New Survey Reveals Surge in B2B Marketing Videos
A new survey has revealed the explosive growth occurring in business video, particularly at B2B and healthcare companies. If you are in marketing or sales development, and you are not using video to support your efforts, chances are you are losing out to the competition.
The survey, conducted by Ascend2 of Vidyard’s clients, found that financial services and high-technology companies were the leaders in video use, creating over 900 videos per year. Their video production was up over 70% from the previous year. Manufacturing and healthcare companies also were active. They produced over 250 videos, up more than doubling the previous year’s production. And viewers were interested: more than 50% said they watched the videos until the end.
Videos going DIY
Almost three-quarters of the videos were user-generated, and 80% of these were screen recording or hybrid videos (layering webcam bubbles on top of screen recordings). These have typically been outbound product or service videos and were cited as very effective for salesperson use. Over two-thirds of the account executives and sales development reps participating in the survey used these videos for outbound prospecting and follow-up. The remaining videos were produced for product demos, solutions, and webinars. These were used primarily for marketing purposes to deepen customer relationships.
The Shorter, the Better
The study found that 60% of the videos produced were under 2 minutes long. It also reported that the longer the video, the fewer viewers watched the entire program.
- Two-thirds of viewers finished a video under 1 minute long
- A little over half the viewers finished a 1- to 2-minute program
- Only 39% of the viewers watch all of a 10- to 30-minute video
TW’s Take
This study confirms what our clients are doing with their marketing videos. Produced videos are becoming shorter and more applicable to social media and outbound email distribution. The interesting trend is the use of video for outbound sales prospecting. SalesLoft reports that including a video in an email improves response by 26%. And 93% of Vidyard’s participants claim video converts the same or better than other forms of content. Sales representatives are using their laptop cameras to create user-generated video content that presents their product and service unique value propositions in a personalized manner.
The following are a few tips for creating your own videos:
- Do it yourself
- Write your comments in a personal, informal style
- Keep it under 2 minutes
- Use an easily downloadable video template
- Align the messages with the product’s unique value statement
- Include a strong call for action
To receive a copy of the study, contact Rick Whitmyre at rwhitmyre@tizinc.com.
*2023 Video in Business Benchmark Report, Ascend2 and Vidyard, July 2023.