There’s a myth that B2B marketing is driven by features and facts and logic – but the fact is, emotion plays just as important a role in B2B as it does in B2C. After all, businesses are run by people who make decisions using the same psychological processes.
Indeed, research has shown that people have two minds: System 1 minds, which are impulsive, intuitive and fast; and System 2 minds, which are thoughtful, deliberate and rational. While most of us would like to consider ourselves rational and thoughtful, the evidence demonstrates that 95% of our decisions are made by our System 1 minds. In other words, emotion trumps logic almost every time.
So how do you capitalise on people’s emotions and appeal to their System 1 minds in B2B marketing? Well, video is a great way to engage with customers. 65% of people are visual learners, which means they’re more likely to retain information that’s presented to them via video and image than by straight copy.
Here are 10 kinds of video you can use to engage your customers throughout the whole customer journey.
1. The demand generator
The demand generator video is at the very top of the sales funnel and should be used to raise awareness around your product and generate interest in your business.
It should be entertaining first and foremost, with a secondary goal of educating the customer, in order to encourage people to share it with their networks.
With that in mind, you should reformat and optimise your demand generator videos for different platforms and social media channels to encourage sharing as much as possible.
2. The social cyclone
The social cyclone video is a video created specifically to cause a stir on social media. It should be native to the platform (e.g. a Facebook video with captions rather than sound, instead of a YouTube video shared on Facebook), have high production values and be targeted to your ideal customer.
It should also be mobile optimised, since, by 2020, Instagram expects 50% of all video viewing to be done via mobile.
3. The explainer video
95% of people have watched an explainer video to learn more about a product or service – so it’s clear these videos play a vital role in the customer journey.
Explainer videos should do what they say on the tin: they should explain clearly to the customer what your product or service is and how it will benefit them.
These videos should be embedded on your landing page to get continuous exposure, and should concisely convince customers that your business and your product are perfect for them.
4. The thought leader video
Everybody wants to be a thought leader these days — and for good reason. Customers are more likely to buy from people they believe to be an expert in the industry.
In B2B, thought leadership content has focused on white papers and case studies, but video can help you bring your stories to life in a more dynamic way. These can be hosted on YouTube and shared across social media, your website and email.
Thought leader videos should aim to reveal one key fact or piece of information per video. Talking head videos can be great for thought leadership, but make sure whoever’s doing the talking is comfortable on camera and is engaging to listen to.
5. The webinar video
Live webinars are an excellent way to engage with prospects, highlight your expertise in a particular area, connect with people and grow your network.
But you can do so much more with webinars. Record your live webinars and share the videos after the fact — both with people who attended the live event and those who couldn’t make it. Not only will this get your content out to a wider audience, but it will also encourage people to sign up for future webinars. After all, if they can see for themselves how engaging you are in a webinar, then they may be more likely to attend your next one.
Make sure that all the value from your webinar isn’t in the simple recording, though – you still want people to attend future live webinars rather than just wait for the recording. Whether it’s exclusive content that doesn’t make the recorded edit or live Q&A sessions, give users something extra that they won’t get just from the video.
6. The product walkthrough video
These videos are less emotional and more informative. They aim to show a customer or prospect how a product or service works.
Product walkthrough videos shouldn’t be 30 minutes of someone using your product, however. They should be short, informative, and engaging. Consider splitting a longer video up and using segments to break up a landing page to make it more interactive and engaging for the user. According to Forbes, embedding videos on landing pages can increase conversion rates by 80%.
Make sure you continually optimise your videos. Test different snippets and segments to see which ones have the most impact on conversion, and rework underperforming parts of the video to make them more engaging.
7. The testimonial video
Testimonials are an important part of the sales process because social proof influences decision making.
Give your customers the chance to connect with a real person and hear from someone who was in their position. Keep testimonials clear and concise, and make sure they mirror your target audience. People are more likely to connect with videos of people who are like them.
Don’t just make it another talking head video, though. Weave multiple customer success stories together to create an overall story that is compelling and engaging, and make sure you include
8. The video email
Videos in emails have been shown to increase click-through rates by over 96%, so they’re well worth using where possible.
Most email software is unable to support automatically playing videos in emails, however, so you’ll need to get clever. Try using a video thumbnail image with a play button that links through to a landing page that automatically plays the video. When the marketing video platform Wistia, tested video thumbnails in their emails, they saw engagement rate increase by over 40%.
9. The cultural capture video
These videos are all about making customers care about you as a business, not just as a product. Use these videos to highlight your company’s core beliefs. You should stand for more than just making a profit – so make that clear to your customers.
When you show customers that you care about them, they’ll care more about you.
10. The event immersion video
Events are the ultimate way to engage and connect with customers – but you can make your events even more captivating by introducing immersive videos into the mix.
Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) videos and experiences can help bring your products to life in new and exciting ways. Mercedes-Benz USA, for example, recently used immersive video to transport viewers into the mountains of Colorado and show them what it could be like to drive a Mercedes through the stunning scenery.
Of course, all of these videos will only truly work if you’re clear about what you want them to achieve. Creating videos for the sake of it won’t get you anywhere. But if you set clear goals and focus on emotional engagement, you’ll find new ways to inspire both prospective and existing customers.
