According to Hubspot, 92% of marketers who use video say that it’s an important part of their marketing strategy. But how do you know when to use video and which versions are the right ones? As the trend for video content continues to grow, one of the most popular video types to emerge is the explainer video. Just like regular marketing content, this specific type of video allows your target audience to receive more information about your products at the right place and at the right time. Let’s take a look further into how explainer videos work with your marketing strategy to help push audiences along their buyer journey.
Explainer Videos Explained
A straightforward explanation is sometimes the only thing a buyer needs to better understand how your product works. Explainer videos make this possible — all in under one minute! Generally, explainer videos are around 30-90 seconds in length (averaging about 200 words in a script). They are educational with simple, straight-forward messaging that additionally captivates your audience using interesting visuals and animation. Think of them as a perfect sales pitch that’s just using a new medium to inform your audience. An essential element of an explainer video is letting the viewer know what solution you offer, how it helps your customer, and why it’s the best option. By focusing on the viewers’ problems, the audience can more easily identify and envision themselves with the product. Take a look at an example below!
You can also find more additional examples of explainer videos here.
Explainer Videos As Part of Your Marketing Strategy
When
The best time to introduce an explainer video is in the consideration stage of the buyer’s journey. This is the stage where buyers have identified their problem and begin researching the best solution. An informed buyer will scope out all of their potential options — including your competitors. With an explainer video, you are putting the information buyers seek front and center to further educate themselves on how your solution fills their needs. These videos not only nurture these potential leads but leave a lasting impression on buyers, making you more a memorable alternative when it comes to the decision stage.
Where
As buyers search for information about your products, you want to make sure that information is available to them in the right place. This is why the best place to put an explainer video is on your website. SmarkLab’s Creative Specialist, Cameron Carney, elaborates more on why: “As soon a someone hits your website, you only have a few seconds to hook them and catch their attention. A video is more likely to keep visitors intrigued and engaged on your website. To further combat people’s short attention span, using a quick, concise video, like an explainer video, additionally keeps visitors interested.”
Why
In addition to informing and helping potential customers complete their buyer’s journey, explainer videos also help with the following:
Brand recognition & awareness
Your explainer video should match your brand tone and guidelines, especially when dealing with the script and animation style. While these videos elaborate more on products, viewers will also get a preview of who you are a brand. Use video tone and style to make a statement and have you stand out from the rest.
As recommended before, your website is the perfect place for an explainer video. While your explainer video provides website visitors with pertinent information, it also encourages viewers to stay on your page longer. If people begin to spend more time on your page, Google and other search engines take note of that and will start to rank your website higher in searches, giving your company better visibility online.
Leave your next video project to the B2B experts. SmarkLabs aligns your B2B marketing strategies with our award-winning video production services and B2B expertise, allowing for high-strategy impact through high-quality content. Let’s get started today!
Creating a testimonial video is a careful balancing act. While you want your testimonials to sell people on your product, it’s also important that they come across as genuine and engaging. This can be even more challenging in a B2B testimonial video. A testimonial video is footage of a real-life customer talking about how a product or service has helped their business. It’s one of the most effective pieces of marketing content. Think about it. When’s the last time you made a big purchase or even just ordered something online? Did you read the reviews on the website first? Did you go so far as to check out blog posts or reviews on other websites? Now think of how much more effective real people’s reviews were than whatever the brand’s website said. That’s why testimonials are so important. We’ve all seen botched testimonial videos that come off as infomercials, so it’s understandable why you may be hesitant to make one for your company. However, with a few things in mind, you can ensure you create a testimonial video with an appropriate and (dare I say it?) even engaging tone.
Lose the script
Chances are, whoever you’re interviewing isn’t a professional actor. So don’t give him or her a script to read. Not only will it seem tacky to tell someone who enjoyed your product how exactly to praise you, but it’ll be obvious that they’re reading lines. The charm of a well-made testimonial video is the fact that it feels so real. If you have certain points that you want to make sure are touched on in the video, just let your interview subject know — preferably in advance so he or she can prep for the video.
Make it relatable
What pain points brought your interviewee to you and how did you solve them? The best way to get people engaged in your testimonial video is to put them in your interviewee’s shoes. Whatever you did for the person on screen can be done for them too. This testimonial from Slack discusses how the software helps streamline business communications:
Like case studies, as we discussed in our last blog, Essential Video Ideas for Your B2B Video Strategy, your testimonial video isn’t really about your company. It’s about your customer’s experience with your company. Let your interviewee be the focus of your video and your company’s success will shine through. In post-production, edit your video to tell a story with a clear beginning, middle and end. What brought your client to you? How did you solve his or her problem? What were the results?
