6 Ways to Add Value to Your B2B Video Content

Video is among the top areas of content marketing investment for the year ahead, according to the Content Marketing Institute’s latest B2B Content Marketing report. But all video content is not alike.

It’s important to make your B2B video content marketing stand out from the myriad of other videos available, particularly in this day of Zoom fatigue.

Marketers offer the following suggestions to provide extra value in the videos you publish, which will benefit both you and your firm, or clients, if working as a contractor rather than an employee:

1. Recognize the Purchase Stage Your Video Targets

Are you aiming towards the top or bottom of your sales funnel?

“If you want to be strategic with your B2B marketing initiatives, the video creator must be aware of where the target buyer is in the buying process,” said Daniel Carter, Skuuudle SEO manager.

“Some buyers, for example, like product demonstrations during the evaluation stage. As a result, delivering brief demonstrations of specific capabilities might be extremely beneficial. While you should teach at a higher level during the research stage, you don’t want to pass up a fantastic opportunity for later-stage buyers.”

2. Include Voice Over

“Adding voice over can make your B2B marketing videos more engaging and professional. It also improves accessibility,” said Rachel Handley, BeyondWords content strategist. “If you don’t have the time, budget, or resources to record voice over or hire a voice artist, try using text-to-speech instead. You can turn your video script into audio in just a few minutes, and you can even do it for free.”

Handley added that there are many AI voices available, so you should be able to find one that represents your brand well and resonates with your audience.

You might even want to use a mix of voices to improve flow and add interest. When ready, the audio can be downloaded and overlayed on the video before sending out the finished product to clients. Handley pointed out that adding captions can improve accessibility.

3. Tell a Story with Your B2B Video Content

Doing so will help engage the prospective audience better than a “just the facts” video, according to Stephen Curry CocoSign CEO. There are many selling videos on the web, so we don’t initiate sales strategy through our video marketing campaigns. We attempt to recount a story rather than using hard sales techniques.

“Appeal to customers’ secret longings and requirements,” Curry added. “We always plant a call-to-action URL in the last seconds of the video for sales leads.”

Starting with a compelling story that captures the target’s attention is important. As many as 25% of targeted viewers will leave the video quickly if it doesn’t interest them, Curry said.

Related: Developing Effective B2B Customer Video Testimonials

“We have changed our video content to the short and fresh initial segment. We attempt to engage the viewers by posing inquiries or assembling their interest by making short trailers. Our video rapidly conveys its worth and imparts why it ought to be observed further.”

While it might initially seem like a good idea, humor should be avoided in B2B videos, Curry added.

“Customers today want to connect with a brand rather than merely buy a product,” agreed Rameez Usmani, CMO of Web Hosting Advices.

They are interested in your brand’s ideas, ambitions, and vision. And for that, you can tell your customers your brand’s story and persuade them to trust you. Furthermore, brand story videos can be presented in two ways. To begin, you might take a straightforward approach and discuss your brand’s goal with your customers.”

Embrace the fundamentals of visual storytelling by technically capturing your imagery from quality standpoint, advised Clay Walker, owner of Plan B Productions. Having a well-spoken on-camera personality captured with proper lighting, a clean visual image, as well as audio, will convey your message in a dynamic way and have a positive emotional impact on your audience.

“As a videographer who has shot thousands of onsite interviews with corporate leaders, staff as well as customers, there really is no substitute for working with a person who has prepared and practiced their material prior to the day of shooting, even if they are going to be reading from a prompter or delivering their content in segments,” Walker added.

“I recently shot a day of interviews in Orlando for a large international corporation, and the person who came off the most calm, natural and articulate on-camera pointed out that they knew they were terrible at speaking on-camera so they spent the weekend rehearsing and practice recording themselves with their smartphone and it really paid off.

4. Collaborate with Industry Professionals

By working with others in your target industry, you can depth to your B2B video marketing strategy, according to Tyler Martin, founder of ThinkTyler.

“If you partner with well-known professionals, you can add additional value to your offering in order to attract more customers. Salesforce hosts a program on LinkedIn called #BossTalks, in which they host diverse guests and explore a variety of topics aimed at the business sector. You can implement a similar program on your social media platforms to keep your followers engaged and informed.”

5. Problem, Then Solution

“I think the way to provide value in B2B video is straightforward: Focus on a problem and provide a solution, because it’s about the “Why,” as in ‘Why should the audience care about your company or product or service?’ The Why is always what you can do for their organization,” said Tim Green, Ultra Consultants marketing content writer.

I see many B2B marketers get tangled up in putting lists of product features on the screen, Green added.

“No one is that curious about your product’s features by themselves – you must make the connection to a problem and solution, then explain their value. And I see marketers burn valuable video minutes on their company history. No one cares about your company history. That is what your website and Google are for.

6. Use the Low-Cost Solutions to Add Value

“Cutting corners to reduce cost is simply not right if it means sacrificing quality,” said Tania Sethi, Hogarth North America chief production officer.

“Savvy marketers lean on technology to bring personalization at low cost and high production value:

• Hybrid-agile content studio teams: Hybrid-skilled video experts who can think-do-and-deliver with the least exchange of hands. For example, Hogarth set up content creators at a large multinational financial consulting firm, who work hand in hand with in-house creative teams as one team at the pace and scale of a newsroom.
• Dynamic solutions for personalization at scale: Video templates that can be customized using a data feed for personalization, allowing your marketing and sales teams to deliver consistent messages while tailoring solutions for a consultative approach.
• Virtual backgrounds and remote productions: For case studies and storytelling, you can use green screens and supervised remote capture solutions using platforms like Open Reel to increase production quality without the expense of travel.