5 Ways That Video Marketing Can Help B2B Brands Stand Out

The B2B (business-to-business) industry has gone through major changes. With the shift to remote work and less in-person events and interactions, so much B2B is now being done online. And as a result, B2B marketing has evolved, too.

B2B marketers are turning to digital strategies to engage with professionals in a meaningful way online. According to an Accenture study, 94% of buyers conduct online research, searching for solutions anytime and anywhere. By tapping into digital channels, B2B marketers can reach professionals exactly where they are.

How Video is Used in B2B Marketing 

While there are plenty of channels that B2B marketers can choose from, one that will help you truly stand out from the crowd is video. Video advertising allows you to reach potential customers wherever they may be watching video content online.

According to eMarketer, in 2022 US advertisers will spend $62.96 billion on this programmatic channel, up from $52.17 billion in 2021. And that spend is expected to climb to $74.88 billion in 2023. More than 20% year-over-year growth signals that marketers are increasingly recognizing and investing in the value of video.

With marketers increasingly adopting video advertising, it’s time to forget about using video for B2B in the traditional way. Instead, lean into this format’s unique capabilities to stand out from the crowd and capture the attention of the audiences that matter.

Video can differentiate your brand from others in the B2B space by giving you the power of visuals and audio to communicate your message more clearly.

At StackAdapt, we practice what we preach. That’s why StackAdapt’s marketing team and the Creative Studio collaborated in-house to develop a video that’s unlike any other B2B ad you’ve seen.

In B2B marketing, speed makes all the difference. Every second counts. So, we used the whiz-bang energy of a superhero trailer to show how StackAdapt can level up your B2B campaign performance in the time it takes to toast a slice of bread.

Today, if you’ve seen one B2B ad, you’ve seen them all. We wanted to challenge what a B2B video ad could look like and step outside our comfort zone. It turned out way better than I could’ve ever imagined, and I hope it will inspire marketers to break the mould of what B2B advertising is and can be.

Still not convinced? Read on to learn 5 reasons why you need to leverage video ads to showcase your B2B brand and stand out from the crowd.

Video Marketing Builds Brand Identity and Awareness 

People today are watching more videos than ever before. According to Hubspot research, the amount of online video watched has almost doubled since 2018! This is likely thanks to how engaging the format of video is. It combines the power of visuals and sound, which makes it a fantastic format for storytelling. For brands, this means it’s a great channel for expressing brand identity and building brand awareness. 

B2B marketers can leverage video to tell compelling and engaging stories through a highly entertaining and memorable ad experience. Because video is so immersive, it creates strong brand recall, which is a valuable advantage for B2B since sales cycles tend to be longer in this vertical.

Video is a Great Format for Educating Your Audience 

One of the challenges that digital marketers across industries face is that ads provide just a brief moment to capture users’ attention. When running an ad, it’s important to make the best use of the visuals, copy, and other creative elements like sound and movement to get your message across. 

This is what makes video such a unique format. With video, you can convey a lot of information in a short time, which means you have more opportunity to tell a story about your brand. You also have more time to educate your audience, which is a key factor in B2B marketing. 

For example, pinpoint a problem or challenge your target audience is facing that your product or service can help them solve. Then, use a video ad to address that problem in a way that resonates with your target audience. This helps to capture their interest in your B2B solution while simultaneously positioning your brand or company as a thought leader. 

By using video to educate your audience, you not only introduce your product or service, but you are able to start building a foundation of trust between your brand and your audience. 

Powerful B2B Video Ads Can Appeal to Viewers’ Emotions

The power of storytelling shouldn’t be underestimated. Storytelling spurs emotion, and there’s science to back this up! Video is known for being the perfect medium to spark emotion because it combines audio and visual elements.

For B2B marketers, it’s important to remember that your target audience are people. Creating a story that appeals to emotion will make your ad, and your brand, more memorable. The emotion your video ad conveys can fall anywhere on the spectrum between heartfelt and funny. Whether the ad tells a story that your audience finds relatable, or one that just makes them chuckle, the fact that it’s spurred emotion creates a starting point for the viewer to have an emotional connection with your brand. 

One thing to keep in mind is that it’s important to evoke positive emotion because the reality is, ads that spark negative emotions like stress or fear will also have a high recall rate. When a viewer recalls that ad, they’ll recall negativity, which can create a negative association between them and your brand. Sticking to positive emotions will have a more desirable outcome for your brand.

Programmatic Video Unlocks Valuable Data 

As with all programmatic channels, video comes with enhanced targeting capabilities. Data-driven targeting and measurement capabilities enable you to target the highly specific needs, challenges and interests of the organizations you’d like to reach. 

Programmatic advertising enables you to leverage various targeting tactics that ensure you reach the right people, at the right moment. For example, you can target with contextual advertising, which uses algorithms to target ad placements based on keywords, website content, and other metadata. This way, ads are shown to users based on the content they are consuming at that moment in time.

It’s also possible to target users with geotargeting, which makes it possible to deliver ads using the geographic location information of users. You can target by country, state, province, city, zip code, or postal code. Or, consider creating lookalike audiences, which allow you to reach potential leads by targeting users based on your existing retargeting or CRM list. 

Along with various targeting tactics, video comes with access to video marketing metrics that inform measurement and attribution. This is highly valuable for B2B marketers, who can then proactively learn who is interacting with and viewing their video ads, and then optimize and retarget accordingly. 

Video is an Opportunity to Differentiate Your Message

With video, you have an opportunity to get creative. In B2B marketing, it’s often assumed that the key is to use ads to present the solution itself. While this tried and true strategy can certainly drive results, thinking outside the box can make for a more memorable and impactful ad. 

Don’t be afraid to be playful with your video ads. You don’t need to focus heavily on showing or talking about your product to get your main message across. Instead, consider using video to highlight one of the benefits of your offering in a creative and fun way. This will spark emotion, create a positive association with your brand and help build brand trust.

Get Started on Your B2B Video Marketing Strategy

You can use video to reach decision makers associated with your target audience in an engaging and memorable format. Find creative ways to stand out with your video. Your video will capture the undivided attention of your target audience, offering an opportunity to educate them, build brand awareness, and develop trust. 

The best part? After reaching qualified B2B users with video, you can retarget. Collect audiences that have completed watching your video ad and retarget them with display or native ads on other devices. Retargeting provides you more opportunities to move your target users down the funnel, and to build on the cohesive brand story that you’ve crafted through your video ad. 

Want to run exceptional B2B video campaigns? Request a demo to learn more about StackAdapt.