The Ultimate Guide to B2B Video Marketing for 2023

With 2022 officially in the rearview mirror, it’s time to start fresh and set new goals for 2023.

So, it’s out with the old and in with the new. And if you are looking to increase engagement with your B2B audience and double your bottom line this year, you should add B2B video marketing to your bingo card.

Why? 87% of marketers reported that using video in their marketing campaigns generated a good return on investment (ROI) in 2022. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

The key to success lies in leveraging B2B video marketing tactics to create powerful, effective campaigns that speak directly to decision-makers.

In this guide, you’ll learn everything you need about B2B video marketing, from video ideas to distribution channels and best practices for optimizing for maximum performance.

Are you ready to grow your online presence tenfold?

Let’s dive in.

Why does B2B video marketing work?

Video is everywhere.

From safety briefings on airplanes to teaching toddlers how to talk, videos are quickly becoming the go-to medium for just about everything, including B2B marketing.

But why is a simple video so compelling?

Video allows us to take our content one step further by breaking down the barriers where one-dimensional text and images fall short.

A five-minute video explaining the ins and outs of artificial intelligence will beat out a five-page e-book on the same topic 73% of the time.

Why?

Consumers can better understand a complex topic (like artificial intelligence) when it’s broken down into easily digestible information using audio, visual, and motion cues. Plus, it’s convenient and requires less brain power than reading five pages of dense text.

Today video is an integral part of communicating with your B2B prospects and closing deals.

Still not convinced?

Take a look at a recent study about video marketing published by Wyzowl. The data speaks for itself:

• 87% of marketers report that video increases organic traffic to their website
• 86% of marketers agree that video is a powerful lead-generation strategy
• 81% of marketers confirm video directly increases sales
• 88% of decision-makers bought a product or service after watching a video from a brand

To wrap it all up in one nice neat bow, here are the main reasons video trumps other forms of content:

• Engagement - Videos are more engaging than text or images because they combine multiple forms of media (audio, visual, and motion) to create a more immersive experience. These elements make it easier for viewers to understand and retain information.
• Emotion - Videos can evoke emotions and make a personal connection with the viewer, which can be powerful in marketing. Personal connections help to build trust and credibility with potential customers.
• Convenience - Videos are easily consumable, allowing viewers to watch and learn about a product or service at their own pace. People can watch them on multiple devices, making them easy to access and view anywhere.
• Attention - With the increasing demand for visual content, people lose interest quickly, making short videos more effective to grab attention and keep it longer than text or images.

Benefits of B2B video marketing

Think of B2B video marketing like a smartphone. You can use a smartphone to call your loved ones, take photos during your travels, send emails to your business partners, or surf the web for the latest fashion trends.

They’re versatile and, in this digital age, something we struggle to live without (even if we hate to admit it). Case in point, smartphones are no longer a tool just for making phone calls.

Along those same lines, B2B video marketing campaigns doesn’t just raise brand awareness anymore — video is helpful throughout the entire sales funnel to generate high-quality leads and increase conversions.

So when the dust settles, smartphones and B2B video marketing have much more in common than you think.

Once you own a smartphone, it’s hard to return to the flip phone days. And once you jump on the B2B video marketing bandwagon, you’ll soon wonder why you didn’t do it sooner.

More than 99% of teams who use video for marketing agree they’ll continue to do so going forward.

From engaging your audience on social media to educating your prospects through product demos, providing webinars to help buyers in their decision-making process, or showcasing customer testimonials to drive conversions, the opportunities to make real connections through the videos are endless.

So, if you haven't already, 2023 is the year to go all-in and invest in B2B video marketing.

Let’s take a closer look at the main benefits of B2B video marketing in action.

Boost rankings on SERPs

Have you ever noticed how much space videos take up on the first page of Google’s search results? Or maybe you haven’t noticed them at all?

For instance, if you Google the keyword “how to host a webinar,” videos appear as the fourth result. But that’s not all. They take up almost double the amount of space compared to the second and third results for ordinary blog posts.

