When it comes to short-form video on social media platforms, capturing a B2B audience is a different ballgame across the board. While platforms like Instagram and Facebook have become primary destinations for eCommerce sales, marketers that sell directly to businesses have LinkedIn to thank for a whopping 80% of B2B social media leads. And while B2C consumers want to be entertained, inspired, and tantalized, B2B audiences want to be informed, educated, and impressed. The challenge with B2B video is that, despite its more informational nature, it’s still video, and therefore still needs to be entertaining.
Video is still newer on LinkedIn compared to Facebook and the like – however, LinkedIn video use is already up 17% from last year, with 55% of marketers planning to either continue or start leveraging it in the next year. If you’re able to jump on board the LinkedIn video train now, while the space is still relatively small, it’s clearly worth the investment to do so. Here are a few tips to keep in mind when creating video content specifically for LinkedIn.
Say it Visually
On LinkedIn, more than other social platforms, people have the volume off, and maybe even no headphones on. They’re in meetings or sitting at their desks around coworkers – and no one wants to hear what’s happening on their neighbor’s screen. It’s important to include text in your video that tell the whole story so volume doesn’t matter. Here’s an example of that done well by SimilarWeb using the Wibbitz platform – and here’s a link to their case study about the success they’ve had with B2B video!
The quicker the better
People are on LinkedIn for a few specific reasons: people research, company research, and job hunting. If they take some time with video content in the process, it will need to be short. Because unlike Instagram and Facebook where people are going there to waste time, the LinkedIn is in work mode. Here’s a great 30-second LinkedIn video by Hubspot. It certainly grabbed this busy marketers’ attention – just long enough to learn about their new product feature:
Experts over everything
When thinking about repurposing video on LinkedIn, utilize anything with expert interviews. When your audience is consuming video on LinkedIn, they’re already in research mode, typically searching for info for a project they’re working on, or trying to pick up on industry trends from brands they trust. Giving a face to the facts or opinions you’re presenting as a brand will go a long way in the B2B space. Your audience will start to associate your brand with thought leadership when you’re feeding it to them when they need it most, and doing so in a way that’s fortified with subject matter experts. Check out this example from Goldman Sachs: