To reassure you right away: you don't have to produce a movie! Corporate image films are ideally just one or two minutes long. And you can grow into the subject matter and start small. There is no need for elaborate filming locations, expensive settings and brilliant special effects. All you need to start your corporate video marketing career is a goal and a message. In this article, you will find out how to proceed from there and what reasons speak for your video marketing as a B2B company.
Table of contents:
1. Good reasons why B2B companies should use video marketing
2. Key factors for successful video campaigns
3. Target groups, goals, message
4. Choosing the right form
5. Good planning is the be-all and end-all
6. Video editing
7. Use synergy effects: social media marketing and SEO
8. Conclusion: competitive advantage of B2B video
Studies clearly show that the importance of video content for consumers is constantly increasing. For example, the current report “The Future of Content Marketing” by HubSpot, for which 3,010 consumers, one third each from Germany, the USA and Latin America (Colombia and Mexico), were surveyed about their online habits. 71 percent of respondents now consume more videos online than they did a year ago. At the same time, 53 percent want more video content. Even when it comes to company content, more than half (54 percent) of all respondents want to see videos in general and 34 percent want to see social media videos in particular. Users are not only interested in entertainment, work-related videos are also becoming increasingly popular: a full 61 percent of survey participants prefer informative content and 47 percent inspirational content. The study also shows that videos are increasingly being accessed via mobile devices. For B2B companies, this means that now is the time to focus on video marketing and moving images.
1. Good reasons why B2B companies should use video marketing
The list of reasons for investing in corporate videos is long. Let's start with the attention span and time of users on the web: Both are severely limited due to the large amount of information flowing in to users. Audiovisual content is ideal when it only takes two minutes to read - in contrast to longer text passages, which require significantly more time. Users simply experience the consumption of moving images as more efficient.
Providers of video material present themselves in their videos as credible experts for their products and services. In this way, they can reinforce the positive overall impression of their company. Information conveyed through videos is more likely to be remembered as true and authentic.
Customers also unconsciously feel that they are receiving more comprehensive advice through moving images and appreciate that their concerns are being taken care of. Today, they actually expect companies to offer additional information about their products in the form of moving images and are generally so media-savvy that they are aware of the source of the video material. They view the content of the video they consume as valuable additional information in the purchasing process. This makes moving images an important influencing factor in purchasing decisions.
Videos continue to increase the time spent on the website, they increase brand awareness, increase trust in the brand and company and contribute to greater reach of the company's messages. Video marketing is also considered a sensible investment in the context of a search engine optimization campaign.
Corporate videos have a positive impact on a brand's image. The key to this is the so-called "human touch" of the story, which elicits an emotional response from the viewer. Moving images create an emotional connection between potential buyers and the brand, which has a positive impact on customer loyalty. Finally, videos increase the amount of time users spend with a brand.
2. Key factors for successful video campaigns
The two most important factors for successful video marketing for B2B companies were already mentioned at the beginning of this article: You should have a message and a goal in mind. For example, do you want to publicize your new product? Do you want to provide audiovisual support for a user experience? Do you want to increase awareness of your company? Do you want to increase the time spent on your homepage? Then let's get started!
Above all, your film should be relevant to your target group. It is therefore also important to determine exactly which target groups you want to reach with the respective video project. You then need to consider which content you want to use to reach your target groups. Basically, you should focus on authenticity: your video must suit your company, because you want users to "buy" the video message.
3. Target groups, goals, message
Marketing campaigns are only as good as their objectives. As a rule, the primary goal of any marketing campaign is to generate customers. In video marketing, too, it is important to break this goal down into smaller, subordinate goals, such as increasing the time spent on the website or improving search engine rankings. It is important to define KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), denn Ziele sind nur Ziele, wenn sie messbar sind.
Then you need to decide who the campaign should reach and which channels the target group can be reached through. The campaign's message must also be determined during the planning process: for example, do you want to present your company in a certain light, introduce a new product, provide a solution to a problem or present a case study? The basic principle here is that only one message is conveyed per video. Do you have multiple messages? Then it's better to produce multiple videos for the sake of the storyline.
