marketing team accelerated the creation of branded video content for its digital channels. After seeing successful results, Socialive conducted a video testimonial with BCG.

2. Product tutorials and demonstrations

If you are selling software or an app, tutorial videos and product demonstrations are an effective way to show your product in action. 74% of people say they’ve been convinced to buy or download a piece of software or app by watching a video.

Product demos can include unboxing the product as well as product reviews and comparisons.

Vave Health, a healthcare technology startup, hosted a 45 minute live demo of its product, the Vave Wireless Ultrasound Solution. The demo showcases the solution, and features a Q&A with their own Founder and CEO.

3. Virtual Events and Webinars

Virtual events are a tried and true marketing tactic to garner new sales leads. With video, you can host a wide range of events such as webinars, conferences, trade shows, and conventions — no matter where your audience is in the world.

When executing your event, it is important to consider which format will resonate with your buyer. Is it educational and informative, or covering a specific case study?

Then, make sure you create an opt-in page to encourage people to register and publish an email reminder sequence. Promote your event in advance, add CTA’s when relevant, and follow up post-event to nurture your audience.

Due to the pandemic, Flipside Group’s client Oppo, a Chinese consumer electronics company, was forced to cancel its in-person press conference in Germany. In a short turnaround time, the team executed around a successful hour-long virtual press conference featuring interviews, product demos, and a live Q&A using Socialive.

4. Influential interviews

Providing insightful and valuable information in an engaging format is key to a winning video strategy.

Record snackable bits or livestream discussions with company leaders, industry figures, experts, and influencers, to share compelling stories and establish your organization.

Pro tip: It is a good idea to choose those who have a large social media following, and who are likely to promote your videos through their own digital channels.

POLITICO creates high-quality live and live-to-tape virtual interviews for its digital channels, particularly for its website and social media channels. The team has produced a wide range of influential interviews such as this one with Bill Gates. Gates discusses his philanthropic efforts to contain the pandemic.

5. INTERACTIVE VIDEOS

Video isn’t just a one-way street. Why not get your prospects and customers involved?

Interactive videos invite viewers to engage and participate. Examples include live auctions, contests, or game shows. Make it a memorable experience for prospects.

Walmart innovates with live video by hosting a weekly game show called “Price Check Live.” Beyond its entertainment value, “Price Check Live” represents well-conceived content marketing that advances objectives across the marketing funnel.

 

B2B video marketing best practices

Whether your videos are recorded, livestreamed, or you send a piece of content through the entire record, edit, publish, and livestream lifecycle, here are some best practices to maximize the ROI of your video content.

Calculate your campaign costs

Before creating video, you need to calculate the total projected costs for the campaign. This includes the cost to make videos and promote them.

Define your KPIs

Nail down your success metrics, which can be a goal for the number of subscribers, website traffic, leads, or sales you’d like to achieve. For example, how many leads or sales do you need from your video content to call it a success? Take into account the total amount of money you are putting into producing and promoting your video, and the cost of each sale.

Add strong CTA’s

In addition to adding branded intro and outros to your videos, be sure to include clear, specific calls to action when relevant. You can link to product demo sign up forms or valuable content on your website.

Make sure you have a distribution strategy

If you are hosting a digital event, be sure to promote the livestream in advance by posting to your social media pages, and announcing it on other distribution channels like email newsletters.

Use tracking links

Using tracking links such as UTM links in Google Analytics can help you understand the value of your videos. Specifically, you can track which videos were able to drive the most leads and conversions.

Measure and analyze

Stay focused on conversions. Beyond the engagement numbers, pay close attention to these video-related KPIs:

  • Click-through rate (CTR, especially important for generating leads)
  • Total video views
  • Total video embeds
  • Ads clicks and skips
  • Number of plays
  • Total video completions (this is helping in seeing where viewers dropped off)
  • Time spent watching

Optimize videos for each platform and audience

Video isn’t a one-size-fits-all all deal, which means what works on LinkedIn may not work on Facebook. Tailor your content to the platform’s audience and be thoughtful about their viewing experience. This includes choosing an optimal video length for each channel and optimizing for mobile.

Add subtitles

Include subtitles when you can as many viewers may be watching with the sound off. Including subtitles can help ensure your message does not get lost, which can be done quicker than you think.

Reduce costs by repurposing videos

After a virtual event or livestream, edit snackable snippets of the recording and distribute it through organic and paid channels. If you’re using LinkedIn Live or creating other livestreams, Socialive makes it easy to create new content for demand-gen campaigns.

Reduce costs by crowdsourcing content

Your biggest cost and roadblock to creating tons of revenue-driving content will likely be scalability. Either your internal video team can’t handle all the demand or you’re paying a third-party high fees for each piece of content. Instead, empower team members to record and edit portions of your content with a video creation platform to boost the ROI of your video content.

Be authentic

Video humanizes us. By being authentic, you can establish a personal connection as well as foster openness and transparency. Plus, creating authentic video can be fast and easy.

Ask questions and interact with your audience in real-time

During a live broadcast, it’s important to engage with your audience as they are reacting to you. This will help build a stronger relationship with your viewers, and will give them more incentive to tune in to future livestreams.

Nurture relationships with viewers after a virtual event

After the livestream, ask attendees for feedback.

Remember, there is often no one right answer when it comes to content and video marketing. Be sure to try things out, experiment, and never be afraid to share your work and look for opportunities to reuse it. Create, repurpose, and repeat!