Video Marketing B2B is creating and distributing video content to promote a product, service, or event from one business to another. They can be distributed on different platforms online and offline and can be part of a content marketing strategy, lead generation strategy, or direct advertisement campaigns.
I have worked in several small video productions that are B2B, and I want to share 10 things I have learned that might make your life easier when trying to build with your team the process of content creation easier and help manage your expectations.
Have a Practical Mindset
If you are a solopreneur or have a small business and want to start a video marketing campaign, it's best to approach this with a practical mindset. It's more important to polish your message and take care of business than to spend money on video equipment.
Way more important is to ensure you already have actual paying clients without using video. I had clients who were just starting their business and wanted to hire me before they had consistency in their business.
Don't Fake it till you make it
I was so disappointed when I found out some clients buy their followers. Don't fake it till you make it. Vanity metrics do not lead to sales and do not build a solid foundation for a business's long-term prospects. Also, don't try to present yourself as an expert in the beginning in a field you are not. You may invite your clients to follow your journey or focus on an aspect of your business where you are knowledgeable.
The amount of followers also does not indicate success. You may have thousands of followers and be broke. You may have just a couple thousand followers and thrive,
For my business here in trust visuals doing video projects, I can't promise any clients that their video marketing strategy will be successful. I can promise they will have a nice piece of video content that can be part of their B2B video marketing strategy. I can also recommend tools that will allow them to make the best videos themselves or with their internal video production department.
You don't need to reinvent the wheel.
You can find inspiration from what is working with other content creators for your video marketing and adapt it to your marketing strategy.
Be mindful of ads when you watch them from other products and services. Maybe you already consume content from another brand. If you feel attracted to the content style and copy, you may adapt it to your brand.
Keep Experimenting.
I will also contradict the previous lesson by stating that your team should experiment with new types of content. Apply the 80/20 rule where maybe 80% of your content is inspired by other video marketing videos, and 20% is experimenting with new original styles and ideas for video content that might click with your audience and grow beyond your expectations. Maybe you need to flip it, and 20% is inspiration, and 80% is experimental and original ideas.
Video will continue to increase.
According to a study by CISCO, Internet video traffic will be 82% of all consumer Internet traffic by 2022, up from 73% in 2017. I'm a videographer who likes to talk about video and can't live in more exciting times. Blogs are still influential. I am writing one now, but as the years pass by, video will overtake everything. Your team must learn to work with video.
Authenticity is king
I am a huge Hollywood nerd. I went to the New York Film Academy, but the results are in. People are watching TikTok more than Hollywood movies. Short Video content on social media like TikTok Videos and Instagram Reels doesn't usually rely on fancy camera work or special effects. Authenticity and relatability drive the rise of short-form media content. Which is good news for internal video marketing departments because budgets can be lowered in most cases when content marketing does not require expensive equipment or elaborate graphics.
Patience trumps speed
I know this sounds cliche, but it needs to be apparently repeated until the end of time. There are no overnight successes. I have tried to go fast several times and crashed, but when I go slow, magic happens. We observe more, learn deeper, expand our minds, and go faster. Building an audience takes a lot of time and consistency. Having said that.
Recognize when things are not working.
Setting goals is a skill and an art form. There is a lot of fallacy planning, and things take more time than you think. Give yourself more time than you feel for your video marketing strategy, but also recognize when the results are just not there. It's important to remember the previous lesson of experimenting and trying different methods when things are not clicking.
Invest whenever possible.
I mentioned how patience is essential; however, there is one thing that might move your projects just a touch faster. There are little things that do move the needle. I use Grammarly to proofread my blog post, and I invested in an excellent computer to edit videos faster; there are all sorts of tools online that just make things go smoother. Maybe you need to outsource some of the editing of your video content. I invest whenever possible to make my life easier in content creation. Be prepared to invest in tools to increase productivity and further impact your process.
If it's not fun, something is wrong.
I don't like all these marketing websites that talk about video marketing and make it sound way too corporate and boring. Even the most technical product can have fun elements both in front of the camera and behind the camera. Try to make the video marketing process exciting and engaging for your clients and yourself; otherwise, you risk burnout for yourself and your team. Make fun, make it about relationships; I have seen many people run their business and just think of spreadsheets and numbers. Things will be much more challenging and slower if the process is not fun. You might as well never start because it will be an uphill battle creating engaging content for your business,
Ready to build your video marketing skills and your teams? I have a free course with all the basics to start creating video content with just your phone. It's free! Promise no long sales copy of selling expensive online courses.
