Going Viral — The B2B Video Takeover and How to Ride the Wave

Video has become an absolute necessity for B2B marketers today. Just look at the numbers — video marketing has been growing by double-digit percentages year over year, with audiences increasingly favoring video over traditional text and image content.

So far, in 2023, 96% of marketers reported that B2B video helped increase user understanding of products and services. And video isn’t just performing better; it’s also way more cost-effective. On average, video content secures about 157% more organic traffic from searches than text and images combined.

With those kinds of metrics, it’s no wonder that 91% of businesses now use video as a marketing tool. Video works so well because it allows brands to demonstrate who they are and what they offer in a more personal and dynamic format. It’s the closest digital experience you can have to an in-person interaction.

Key Benefits of B2B Video Enablement: Driving Leads, Building Brands, Boosting Engagement

So, what makes video so uniquely effective for B2B brands? There are three core benefits that no other content format can match – lead generation, brand building, and engagement.

Let’s dig into some hard evidence. About 80% of customers prefer to engage with branded video content when they’re still researching a business or product. Video viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it on video versus just 10% for text content. Once the B2B video gets visitors interested, it also helps convert — landing pages with video deliver conversion rates 2-3x higher on average.

For brand building, online video presents B2B companies with a huge opportunity to shape perceptions and establish thought leadership. These are cornerstones of the B2B demand generation strategy we outlined before.

About 87% of video marketers say that branded video allows them to nurture a brand identity and story. Well-targeted B2B video allows a more 360-degree view of organizations, products, services, and workplace culture – customers get to see and hear brand values in action.

In terms of engagement, the typical internet user now spends 88% more time on websites with video than without. Online video also generates 1200% more shares than text and images combined across all major social platforms. That virality makes video the most formidable weapon in the content marketer's arsenal.

Platforms and Formats: Optimizing for Varied Video Needs

When it comes to B2B video content, one size doesn’t fit all. Companies need to leverage different video platforms, formats, and styles to match diverse audience needs.

Let’s start with YouTube — it’s the big enchilada with over 2 billion monthly logged-in users. We’ve all heard how YouTube dominates search, but get this – it’s actually the world’s 2nd largest search engine next to Google. For B2B brands, YouTube presents a huge opportunity to be discovered. Companies that post frequently grow subscribers 75% faster than ones that don’t.

Beyond YouTube, targeted social platforms are unlocking B2B video success, too. 82% of Twitter users watch video content on timelines, while video posts on LinkedIn generate up to 50% more comments. On visually-focused platforms like Instagram, video performs off the charts — IG video posts secure 10x higher engagement on average.

Now in terms of video formats, live and on-demand streaming fare extremely well for B2B brands. 93% of marketers use live video to support content strategy because it allows real-time interaction with audiences. On-demand video works differently — by focusing on evergreen educational and demo content. Think explainer videos, training webinars, and animated tutorials — reusable assets driving recurring value.

Production Tips: Optimizing B2B Video for Mobile, Subtitles, Interviews

With video, you obviously can’t just wing it. High-quality video production requires attention across equipment, editing, visuals, sound, and more. But based on tons of testing, B2B brands repeatedly emphasize three core elements that give B2B video assets the best chance to connect with audiences: mobile optimization, subtitles, and talking-head interviews.

Let’s focus on mobile first. Over 80% of YouTube watch time happens from mobile devices today. If viewers struggle with tiny text or awkward orientations, they bail quickly. That’s why brands must check video renders on all sizes of smartphone displays during editing. It guarantees good visibility and fits viewing behavior.

Adding subtitles is another must. Roughly 80% of viewers are more likely to finish a video with subtitles, and 85% of all videos on Facebook are watched with the sound off — so if they can’t follow along via text, no bueno. Beyond accessibility, subtitles also drive views and search visibility. Video platforms factor readable embedded text and metadata into algorithmic ranking.

Finally, personalized interviews allow B2B brands to get experts and executives in front of audiences cost-effectively. Dynamic on-screen interactions boost authenticity and storytelling. Audiences relate more to real professionals sharing experiences than overly polished promotional content. People trust people, after all.

Check our guide on how to build viable and result-focused influencer partnerships to create killer B2B video content each time.

Promotion and Analytics: YouTube SEO, Social Amplification, View Tracking

With business video content in hand, B2B brands still need to promote videos strategically to drive views, engagement, and conversions. The three key methods are optimizing for YouTube SEO, amplifying socially, and tracking performance.

On YouTube, brands have to nail video SEO to get discovered. That means researching popular and low-competition keywords and then deliberately optimizing video titles, descriptions, and metadata for vocab matching. YouTube scans text elements more than visuals or scripts to understand relevancy. Dialing-in ranking signals earn impressions.

Once videos go live, social amplification rockets referrals big time. Posting videos natively on LinkedIn and Twitter alone lifts YouTube views by an average of 50%. Layering in dedicated landing pages and email campaigns compounds traffic even more, thanks to visitors sharing B2B video content within their networks.

Speaking of analytics, precise view tracking is 100% necessary to optimize video initiatives over time. Beyond vanity metrics like views, savvy B2B brands evaluate relative engagement, traffic sources, playback locations, audience retention, and conversions generated per video. This intelligence informs better video targeting.

Conclusion: Staying on the Cutting Edge

At this point, the question isn’t whether B2B companies should invest in video marketing; it’s how they cannot. Video allows brands to engage target audiences, demonstrate value, and build authority at a level no other content format can match.

And while upfront video production requires significant effort, businesses profit greatly from evergreen assets usable for months or years. Plus, over time, B2B video campaigns compound value across platforms as viewership and sharing increase.

Just remember – video marketing isn’t set it and forget it. B2B brands must continually experiment with new video styles, topics, and distribution to stay cutting edge. As emerging social channels come online and access patterns shift, agile video strategies remain best positioned to win.

The companies successfully riding the video revolution in B2B understand that, fundamentally, it’s always about the audience. Crafting content people crave enough to consume, share, and engage fuels success – no matter which metrics you track. Video delivers those connections...if you speak the language.

Get Your B2B Video Content in Front of the Right People with Primer

With Primer, you can easily discover the ICP-fit audience and target your paid advertising, email, and video content with precision. It provides you with broad data enrichment and audience-building functionality. Just set the necessary audience filters and let Primer automatically source company and contact level data from multiple trusted B2B data providers.

Build your laser-focused audiences and activate them on Google Ads, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Test how it works – request your free live Primer demo right now!