Planning an explainer video: 6 questions to ask
For many marketers, “budget”, quickly followed by “timeline” are the first things that come to mind when the subject of videos comes up. Here are a few things well worth considering before you even start to worry about either budget or timeline — because they can affect both. Here are six good questions to ask […]
Planning an enterprise solution explainer video
Say you’re in marketing, and you have been tasked to produce a short video, or a series of videos, to support or establish a position in the marketplace for a technology solution. Here are things to consider when planning an enterprise solution explainer video for one of these typical technology topics: New or improved service […]
Six B2B explainer video “worst practices” (including some of mine)
Until recently, video was rare on the Internet, and people were grateful to find it because the prose (at least on tech company websites) was so dreary. A video on the home or product page was high-impact communication. That was the case when we started making 2-Minute Explainer videos in 2004. Now, video isn’t just […]
Increase conversion with a video call to action
This article shares some ideas on how you can Increase conversion with a video call to action using interactive CTAs. B2B technology videos are mostly created for the purpose of putting ideas into prospects’ heads (aka “messaging”), hoping they’ll pursue one or more of these ideas to the next step. Typical next steps are email us […]
Using personas to produce B2B explainer videos
How narrowly can you target a video? This article looks at using personas to produce B2B explainer videos. Many eCommerce consumer websites design their offerings around “personas” — fictional characters created to represent collections of consumer demographic and lifestyle attributes. Using the many lifestyle indicators consumers like you and me provide, marketers serve up content […]
Can B2B video improve conversions?
We’ve been working with several clients recently who are trying to harness “the consumerization of IT” to improve IT performance — and it has me thinking about the degree to which videos used in B2B technology sales are like — or unlike — videos designed to get consumers to buy products. In particular, how relevant is “conversion” — a […]
Matching video content to technology buying committees
LinkedIn recently came out with some research on technology buying that matches up well with Gartner’s re-imagining of the buying cycle, where members of a buying team cross back and forth as they progress through streams of activities designated Explore, Evaluate, Engage, and Experience. (discussed in a previous blog post.) The LinkedIn research uses the concept of a buying committee. […]
B2B content marketing videos that increase conversations
This article shares four ways we use to produce B2B content marketing videos that increase conversations. Someone recently asked me “Can B2B videos connect with people and start conversations on social media?” Well, obviously, people will talk about almost anything on social media, but in the context of B2B technology marketing, what you need to do is […]
Why animated videos should be in your B2B video marketing plan
Is it better to have real people or animation in a video? Or both? Well, there’s no correct answer to that, and a lot depends on your goals, your needs and your budget. However, if you are trying to communicate your solution’s value to prospects fast, and if you are trying to explain a complicated […]
Technology video “demos” that convert prospects to leads
B2B technology marketers, especially those with SaaS and cloud-based software solutions, like to feature “DEMO videos” prominently on their web sites and landing pages. This makes sense if the website visitor is the same person who is going to be forking over the subscription fee. But that person is probably going to need reasons to […]