B2B Video Production Marketing in 2021-2022: Importance, Benefits, and Ideas for Small Business

In all likelihood, 2020 has given you and your business a run for your money – whether you've had a fraction of revenue compared to plan, or you've been overwhelmed with demand. One of the biggest challenges B2B companies have also faced is trying to stay relevant to their audiences. Gillespie Productions will talk about a strategy that's helped many B2B companies in 2020 and even experience growth in a tough year: video marketing.

Why B2B Video Marketing Is Important

Behind every “B” there's a “C”. In other words, even if your product or service is targeted at businesses, you're still trying to reach individual people with your B2B content marketing efforts.

These individuals have three things in common:

1. They need to get approval (or at least buy-in) from other people within their company before making a final decision.

2. They tend to do more research than the average consumer.

3. They are incredibly busy and respond well to the information that's clearly presented.

Now think about how clear, compelling corporate videos hit each of these traits.

1. Need buy-in? A video is easy to send to other team members.

2. Need detailed info? A video combines visual and auditory elements to tell a complete story.

3. Need to save time? A video is easier to consume than a long article or sell sheet.

B2B video storytelling is a powerful and professional method for communicating your product or service. More importantly, using explainer videos for B2B marketing will help you stand out from your competitors and lead to more “yeses” from your target audience.

The Basics of B2B Video Marketing

Your B2B video production needs to hit on these four key points to be effective.

First, create an experience. In an era of limited business travel and with many companies placing restrictions on visitors, video is the next best thing to meeting your prospective customer in-person.

Second, be human. Remember, people buy from other people. Whether your video is a quick cell phone recording that answers your client's question or a professionally produced piece embedded on your website, put a face behind the message. Great videos also create an emotional response, which is a powerful factor in the buying decision.

Third, solve a problem. Your video needs to pass the sniff test of “so what?”. Gimmicks don't go very far in a culture that craves authenticity. Your messaging needs to cut straight to the heart of the viewer's problem and demonstrate how your company provides the solution.

Fourth, entertain. Good videos tell stories. And yes, it's possible to tell a complete story in just a few minutes. Watch this video and notice how you're drawn into the story and want to watch it to the very end. While not a traditional business, this video tells an emotional and personal story in the time of a global pandemic that truly connected with the audience.

How to Use Video B2B Marketing

When it comes to integrating videos into your B2B promo efforts, the possibilities in the field of B2B video content ideas are endless. Here are just a few types of videos that you can use in your sales and marketing efforts.

The best part? Each of these videos can be repurposed across your website, social media accounts, email marketing funnels, and other digital marketing channels.

Corporate Brand Video

This type of video is perfect for the top of your marketing funnel and should always be professionally produced. A corporate video production showcases what makes your company special, the company culture, and how you can uniquely solve your target customer's problem.

Case Study & Product Demos

Once your customer has an idea of who you are and what you provide, it's time to show them how your product or service works with an explainer video that breaks down any complex concepts. These types of marketing videos for business convince your research-loving B2B clients that they are making the right decision.

Testimonials

When your customer is close to their buying decision, put them over the edge with a compelling testimonial video. It's one thing to read a written testimonial and it's quite another to see a real person extolling the virtues of your company.

4 Video Marketing Ideas for Small Business

When you’re a small business, so many pockets of your organization are, by definition, small. With limited resources compared to big-budget competitors, how in the world can you come up with creative marketing video ideas that will stand out and ultimately bring in more business?

There’s good news, even if you have a minuscule budget for small business video production. Yes, more money generally yields higher production value when it comes to corporate video production. However, the two biggest assets you have are probably already in place, and those are a compelling story and a receptive audience for your brand videos.

You might need a video production partner to help connect those dots, but the fact you’re a successful business means that people are continuing to buy from you. Tapping into the reason behind that in video form is a great way to amplify your message and generate even more business.

Where do you start? Here are some things to consider when starting to think about video marketing ideas.

What Makes You Different?

It might be tempting to create a company overview video that just gives a narrated list of services and your website at the end. In my humble opinion, that’s not a video. That’s a PowerPoint and pictures put to music. This compelling video for small businesses is to engage your audience with emotion and tell only the story you can tell.

As a small business, you might be up against some giants, but think about why your customers go to you.

For example, we produced a video for a boutique travel agency in Chicago. The company’s clear differentiator was customer service, and the owner beamed about loving weather issues since those are when it’s the opportunity for her company to shine for her customers. I don’t know about you, but whenever I’ve booked travel with one of the big companies, customer service during adverse conditions is not exactly their brightest moment.

We hit that point hard in the company overview video, and the resulting video enabled her to share that point of differentiation with potential customers.

Experience the Vibe of the Business

One of the toughest things to convey in a website or social media text is the vibe of your business and the company culture. This challenge is especially critical in a restaurant/bar environment when you’re trying to capture what it’s like in your establishment.

In many industries, I’d suggest an experience-describing piece when you’re putting together video marketing ideas for small businesses. Help people see and feel the atmosphere only your business can create.

One of the first pieces in our company’s history was for a bar/restaurant with locations in De Pere and Green Bay. Wisconsin traditionally has been known for beer and brats, but this establishment’s craft cocktails went against the grain – and it worked. Its company overview video helped the audience see the elaborate steps the team takes to assemble a cocktail. More importantly, we really focused on the customer experience, and as the owner said, “There’s something different about ordering a craft cocktail.”. The video generated almost 100,000 views on Facebook.

Increase Efficiency in Your Sales Process

If you’re a small business serving a vast geographic area, time and distance can be challenging with sales. Of course, you can travel to your customers or they can come to you, but you can often create a powerful connection with a video that can accompany your from-a-distance sales conversation. Do you have a world-class production facility? Show them. Do you have a unique product that you just have to see? Show them. Do you have a fantastic, dedicated team? Show them. For example, we worked with a manufacturing client on a plant tour video, which enables its customers to get a look at its facility, without necessarily having to travel around the country to do so.

What’s Your Budget?

Like just about anything in business, how you approach your social media video content ideas is going to come down to budget. I’ll be candid with you and tell you that video production is not inexpensive.

The sales pitch I’d make is to consider the return on investment and the cost of doing nothing. Yes, it’s not easy to plunk down a decent sum of money on a video, but how much will it cost you to directly reach the same number of people? Furthermore, will you be able to do so with the same energy, vibe, and visual elements?

There are plenty of ways to take a DIY approach to video, and I’m certainly no snob if it’s done right. My only caution would be to consider whether the production quality, which the customer often associates with the quality of your product/service, is actually deterring someone from buying from you.

Conclusion

Video marketing can be a compelling tool for B2B businesses who want to stand out. Sometimes, it's OK to DIY your video marketing efforts, but it might be time to bring in a professional team for your content strategy. We at Gillespie Productions can create really engaging videos to capture your target audience's attention. Contact us, and we'll help you make your business even more successful!