Many B2B companies have been slow to adopt video marketing as part of their content development strategy. Traditional forms of content marketing like white papers and case studies are still the favored mediums of B2B companies. What’s holding these brands back from joining the hundreds of successful companies marketing their products with video campaigns? The following five myths are some of the most common misconceptions about B2B video marketing.
B2B Video Marketing Myth #1: Our Message Is Too Complicated For Video
Many B2B companies feel that their products and services are too complicated for video marketing. But a well-planned campaign can be simple without being simplistic. If your products and services are complicated, there’s nothing stopping you from launching videos. Video is one of the best mediums for simplifying complicated information and a strong video production company can take endless amounts of information and drill down to the most important points. With video, you can take dry material and turn it into something entertaining. In fact, explainer videos have some of the highest conversion rates of any type of content, including white papers and case studies. This is likely because of video’s ability to hit viewers at both an emotional and informational level. So even if your product is marketed exclusively to rocket scientists, video can be a useful tool to help generate leads.
B2B Video Marketing Myth #2: Decision Makers Aren’t Watching Videos
Many B2B companies struggle with the idea of online video. YouTube is often seen as a dumping ground for cat videos and stupid human tricks. And it’s true, YouTube is a haven for this type of content, it’s certainly not the only video content out there. Forbes Insights recently conducted a study that revealed 75% of executives watch business videos each week. And of those, 65% visited vendors’ websites because of that video content.
Executives are just as busy as the rest of us. They may not have the time to sift through your 10 page white paper, but they have the time to consume short bursts of video content. By choosing to deliver your information in a new way, you have a better chance of breaking through the clutter of text marketing. That’s not to say you should abandon your text pieces all together. The goal of your campaign may be to get the executives to request a copy of your other materials, and that’s fine. Your marketing campaign should be comprehensive, and video just adds a new method of reaching those important decision makers.
B2B Video Marketing Myth #3: Video Marketing Must Go Viral In Order To Be Successful
There is a lot of pressure to make videos go viral. But the odds of a video going viral are extremely low. So is a non-viral campaign a failure? Of course not. Millions of hits are good for the ego, but as a B2B company, you’re trying to reach a very specific and often limited audience. So if your video goes viral among low-level employees but you’re trying to reach the folks in the C-Suite, you’re really not doing yourself any favors. Instead of striving for a viral video, keep your eye on the prize. Never lose sight of your target audience and tailor your video content directly to them.
B2B Video Marketing Myth #4: Video Marketing Is Too Expensive
Ok, we’ll give you this much: video is more expensive than using your current marketing team to create text content. But the biggest flaw in the “video is too expensive” myth is approaching video the same way you’d approach text. There is a one-and-done quality to blog posts and white papers. Sure, you can repurpose them and promote them in various ways, but they have a distinct shelf life. Video is markedly different. You can continue to see returns on videos for a year or more. They will live forever on sites like YouTube and your company can use the same videos in email marketing, during presentations, at trade shows, and on your website.
B2B Video Marketing Myth #5: Video Marketing Is Only For Big Companies
The big dogs get all of the press when it comes to analyzing B2B video marketing campaigns. But that doesn’t mean that the door is closed to small companies. Whether you’re a solopreneur, you run a small shop, or you are a large corporation, B2B video marketing can work for you.
Video can be a unique way to make your company seem larger than it is. If you sometimes stumble because you’re viewed as “too small,” great video can give you the image that you’re just as big and serious about marketing as your competitors. And if your bigger competitors haven’t yet discovered the perks of video, you’ll be ten steps ahead.
Have any of these B2B video marketing myths kept you from producing videos? What road blocks are stopping you? Let us know in your comments.