That’s a lot of coveted real estate. Especially with research indicating that the first page of Google captures 71–92% of internet traffic.

If you look closely, you’ll notice that these videos were posted directly to YouTube. But embedding a video directly into your existing blog posts can also help improve your b2b SaaS SEO and rank your content higher on SERPs.

Videos can increase the visibility of your website on search engines in several ways.

• Video content can increase people's time on your website, which signals to search engines that your website is valuable and engaging.
• You can optimize your videos with keywords and meta tags, making them more likely to appear in search results.
• Others can embed videos on their websites, which scores a backlink to your site. Backlinks are one of the most critical factors in SEO, as they signal to search engines that other websites consider your content authoritative and helpful.
• Video transcriptions can be indexed by search engines, another opportunity to land a top spot on the SERPs.

Incorporating videos into your website can significantly increase engagement and improve your SEO — as long as you optimize your videos for search engines.

It's worth noting that video optimization is about more than just adding videos to your website. Following SEO video guidelines, like adding titles, descriptions, tags, and transcripts, is essential.

Expand your reach with a multi-channel approach

Don’t underestimate the power of social media, especially in the B2B world.

Decision makers are on these platforms, too, and that's who you are targeting. A recent study from Gartner shows that Facebook and YouTube hold the top spot for B2B buyers making purchasing decisions.

Adopting a multi-channel approach can boost your reach with minimal effort. If you are already posting videos embedded into your blog posts, why not share them on Facebook and YouTube?

Facebook, the largest social media giant in the world, currently has 2.9 billion monthly active users, with YouTube just behind at 2.56 billion users. That's incredible reach compared to relying solely on organic traffic to your website or selling to your immediate network.

Plus, for the icing on the cake, adopting a multi-channel boosts the likelihood that people will share your content with friends and family online. The more eyes on your product or service, the better.

Oh, and referrals are your best customers. They tend to have higher conversion rates and customer lifetime value.

Scale your demand generation

Incorporating video into your marketing strategy can be a game-changer for generating demand for your products or services.

All businesses have problems that need to be solved. Why not showcase the value that your company brings to the table?

You can effectively generate interest and drive conversions by creating videos tailored to your target audience and aligning with the different stages of the sales funnel.

Videos tend to go viral for a reason. They’re entertaining, thought-provoking, inspirational, funny, or controversial. But they’re also free and easy to share, which is perfect for building demand.

Ungated content (read: a free video) is a method for generating demand, while gated content is a way to generate leads.

For instance, at the top of the funnel, you can post videos on Facebook to introduce your brand and educate potential customers about the problems your products or services can solve.

As they move further down the funnel, you switch gears to creating videos for lead generation purposes, highlighting the benefits of your products or services and providing product demos, testimonials, and how-to guides to help them make informed purchase decisions.

Add a personal touch

Account-based marketing (ABM) is picking up steam for B2B marketing, with 86% of marketers confirming that ABM improves win rates.

Instead of casting a wide net to catch a few fish, it's about targeting the right fish already in your net. The key is to focus on specific accounts with the highest conversion potential and give special attention to decision-makers within those accounts.

And let me tell you, videos are like fresh worms for ABM. They can easily be tailored to specific accounts to educate and engage them during different stages of the sales process.

If you are a fintech company , you can create a video case study about how your product helped another company in the same industry solve a problem with credit card processing by enhancing the parts of a credit card that prevent fraud or identity theft.

That's the kind of targeted and relevant content decision-makers in targeted accounts would love to see. You'll have a fish on the line in no time.

Plus, it's a form of social proof that you could deliver outstanding results for a similar account.

These videos don’t have to be fancy. A little bit of effort goes a long way with ABM. It can be as simple as a screen-recorded video using a platform like StoryXpress, where you can record your screen, face, or both.

Effective ways to use B2B video marketing in 2023

Here are a few simple ways to incorporate B2B video marketing into your content strategy in 2023:

Record a product demo

The role of videos increases in importance, especially when using the product-led growth method — a popular SaaS business methodology.

