Video content is on the rise in the current B2B world, with many marketers implementing videos into their buyer outreach strategies, ABM plays and more, to engage with buyers in the digital age. With this surge in video usage, it’s only natural that innovative or tech-savvy marketers would want to get in on the action.
Demand Gen Report sat down with Chief Evangelist Ethan Beute of the video communication platform BombBomb to discuss the current state of video content, and how companies are being creative with videos in order to drive buyer engagement, build stronger relationships and strengthen their marketing campaigns.
During the conversation, Beute highlighted three ways marketers can create engaging video content for marketing outreach, programs and strategies, including:
- Being prepared with company and buyer knowledge;
- Creating simplified videos to build brand image; and
- Personalizing videos for specific buyers to build trust and engagement.
Careful Planning & Repetition Increases Video Quality
As nice as it would be to attach an informative video about trends in a specific industry and rake in leads and prospects, the reality is that those types of videos rarely help marketing campaigns and strategies. When developing engaging video content in 2020, marketers and salespeople need to become more creative and take risks to get the desired results.
According to Beute, creating video content requires knowledge of goals, budget allocation, time, a lot of editing/tweaking, and having the right data are the first steps in video content creation. The most effective videos come from organizations that know who they are, who their target audience is and what they need.
“Truly understand who you are and what you’re about,” said Beute. “Where are the gaps in attracting, engaging and converting the best types of customers for your business? Where are the points of confusion? Friction? Slowdown? When you identify these points, that’s where you look to apply something new and engaging.”
He also cautioned that video content creation is an iterative process and will not always be a success, and that constant adjustments before and after content creation is normal. Hosting a webinar or sending a video email may not always drive the engagement numbers you are looking for, but Beute explained that listening to buyer feedback is the best way to make those necessary adjustments.
“If you’re paying really close attention to your feedback, those are the spots to look to and add elements that draw people in further,” Beute stated. “I think when you start talking at a high level about video, it can be deployed in ways that can help solve the problems that you have in terms of getting people to the ultimate ‘Yes.’”
Knowing your company and heeding customer feedback is no easy task but establishing a relationship with those buyers can make creating video content easier.
Keeping Video Content Simple Builds Trust
Sometimes, keeping things short and simple is the best way to reach your buyers and improve your own content.
Beute explained that simplified video content can come across as more genuine and can be even more effective when driving audience engagement and building buyer relations. Buyers are looking for the faces behind the company, and that those faces are trustworthy enough to buy from or establish a working partnership with.
“I think video can be very effective because it feels refreshing,” said Beute. “It feels a little bit more honest, a little bit more authentic. I think there’s still a hunger to understand who’s behind some of the work that we’re seeing, who’s behind the website, who’s behind that email signature. The more we can be honest with ourselves, our customers and potential customers, the stronger the relationship is going to be out of the gate.”
Beute highlighted The Customer Experience Podcast, a podcast hosted by BombBomb that discusses how to deliver better customer experiences, as an example of effective simple video content. The podcast is recorded via Zoom and edited for distribution on BombBomb’s platforms, which allows listeners and participants to connect with speakers on a personal level. They also take some of the highlights from the podcast and post them on their social channels, driving traffic toward the podcast while interacting with current and new prospects.
By building trust with buyers through video content, whether it be podcasts, webinars, discussion panels, etc., marketers and salespeople can drive more conversions and channel engagement and continually improve their video content.
Personalizing Video Content Increases Buyer Engagement
Interacting with current buyers and new prospects through trust is important but maintaining those buyer-seller relationships is even more critical.
According to Beute, marketers that personalize their video content or interactions are able to cater to multiple buyer needs at once. Marketers can use the information from their established trustworthy relationships to create personalized video content specifically for them and their needs.
For example, BombBomb sends out personalized videos in their emails, with messaging tailored to their respective buyers, their goals, their needs and how they can proceed in a potential transaction. Video emails, Zoom calls and informative video content can be tailored to meet a wider audience or a specific segment, which gives marketers the freedom to decide what information will best fit the targeted buyer.
“The movement to video, live Zoom calls and recorded video messages is the next best thing to being there in-person,” Beute explained. “What it allows for is the tapping of different learning styles and personality types. You can take the same information and share it in six different ways. And six different types of people are going to find the one that best suits them, which allows you to meet more needs.”
Beute also explained how personalized video content is very important for ABM, as creating “microsites” of content designed for specific accounts shows the account how dedicated the company is to partner with them. Accounts can also feel as though marketers are actively listening to what they want, and that they are an individual instead of a name on a list.
“The goal of ABM, in general, is to build a real relationship with as many people as you can within a target account in order to understand their needs and interests,” said Beute. “There’s no question that custom account-based messaging, interactivity and content is a complete package. And that isn’t just helpful to ABM, in my view, that is ABM.”
Although video content creation is a newer trend, companies such as BombBomb are leveraging video content to increase their buyer engagement and foster stronger relationships. Video can connect marketers to their buyers, and in turn, help them improve their content marketing strategies.
For additional insights into video content creation, check out Demand Gen Report’s 2020 State of Video & Interactive Content here.