Get plenty of footage
Like most of your marketing videos, you should keep a testimonial quick. Vidyard says that the “sweet spot” is between 45 and 60 seconds, and up to three minutes is acceptable. Make sure you get a complete idea of your customer’s experience but don’t bore your viewers. Feel free to interview your client for as long as it takes to get about a minute of great content, and expertly edit it in post-production. Vidyard also suggests including more footage than just your interview subject’s talking head. Start your video with footage of your interview subject walking in the door, or use a voiceover while panning around your visually appealing office space. Make sure you shoot plenty of b-roll to ensure you have enough variety to keep your testimonial looking as interesting as it sounds. This testimonial video from HootSuite is a great example of effectively using b-roll and varying camera shots:
Speaking of streamlining social media effort, testimonials are easily digestible and shareable, so they’re always a great option on social media. Maybe even include a CTA that asks your followers to share their good experience with your company as well!
When it comes to creating a content strategy, it’s essential to prioritize video. It may not be cheap or easy, but we can help you with that. B2B video marketing is well worth the investment in both money and time. Don’t believe our words? We have the numbers to back it up
HubSpot found that 87% of consumers would like to see more videos from their favorite brands.
So obviously, HubSpot deduced that 99% of marketers who already use video plan to continue doing so, and 88% plan to spend more.
90% of consumers find that videos help them decide whether or not to make a purchase, according to Social Media Today.
People stick around on a webpage for approximately two more minutes when there is a video present than when there is just text to read. Crazy Egg also states that these consumers are also 64% more likely to make a purchase.
Getting Started with B2B Video Marketing
If you’re not on the video train yet, it’s about time you get started. If you’re looking for ways to get those wheels in motion, you’ve come to the right place. Here are some video ideas to help you get started with your video content strategy.
Video blogs
Do you already have a blog? Congratulations, then you already have plenty of video blog content. While the fact that a piece of content you’ve put time and effort into writing isn’t getting the traffic you’d hoped is a tough pill to swallow, a good consolation is that you can repurpose it into video content. If the piece you’re working with is long, take a single point you make in the post and elaborate upon it for the video. If the article is short or easy to segment into bullet points, you can summarize the whole thing in a video blog.
Executive interviews
Do you have a CEO with a real personality? Is the founder of your company a compelling storyteller? Put them in a video! Whether the purpose of the video is to tell the story of your B2B company or to announce an exciting new campaign, putting real people involved in your business in front of the camera is a great way to humanize your web presence and get people engaged.
Explainer videos
What do your customers tend to struggle with? Ask your customer service team what questions they answer most often and be proactive by creating a video that directly addresses them. Not only will this take a little bit of pressure off of your customer service team, but it’ll also be handy for your consumers to be able to troubleshoot some of their issues with a simple Google search.
Testimonials
Do you look for reviews of a product before you make a purchase? Video testimonials from past customers are a way to spread the word about your business. They also help people who are still deciding whether they want to spend their money with you the little nudge they might need.
Animations
If you have a great animator on staff — or are willing to bring one on board, your video possibilities are endless. Animations are an excellent way to explain something on the more technical side and bring some personality to a topic that might be dry in front of a camera.
Where are you posting these?
Will these videos you’ve created live on your website, or are they a part of a more extended content strategy to create a more robust social media presence? If you’re going to post your content to social media, it’s essential to make sure people will watch it. It’s not as simple as just taking the video and uploading it to all mediums. Format a square version for Instagram, cut a quick clip that’ll intrigue people enough to head over to your website for the full version. For reference, HubSpot recommends keeping your Instagram videos below 30 seconds, Twitter videos below 45 seconds, Facebook videos below a minute, and YouTube videos below two minutes. And as for anything in the B2B marketing space, don’t forget optimizing your video content for search engines, by using captions and turning on autoplay. Don’t autoplay the sound, though! Think about the last time you had a random video playing in one of your browser tabs. Did you go to the correct tab and actually watch the video, or did you mute the page? One more thing that shouldn’t come as a surprise to any B2B marketer: include a CTA! Even if it isn’t clickable, end your video on a note that tells your viewers what to do next.
Your B2B video marketing should elevate your content strategy. Let us help! Learn more about our award-winning video production services and capabilities.
If you don’t already know, video marketing is big. Like really big. Social Media Today found that videos have a 135% greater organic reach than photos. In fact, not only are consumers preferring videos, but marketers are starting to realize this trend as well. Optinmonster found that two-thirds of marketers already use some type of video in their marketing strategy, so you can’t afford to be left out. If you’re on the fence about video marketing you’ve come to the right place. Let’s take a look at the most common misconceptions about video marketing before going into why your strategy needs to include them today.
Misconceptions With Video Marketing
1. Video only works for building awareness.
First and foremost, yes, videos absolutely help build awareness and drive activity to the top of the funnel. You’ve probably seen various “how-to” and branding-forward videos from your favorite retailers. But videos also provide guidance to consumers in the consideration and decision stages as well. According to HubSpot, 90% of people find explainer videos helpful in the decision-making process. So, if someone has an issue and is learning and defining their needs, you must be able to show them that you understand the challenges they’re facing. On top of that, you’ll want to exemplify that your company can help solve those pain points. This is where an explainer video can come in handy — educate them on your product/service and proactively answer questions or objections that they may have. Without them even realizing it, you’re already building trust. But that’s not all! This means videos can become a valuable leveraging tool in the decision stage. An article from Consumerist found that nearly 70% of consumers rely on reviews before making a purchase. So, using testimonials and video case studies will help validate your work and build credibility.
