How Cutting-Edge B2B Marketers Use Video To Dominate The Competition

Video is becoming more and more popular, and not enough businesses incorporate video into their marketing. Companies that avoid video will limit their persuasiveness and fall behind technically.

Video is emotional as well as informative. Engaging and visceral, it keeps prospects entertained while imparting valuable information.

Low cost online storage, video sites like YouTube, inexpensive cameras and powerful editing software are making it easier than ever for companies to use video marketing.

Web Shifting To Video

The Internet is making a big shift from text to video and images. The 2010 Google and Forbes Insights B2B Trends and Online Video study reported that 83 percent of executives were watching more online video that the previous year, and watching with greater frequency. Fifty-two percent said they watch work-related videos on YouTube, up from 40 percent the previous year. Seventy-five percent reported watching videos related to their work on business-related websites, up 64 percent from a year earlier.

Video does have limitations. Some companies may be avoiding video due to:

• Lack of Technical Expertise – while companies like CISCO have full studios and dedicated video teams, not all tech companies have the budget for these facilities. That means someone has to have the expertise to shoot and edit.

 

• Time Investment – shooting a basic video does not have to take a lot of time. However, to get a decent product, reasonable attention needs to be given to lighting, staging and sound production. These activities can take up a lot of time, especially in the beginning stages of using video.

 

• Poor Viewing Levels – despite a noble effort, sometimes videos just sit there. They don’t get a lot of views, much less any viral boost. In this case, it is best to optimize the video for search, and count on the cumulative impact of multiple videos.

Why incorporate video into the marketing mix?

An IDG 2012 analysis reported that 95 percent of B2B tech buyers watch tech-related videos. Of those watching video, 46 percent said they had navigated to a website or got in touch with a vendor for additional background information. Even better, 42 percent related that they bought a product.

Why are these technology professionals choosing online video?

The reasons included:

• Learning new products and services.

 

• Background data and information.

 

• How-to demonstrations.

 

• Product reviews.

 

• Keep on top of technology trends.

 

In response to this data, marketers can see where they can use video to better promote their businesses.

Explainer/Intro Videos

Joe Ghostwriter Explainer Video

Explainer videos are introductory pieces that explain what a company does. Tech writer and pundit Jason Kincaid said, “I’ve seen thousands of startups and written about hundreds of them. I sure as hell don’t know all the secrets to building a successful company, but there are a few things I’ve seen that seem like surefire ways to ever-so-slightly grease the road to success. Here’s an easy one: make a video demo and prominently promote it somewhere where new visitors can find it.” (TechCrunch 2009).

Many technology companies appear to have similar services to first-time visitors. A concise, engaging explainer video shows them what the product or service is all about.  Google has long used basic explainer videos to demonstrate various services and divisions.

The explainer video also has the added benefit of providing a resource for tech journalists. Jason Kincaid told TechCrunch, “Here’s a sad truth: a lot of reporters really are quite lazy. Not in the sense that they don’t want to find and cover a cool new company (in which case they should consider a new career path), but in that they don’t like to spend time wading through marketing material trying to figure out what your company actually does.

“After all, we’ve got inboxes stuffed with pitches from companies vying for coverage. If it takes more than a minute or two to figure out what problem you’re trying to solve, we’re probably more likely to simply skip to the next message than to try to make sense of your feature set.”

Video on your site will increase the chances your company gets covered by the media. In fact, there is a reasonable chance the media outlet will take snippets of your video for their printed or video report.

Industry Overviews

Few industries move as fast as software and technology. Video is a great way to help your clients stay on top of changes and new data.

Product Reviews

Video is also ideal for reviewing and demonstrating specific products. Some companies like Cisco use video extensively throughout their product lines. When customers search through their catalog of thousands of products, it can be hard to differentiate them all.

Cisco has a separate video for many products. They explain what it is and how it is best used. Customers get a much better understanding of the product’s features and benefits, and expensive calls to service and support are minimized. In essence, the videos are answering customer’s questions 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For a company of their size and extensive product lines, it saves a lot of time.

How To Videos

Video can be deployed in many spaces. Vendors can use then at trade shows, for venture capital meetings, for sales teams and even added to email signatures.

 

…End of partial sample…To see the rest of this white paper and find out how content writing can boost your bottom line, send an email to joe@JoeGhostwriter.com…