The Better Marketing Blog

You’ve heard that a picture is worth a thousand words. But a video is worth a thousand pictures.

For the B2B marketing manager, video should be one of the most important channels in your marketing strategy: it’s more engaging, more emotional, and more energetic than other forms of content.

From our work with over 500+ clients, this guide will lay out the basics of B2B video marketing, along with tips, examples, and best practices.

Why B2B Video Marketing?

Initially used to demo products, B2B video marketing is now a powerful storytelling strategy for capturing and sustaining the attention of corporate audiences.

Forget the static, text-heavy content of yesteryear, like boring webinars and cheaply-produced explainers. Today, B2B video marketing is all about concise, compelling, shareable narratives that boost leads and conversions.

With the rise of short-form video platforms like TikTok, attention spans are fleeting, so fast-paced, exciting video content is a powerful way to generate interest in your products and services. Consider these quick facts:

• 91% of businesses use video for marketing purposes. (Wyzowl)
• 78% of companies saw more online traffic after implementing video into their content strategies. (SerpWatch)
• 92% of marketers are satisfied with their video-marketing return on investment. (Wyzowl)

Best Practices: Getting Great B2B Video Content

We at Media Shower have created many hours of B2B video content for clients, so we’ve learned a thing or two about best practices. Here are some of our top tips:

• Stay on the Story: To create B2B videos that engage, the cardinal rule is to stick to a compelling narrative. Whether you’re showcasing the product or narrating the impact of one of your services, maintain a solid narrative thread. Tell an exciting story that captures your viewer’s imagination.
  Example: Salesforce, Intro to Salesforce for Small Business
• Consider Customer Reviews: B2B video marketing is powerful when it includes customer reviews. Incorporate testimonials, quotes, and success stories into your videos to demonstrate your company’s experience and expertise. The genuine voice of satisfied customers gives your brand credibility, building trust and influencing potential B2B customers.
  Example: UiPath, How Pandora improves employee experience with UiPath RPA
• Balance Information vs. Entertainment: Good B2B marketing videos provide valuable information, while also holding their viewers’ attention. This combination attracts and retains audiences and ensures that your message is enjoyed while it’s being received.
  Example: Volvo Trucks, The Epic Split feat. Van Damme (Live Test)
• Identify Opportunities: B2B video content should pinpoint specific opportunities to use your product or service. You can show real-life situations in which your brand can provide solutions or insights. Finding and leveraging these opportunities can make you more relevant when your customers actually need you.
  Example: Adobe, Create What’s True to You
• Know Your Limits: Understand the constraints of the video format (e.g., YouTube vs. YouTube Shorts). Look at successful competitor videos on the platform to figure out the ideal video length and pacing. Then, seek to deliver maximum impact in the minimum timeframe, getting you the most engagement possible.
  Example: Vital Beats, Concept video 
• Plan Series: Keep your storytelling going by creating cohesive video campaigns and series. Serializing your work can create a long narrative thread that extends beyond a single experience and keeps viewers interested in learning more, getting your audience back multiple times.
  Example: Oracle Marketing Cloud, Journey to Modern Marketing Episode 1: Targeting, Journey to Modern Marketing Episode 2: Engagement, etc.
• Make a Distribution Plan: Effective online distribution of your video is just as crucial as the right production. Use platforms that enable and encourage sharing–such as Instagram, X, and Facebook–to maximize your reach. Test out videos with your organic audience, then double down on your best performers with paid media spend.
  Example: Hootsuite, What is Hootsuite?
• Don’t Forget a Call to Action: B2B videos should guide viewers toward one clear next step. Whether directing them to a product demo or a dedicated landing page, incorporate a clear and compelling CTAs at the end. If there’s only one choice on what to do at the end of the video, a lot more people will choose it.
  Example: Klimpa, Not to Scale

Marketer’s Takeaway: For standout B2B videos, create a great story, add credibility by using customer reviews, and strike a good balance between information and entertainment.​​

Great Examples of B2B Marketing Videos

Slack: “Slack Teams Do Amazing Things — ‘Traffic’” 

Source: YouTube

This video tells a relatable story and conveys the message that all sorts of people and teams can use Slack. The cute Claymation characters make watching fun, while the action communicates the benefits of using Slack for collaboration and communication. The voiceover at the end aligns with the brand; it is casual and friendly, also in keeping with the company’s image.

Dropbox: “My Shot + Your illustration: Dropbox Paper”

Source: YouTube

Dropbox’s “My Shot + Your Illustration” video combines live action with animation to convey information about a particular feature of the company’s service. The ad uses vibrant colors and tells an absorbing (but short) story about two characters who come together to make something new with Dropbox Paper. The video also aligns with the brand’s voice and values, offering viewers a practical marketing experience in a short, fun package.

Adobe: Adobe Anthem

Source: Vimeo

Adobe’s Anthem video aims to pull viewers’ heartstrings by showing how the product can turn cherished ideas into reality. The ad effectively communicates Adobe’s creativity and innovation to the audience, creating trust between the brand and viewers. Beautiful, unusual visuals capture the audience’s attention and speak to Adobe’s core competencies and values. At just under a minute long, the video is the perfect length to share on social media.

Marketer’s Takeaway

Streaming video is everywhere: our phones, our TVs, our computers. It’s a powerful marketing channel when done well.

We’ve shown you how B2B marketers can approach videos, with plenty of entertaining examples to get you inspired. In the next articles in this series, we’ll cover the nuts and bolts of pre-production, scriptwriting, planning, and execution. Stay tuned.

Could you use a hand with your B2B video marketing? We’ve worked with over 500+ clients and we’d love to work with you. Contact us today to see how we can help with your video campaign.