Well, hello there! It’s definitely been awhile since I’ve done a blog post. The brevity of social media updates have taken over. However, some things need further explanation. Which brings me to why I’m here. At my day job as a Senior Multimedia Designer for a B2B marketing department I work on a lot of testimonial videos which mainly focus on promoting the business outcomes to increase the awareness of brand benefits. That sort of marketing video definitely has its place in the B2B world. But, it’s not the only type of B2B marketing video which can be done and there most certainly are other types of B2B marketing videos that can have even more of an impact on the awareness of a brand’s benefits.

 

When creating a B2B marketing video there are three main points I believe each video should hit.

 

With the above in mind, here are some ideas I had for our marketing department on the different kinds of videos we could do.

 

1. Focus on the Micro
Often I see a lot of focus on the macro, trying to fit everything and everyone into one video. Don’t overwhelm the viewer. Focus on the micro. Focus on one person. Focus from that one person’s experience, from their perspective. This will deliver a relatable and compelling story.

 

 

Normally I would not show an example of a talking head only video testimonial. And this video would benefit greatly from b-roll showcasing her at work, with her family, her struggles and her ultimate success. What points it does hit tho are that it showcases a problem solved and she is very conversational and relatable. It doesn’t quite hit the emotional point for me, but by focusing on one person’s experience, it’s not so overwhelming to the viewer.

 

2. Focus on the Collaboration
Focus on the collaboration that happens between the two companies to solve a problem.

 

 

This one hits all three points for me. It’s emotional in that they were fearful, but the company was so awesome with their process and working with them through it that their fears were put at ease. It’s conversational and it solves a problem.

 

These from Sprint and Zendesk are great examples of focusing on the collaboration while using humor to create a memorable viewing experience.

 

 

 

 

3. Show support for things that don’t directly involve your business.Show why you do what do.

 

 

This one shows the tire company’s support for inclusion. It’s not necessarily selling the tire, but the company’s ideals.

 

4. Show one person’s life journey.
Show that you are here for someone’s whole life, helping and supporting them along the way.

 

 

This one is a great example of showing one person’s life journey through her passion of exercise and running. And it had a great social marketing campaign as well with #HonorYourDays

 

5. Humor
I love humor in a marketing video. Done right it can create a great connection and a sense of relatability between the viewer and the brand.

 

 

This shows relatability to an issue, in this case exercise, with a sense of humor.

 

 

This is a great use of humor to show the problems and the solution.

 

 

And this one is a great example of self-deprecating humor that shows the company was listening to its clients and solved the problem.

 

6. Behind the Scenes
Go behind the scenes to show the people behind the products. Go micro by focusing on one person, their story, their perspective. Go macro by being funny or focusing on one specific element.

 

 

This is a great example of using the micro approach to show in a fictional, funny way how one associate can make a world of difference.

 

 

Here, they went macro but focused on a specific element of the people behind the scenes of their company. They are doers and you want doers.

 

 

This one went macro as well but went with the humorous approach.

 

 

And finally, this one from Honda takes an interesting approach. It looks at how failures led to success. It is long at over eight minutes, but it is so compelling and relatable you want to watch. It is also a great example of having the subjects look more into the camera, connecting with the viewer one-on-one.

 

7. Tips & Tricks
Keep it short! Small tips and tricks that do not give away the secret sauce, but shows you care to keep your clients up to date and always learning. This is sometimes a great opportunity to add in humor to a video. This is also a fantastic opportunity for social sharing sites.

 

8. Episodic Series
Instead of trying to cram everything into one video, separate them out into a series of videos. Make it more digestible for the viewer.

 

Re-purpose for Different Channels
With any of these marketing videos think about how the video can be chopped up, re-purposed and recycled throughout your campaign to achieve maximum reach. Many of the social sharing sites have a different psychology behind them and so different video requirements. A video that works on YouTube won’t work in the same way on Instagram.

 

Well, that’s all I’ve got right now on B2B marketing videos. I hope you were able to get something from my research as well. If you have any marketing videos you love or other ideas, please share!

 

Keep on strivin’ forward,

Mary