A video tutorial or product demo is a surefire way to show how your product works, which is ideal for a strategy that uses the product to drive growth.

Providing a top-notch customer experience and delivering maximum value to your customers by offering video demonstrations can help move them further down the sales funnel.

Follow the lead of Wordable. They share a simple product demo on their YouTube channel about how to use the tool to publish Google Docs to a blog in one click:

Build a library of explainer videos

An explainer video is like a mini-tutorial in video form. It's a short and sweet way to explain a product, service, or idea in an easy-to-understand way.

These videos are a great way to show off your expertise. They can introduce new products or features, answer common questions, or explain how a product can solve specific problems.

And the best part? You can use explainer videos to educate and engage potential customers at different sales funnel stages. So, whether someone is just getting to know your business or they're ready to buy, explainer videos have got you covered.

Take a look at this explainer video from HubSpot about how to write the perfect business memo:

Share customer testimonials

B2B buyers typically pay more for products or services than B2C buyers, which is why B2B buyers rely heavily on other buyers' experiences and feedback before pulling the trigger on purchasing decisions.

And 72% trust testimonials from strangers.

Showcase your success stories by politely asking your past customers to record testimonial videos. These videos will present future customers with real-world examples of your products or services in an engaging and easily consumable format.

Park these videos on your home or pricing page for easy access for everyone who visits your site.

Here’s an example of a happy userp customer after a successful link building campaign scored them $35,000 in weekly revenue:

Film behind-the-scenes stories

As humans, we love personal connection.

Filming behind-the-scenes stories is an effective way to showcase the human side of your brand. And who doesn’t love a behind-the-scenes video?

By giving a glimpse into the day-to-day operations of your business, you can create a sense of transparency and authenticity that can help build trust with your audience. This type of content can also help make your brand more relatable.

For example, you can film a day in an employee's life, behind-the-scenes footage of the production process, or a video showcasing the company's culture and values.

If you need inspiration, check out this Salesforce video about the daily tasks of a Salesforce admin:

Send a personalized sales pitch

Sending a personalized sales pitch via video format is an excellent way to go above and beyond.

You’ll be surprised at how effectively this methodology converts leads into paying customers. It shows you’re willing to go the extra mile and sets precedence about the quality of the product or service you provide.

Here are some tips for creating a personalized sales pitch:

• Do your research - Before reaching out to potential customers, research their company and industry to understand their specific challenges and needs.
• Personalize the message - Use the customer's name, company name, and other relevant information in the video message to make it more personal.
• Highlight how your product or service can help - Use specific examples and statistics to show how your product or service can solve the customer's specific problem.
• Provide a clear call to action - Include a specific next step for the customer, such as scheduling a demo or setting up a meeting.
• Follow up - Send a follow-up message to remind the customer about your proposal and to see if they have any questions or concerns.

Record and publish your webinars

The odds are that you are already hosting webinars as a form of lead generation for your business. So why not record them and reap the benefits months after the live event?

Recording and publishing your webinars is a great way to share valuable information with a larger audience, generate additional leads, and increase conversions.

Take a look at this 5-hour webinar about technical SEO from Semrush. A simple recording uploaded to YouTube has amassed over 13k views and undoubtedly hundreds (if not thousands) of new customers:

Pro tip: Choose a high-quality recording and hosting tool like StoryXpress to ensure the best possible audio and video quality.

Turn your podcast into a video

2023 is the year of working smarter, not harder. Why not follow the same strategy for podcasts?

Whether appearing as a special guest or hosting a weekly episode yourself, turn them into a video format to increase engagement (like the founder of the Hustle does with his My First Million Podcast).

According to the 2021 Super Listeners survey by Edison Research, super listeners are heavy podcast consumers, with an average of 11.2 hours per week.

They also enjoy listening to content that includes video elements and often discover new podcasts through YouTube, with 19% of super listeners citing it as their primary discovery platform.

Even Spotify has adopted the video format for podcasts.

