Business-to-business marketers need to be making online videos — one of the most powerful marketing tools at their disposal, according to a new report from the Content Marketing Institute.
Video is one of the top three most effective content marketing techniques, because B2B decision-makers usually have very little time, the survey of business marketers found. When researching potential purchases, decision-makers often turn to video because they can get quick and understandable information about the product they’re considering.
According to eMarketer’s analysis of the Content Marketing Institute’s survey, businesspeople are looking for three things when researching business purchases: “what a brand or business does, what its competitors do, and what people say about the business.”
More than three quarters of B2B marketers now use video, and 60% rate it as effective, behind only in-person events, rated by 69% as effective, and webinars and webcasts at 64%. About 70% of these marketers say they are creating more content in general than they did a year ago.
Best practices for video are dictated by the very same reason decision-makers like the medium: its brevity. Business videos need to be informational and short. Aim to grab the viewer in the first 20 seconds. Also, the video should focus on a particular business need during a specific stage along the path to purchase, the study found.