2. Total views are the best measure of success.
False. Although the number of views on your video is a great sign that you’re reaching an audience, total views won’t tell you anything about the behavior the video caused. Instead, pay attention to things like the duration of the views, click-through rate, and the level of engagement it receives on social media. Focusing on these metrics will tell you how much your content is truly connecting with your audience.
Why You Need Video Marketing Today
Well, your customers want it! A recent study from HubSpot found 54% of people want to see more video content from marketers. That means it’s very likely your customers are asking for it right now. Don’t leave them hanging! If that’s not a convincing enough reason, let’s take a look at some other great benefits to video marketing.
1. Video shows great ROI
According to Wyzowl, 83% of businesses say videos provide positive returns on investment. Although video production isn’t the easiest or cheapest task to complete, the payoff is well worth it when done correctly. It is crucial your video presents clear and concise content easy for viewers to digest. The most important thing isn’t even the quality of the video – it’s the information within. Without valuable, relevant info, your video will fall flat regardless of how visually appealing it is. Questions on how to make a great video? Curious about where to start? Reach out to us! We love helping our customers uncover the value of video.
2. Video builds trust
Trust. In other words, the foundation of all your customer conversions. As a business, you can never have enough trust and videos can help build this tremendously. Think of a time when you bought a product from a new company. Most people are understandably skeptical of buying something they’re unfamiliar with online. So, finding reassurance from your favorite YouTuber or influencer that the quality of the product is good can help push you to make that purchase. Why? Because you now trust them. Effective marketing videos help educate buyers and increase confidence in their decisions, which is why 64% of users are more likely to buy a product online after watching a video (HubSpot).
3. Video appeals to mobile users
Since 2013, MultiChannel found mobile video views have grown more than 233%. Since people like to watch videos on the go, and the number of smartphone users continues to rise, your mobile video audience is growing larger and larger. To go further, a study from Google found viewers are 1.4x more likely to watch a video or ad on their mobile device instead of TV/PC. What does this all mean? The time is now, marketers. When you can successfully offer the right content to the right viewer while on-the-go, you’re leading your company down a road to success.
4. Videos are perfect for demonstrations
Who wants to read pages of text? A study from PopVideo found that viewers retain 95%of a message when they watch it compared to reading it. Think about it like this: You know nothing about cars and are asked to change the oil. All you are given is a piece of paper with instructions on it. This job will take a long time and you probably won’t learn very much. Now, imagine being able to take out your phone and watch a YouTube video as you work. Not only will the job go quicker, but you’ll learn more. You will start remembering concepts visually while getting a better feel for the subject. That’s the power of video content. The ability to take concepts and understand them in a more natural, relatable way.
5. Video improves email marketing
We all know how tough email marketing is. If you don’t, check out “Why No One Is Opening My Emails” to learn why. But it’s okay, because videos alone help increase email open rates! That’s right! According to Campaign Monitor, email campaigns that include videos see a 19% open rate increase. These emails also experience 65% increased click-through rates and 26% less unsubscribes. Oh yeah! The point of all those statistics is that a good email marketing strategy will provide massive benefits and can help improve your bottom line. Don’t shy away from email marketing because of the difficulty it brings. Instead, embrace it using video!
6. Videos enhance landing pages
Your landing page is intended to lead customers to a specific product, service, or offer and encourage them to take action. B2B businesses especially use landing pages to generate leads and conversions. These pages are a great way to drive traffic, improve SEO, and build your brand. So, why have videos on them? Well, a study from Forbes found that including videos on your landing page increases conversion rates by nearly 80%. Enough said.
The Verdict
Advances in technology are making video marketing not only more popular but cheaper to implement too. Successfully capturing the attention of the viewer and sparking some type of action should be the main goal when developing video content. As a recap, video marketing can help…
Increase ROI
Build trust
Appeal to on-the-go users
Help with demonstrations
Improve email marketing
Enhance landing pages
…making this strategy absolutely worth the investment! To learn more about video marketing and how your business can see these improvements, contact us today!
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In many ways, video marketing isn’t about selling a product or service at all — it’s about communication. It’s about establishing the type of rich, intimate, and organic connection between your brand and target audience that turns people who may be on the fence not just into buyers, but into loyal brand advocates who will help spread your message far and wide. (more…)
An explainer video is a powerful marketing tool, summing up the advantages of your product or service in a short, entertaining format. One of the most important steps of explainer video production (and arguably one of the trickiest) is to write a great script. According to Kissmetrics, “A well-written script is the key to a successful explainer video. It’s the foundation upon which everything else is built.” While hiring outside help to write your video’s script for you is an option, if you are choosing to go at it alone, be sure and follow these 5 steps to writing the perfect explainer video script: (more…)