B2B videos are generally used to save time when obtaining technical information. In the B2C sector, however, the main focus is on good entertainment. But even for B2B video formats, a little entertainment doesn't hurt to have a positive impact on user numbers. Companies are therefore best off if they combine entertainment and information as part of their moving image strategy.
A B2B video does not have to be produced in a highly modern and technically complex way to be successful. The key to success is a strong and well-structured message, the right words and the most appropriate key visuals at the right moment.
4. Choosing the right shape
Which video format is best suited to which message? Are you planning an image or corporate film? Do you want to focus on an interview or report on an event? Are you planning a live recording or a combination of these formats? Or do you want to create a tutorial, a testimonial or a recruiting video?
The advantage of a tutorial video, for example, is its timelessness; it can be consulted again and again over the long term because it solves a specific problem. This strengthens your position as an expert and, at the same time, you can integrate your product into the problem solution.
A product video is suitable for integration directly at the point of sale, for example in the online shop, in customer meetings or at trade fairs. Such a video makes the product visually tangible and is particularly suitable for complex functionalities.
Or would you like to report on an event? What is important here is the current relevance for the target group. For this reason, the publication should take place close to the event. The format is therefore also rather short-lived.
An image or corporate film is about presenting the company in order to improve its image. Informative and entertaining elements are combined in a high-quality production. As a rule, a specific company value is to be highlighted.
5. Good planning is key
Once all of these considerations have been made, it's time to plan the shoot in detail. It's essential to create a storyboard before the actual shoot that sets out as precisely as possible what is to be shown, when and how. This is the only way to shoot the scenes that will ultimately convey your message correctly. During the planning phase, ask yourself which filming locations are possible, what budget can be planned for and when the video should be completed. With regard to the length of the film, the following applies: As short as possible, as long as necessary. In principle, however, a duration of one to two minutes is completely sufficient for most formats for use on the Internet. In most cases, the user's attention span is already exhausted by this point. Now the day of filming can begin!
6. Video editing
Of course, the video is not finished after filming: the video is then edited using suitable software solutions. Scenes are cut together, sound tracks are added, or lines of text and effects are inserted. When distributing videos via social networks, it is important to note during video editing that the sound is only assigned a supplementary effect. Most videos are viewed on mobile devices. It is simply not always possible to turn the sound on. Instead, the focus should be on text panels, distractions or subtitles, which provide the most relevant information. HD image quality is now the standard for online videos. Some channels already offer 4K image output, but the number of users of 4K-capable devices is still very small. In addition, videos are usually viewed on mobile devices, which prefer a lower resolution due to data volume and speed. The format should be 16:9, as it offers the optimal size ratio for common screen sizes and mobile devices.
7. Use synergy effects: social media marketing and SEO
Once the video has been produced, it's time to publish it. On which channels should it be published? Your own homepage, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIN, Xing & Co: A cross-media content strategy is particularly recommended here. For example, publish the video in a suitable place on your website, tease it on Twitter, in your newsletter and on LinkedIN with a well-placed link and thus attract potential buyers directly to your homepage. Publishing a video on your corporate YouTube channel is of course a given. Keywords and tags as well as a suitable title with a description are essential for search engine optimization. All of these input fields give you the opportunity to incorporate the keywords relevant to your niche and thus rank right at the top for them in the Google search results. Incidentally, the file name of your video is also important: here too, it makes sense to incorporate the relevant keyword combination. If your video achieves a high click rate and is shared, rated and commented on via social networks, this will also give you plus points with Google.
8. Conclusion: Competitive advantage of B2B video
The importance of moving images will continue to grow strongly in the coming years, especially in the B2B environment. Companies that start investing in video marketing today will gain an important competitive advantage in the long term. It doesn't have to be a perfectly composed film at the beginning. What's important is that you formulate your message and that it is reflected in the video in an authentic way that suits your company.