Video is a huge part of both B2B and B2C Marketing.
And that’s even more true at the moment, with everyone stuck at home. Just look at these facts:
Video For B2B Marketing:
70% of business customers use video in their product purchase decisions.
64% of B2B marketers have found that using video has increased sales.
Video For B2C Marketing:
Videos are a consumers’ favorite type of content to see from a brand on social media.
64% of consumers will make a purchase after watching branded videos on social platforms.
Video is effective because it allows you to produce emotionally-based content.
Highlighting staff stories, keeping your customers updated on industry trends, and showing off your company through personal, candid footage creates a connection with your audience in a way that text-based content just… can’t.
And this is particularly important right now when people can’t gather, connect, and communicate like they used to.
So smart B2B and B2C marketers are increasingly creating videos as part of their content marketing plans.
In our Producing Videos at Home series, we’ve shared with you: 6 Types of Videos Brands Can Create While Working From Home and Tips for Filming with a Phone.
But once you’ve created a video, you must leverage it to its full extent.
We already know how effective video can be when shared on obvious places like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
But like marketing expert, Derek Halpern always says: you should be spending 20% of your time on content creation and 80% on content promotion.
To get the absolute best ROI on a video, think outside the box when promoting it.
So here are 4 places to share your company’s videos that you might not have thought about:
Pinterest is often considered a site for hobbyists, but there are some under the radar B2B companies also using the platform.
It is especially valuable for those whose customers are predominantly women as the site’s users are 93% female.
The challenge of using Pinterest for B2B marketing is that each pin will only send a few users to your site, but when you pin a significant number of images, you can drive real traffic.
And most people don’t know that you can pin video.
Users with Pinterest Business accounts can upload video to the platform. The videos load when the post is halfway on the screen and can be set to autoplay.
Uploading your videos to Pinterest is a great way to create additional pins and expand your reach.
? HOT TIP: Remember to use the hashtag #video to ensure people searching for this content can find you quickly.
Medium
Medium has become the off-site blogging platform for many companies.
The site is where people go for great ideas and read thought-provoking content.
But did you know that you can upload videos to the site as well?
Their Series mode allows you to create a thread just for your company’s videos. Additionally, you can add your Series videos to your profile page.
Thought leadership videos do particularly well on Medium.com.
Additional uses include uploading product videos, repurposing webinars, and live-streaming from conferences.
The videos are embedded and must be hosted on an approved network. They support many networks though, including YouTube and Vimeo.
Instructables
If you produce step-by-step videos, it makes sense to upload them to Instructables.com.
The site, which was created in the MIT MediaLab, allows users to upload “how-to” content.
The site is a great place to feature step by step instruction on how to use your products. This can provide additional search results for people who query use instructions.
Instructables.com videos can also provide instruction on general topics around your product.
For instance, if you are promoting a health-food product how-to videos could be created around relevant topics like “how to grow veggies on your porch” and “how to make the perfect green smoothie ”.
It’s a great way to boost brand affinity and position your company as a helpful resource.
Email Marketing
Marketers have been trying to embed video in their email since video first appeared on the web.
It’s no wonder – email continues to be the most reliable marketing platform.
However, embedding video in email can be a bit complicated…
Some autoresponder companies like AWeber and InfusionSoft only allow you to use a picture that links to your video, but others, including MailChimp, allow you to embed videos as part of their service. You can also use HTML5 markup language to embed video on an email sent to a targeted audience.
We like to create a .gif image of a video (the movement will catch your reader’s attention) and embed that in our email. The .gif image then links to the video on our website.
Just like this:
? HOT TIP: Online marketing expert Neil Patel suggests that you use the word “video” in the subject line and never autoplay in someone’s inbox.
In conclusion, when you produce video, don’t settle for the obvious places to upload them.
Don’t upload a video to YouTube, share it on Facebook once, and then call it a day.
Share it on every channel you can think of, find new places to share it (like Pinterest, Medium, Instructables and Email) and then re-share it.
Think outside the box to get the highest ROI on your video marketing budget. ??
P.S. If you liked this post, you might also like: 5 Ways to Promote Your Videos for Free and The Rule of 7.