Dabble in short-form content

The popularity of short-form content is exploding, thanks to TikTok and YouTube Shorts.

Recent data shows that 73% of consumers prefer to watch a short-form video to learn about a product or service.

Smartsheet is already testing this new trend by sharing simple videos on TikTok. The results are looking good so far.

How to optimize your B2B marketing videos

At this point in the guide, it’s clear that B2B video marketing has plenty of benefits for implementation.

Here are four simple tips for making B2B marketing videos to help your customers move through the sales process, boosting sales and putting more money in your pocket at the end of the day.

Create videos for every stage of the funnel

To make your video marketing more effective, you must understand your buyers and create content that speaks to them at different stages of the buying journey.

In other words, videos are a great tool for personalization in a CDP marketing strategy to help move prospects along the sales funnel by providing them with the information they need throughout different stages.

With customer data, you can create an easily understandable format that starts with knowing their problem and goes through options and buying.

For example, videos that provide industry trends and thought leadership are great for the early stages of the funnel when leads are still figuring out their problems.

Mid-funnel leads might be interested in product overviews and case studies, and late-funnel buyers may be interested in product demos, tutorials, and customer testimonials.

The secret recipe for B2B video marketing success is ​​a balance of high-funnel videos focused on building brand awareness and low-funnel videos to close the deals.

Hone in on video length

The length of a video matters more than you think. Understand your audience’s preferences and align your videos to match them for the best results.

For instance, videos over two minutes show a significant drop-off in customer retention. But if someone watches more than six minutes of your video, they’ll likely stay for the entirety of it.

So it’s important to keep the content's first six minutes engaging by telling a story or offering valuable insight they don’t want to click away from. That way, they’ll make it to your CTA at the end of the video.

Or if you notice that long-form content isn’t your audience’s cup of tea, you can always leverage short-form content to boost conversions. There’s a reason TikTok is so popular, after all.

Find a sweet spot with production quality

Most B2B marketers are hesitant to add this strategy to their marketing plans because they think production is too expensive or the videos are too difficult to make.

But the truth is, you don't always have to spend much money or make ultra-polished videos to get a good return on investment. Raw, useful, and relevant videos can be just as effective.

Here are some tips to help you find the sweet spot with production quality:

• Set a budget - Determine a realistic budget for production and stick to it.
• Determine the purpose of the video - Understand the goal of the video and what message you want to convey.
• Choose the right equipment - Use high-quality equipment that produces professional-looking results but doesn't break the bank.
• Keep it simple - Avoid over-complicating the video with unnecessary elements.
• Use a professional editor - Hire a professional editor to ensure that the final product looks polished.
• Test it out - Show the video to a few people and ask for feedback before publishing it.

Design eye-catching thumbnails

The YouTube search feed is a sea of videos competing for clicks.

Thumbnail images are the first thing viewers see when browsing through videos, and they can make the difference between someone clicking through to watch your video or scrolling past it.

Custom thumbnails are vital in boosting click-through rates to your videos, with 90% of top-performing videos on YouTube using them.

Creating an eye-catching thumbnail provides a sneak peek of what the video is about and helps to build curiosity and interest in the video, increasing the chances of people clicking through to watch the entire video.

Take a look at the difference between custom and automatic thumbnails in the example below. Which video would you click on?

Our guess is number one. Note the difference in view count. The first video amassed 25k views in two weeks, while the second had 164 views after two months. The proof is pudding.

Wrapping up

B2B video marketing is an underrated methodology for connecting with potential customers and growing your bottom line in 2023.

By creating videos that are authentic, engaging, and relevant, you can establish trust and credibility with your target audience. And trust is worth its weight in gold, especially for high-ticket products or services.

Whether through brand awareness videos, product demos, customer testimonials, or thought leadership content, video marketing offers a versatile way to reach customers at different sales funnel stages.

And let's not forget video marketing is also a cost-effective way to reach a wide audience through content repurposing.

With the right strategy in place, you can leverage the power of video marketing to achieve your business goals in 2023. Can you already hear the sales rolling in?