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Video content has been a constant trend in recent years and is expected to continue growing. On average, people watch 16 hours of online video per week – an increase of a 52% in the last 2 years. In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, consumers are turning to online video even more; to cope while social distancing.
This trend represents a valuable opportunity for businesses. Video has proven to be the most engaging type of content across all social platforms. Watching short videos is how people prefer to learn about a new product or service, and they are twice more likely to share videos with friends than any other type of content.
Video has an important role in inbound marketing. It can be used effectively in all stages of the buyer’s journey:
- to increase website traffic and generate new leads (attract),
- to connect with prospects on a more personal level and build relationships that lead to sales (engage),
- to offer existing customers additional value and increase brand loyalty (delight).
But video is not only used for marketing, it has become a powerful sales tool. It helps you humanise your online sales communications by giving your salespeople a face and voice and gives your customers the chance to interact with them in a personal and engaging way.
To help your sales teams use video in a range of different scenarios, we created an 8 week video sales program. We are a Certified Vidyard Partner (Vidyard is one of the world's leading video hosting platforms for businesses).
LinkedIn is the most effective channel for B2B video
LinkedIn remains the preferred social network for professionals. Posting videos on LinkedIn is one of the most effective strategies for B2B companies to engage their target audience.
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Compared to other types of content, the probability that a video will trigger a conversation among users is 5-times higher. |
While YouTube remains the social channel that is most often used for video marketing (followed by Facebook and then LinkedIn), LinkedIn is the most successful – an impressive 87% of video marketers describe it as it effective.
You can add video directly to your company page as updates or create video ads with LinkedIn’s advertising platform Campaign Manager (they appear in the LinkedIn news feed as standalone posts). Video ads can be equipped with CTA buttons to guide viewers to their next step, increasing the chance of conversion.
You can optimise your videos according to who’s watching them
LinkedIn provides several metrics that you can use to measure the effectiveness of your video ads:
- number of times the video plays,
- views,
- detailed views based on the length of time your video has been watched,
- view rate,
- full screen plays.
Other ad metrics include click-through rate, engagement, number of conversions and conversion rate, and number of leads generated.
LinkedIn has another great feature: demographic reporting. It gives you the ability to see countries, companies, locations, as well as job titles and functions of your viewers. This means you can customise your content and further optimise your video ads based on which audience segments watch and interact with your videos.
What types of videos to post on LinkedIn
Creating effective B2B videos no longer needs to be expensive. All you need is a smart phone or computer camera, a simple microphone, a good light source, a pinch of creativity and you’re good to go.
When Actuado started out with video, we invested in a good light source and improvised the rest (as seen on the ‘behind the scenes’ photo above 😊)
There are many different types of videos that you can create. Among the most common ones are explainer videos and presentations (screen recordings), testimonials, DIY animations, brand story videos, interviews with industry experts, and so on.
First, you need to define the goal you want to achieve.
If you want to raise awareness or consideration, your video should tell the story of your brand or customer success, educate your audience, and position you as an industry leader or trusted partner.
To generate demand, you can be more specific and show a demo of your product, an explainer or presentation video, a preview or invitation to an event or webinar you are hosting, etc.
This is how our colleague Katarina used video to invite her LinkedIn audience to one of our webinars.
LinkedIn video tips
- While long-form videos can help you tell a brand story or explain a product better, shorter videos (under 30 seconds) are more effective.
- Get your main message across in the first 10 seconds, as viewer attention drops after this point.
- Use graphic elements, people and text in your storytelling to increase viewer attention.
- Consider adding subtitles for those who’ll watch your video in silent mode.
- Don’t forget to use your corporate branding to stay in people’s minds.
- Refer to LinkedIn’s video specifications for proper formatting.
- For more tips and best practices, check out LinkedIn’s Video Ads Guide.
Using personalised video for marketing and sales
If you want to learn more about how to use personalised video on LinkedIn (and elsewhere), use video for prospecting, integrate video in email and automate conversations using workflows and sequences, we invite you to watch the recording of our webinar Using Video in a Contactless World with Vidyard’s Yaniv Siegel.
