One of the most emerging trends currently attracting attention is short-form video content. With the growth of short-form video content on TikTok, YouTube shorts but also LinkedIn video, this form of content presents a unique opportunity for B2B SaaS marketers.
In this article, I’ll show you what short-form video content is, what its benefits are for your B2B SaaS marketing, and how you can use it successfully yourself.
Contents
What is Short-Form Video Content?
Short-form video content consists of short videos that usually last less than 60 seconds. These videos are specifically designed to be consumed quickly and easily by the viewer. Platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube Shorts have greatly increased the popularity of short-form video content. It is a key component in B2B video marketing for SaaS companies.
What Are The Benefits of Short-Form Video?
A short-form video has several advantages for B2B SaaS marketing:
- Short attention span: In a world where people have less and less time and are constantly exposed to information overload, short-form videos can quickly grab and hold attention.
- Easy to watch: Short videos are easy to watch, even on the go. Or on the toilet 🙂 They are perfect for reaching your target audience on mobile devices.
- Increased engagement: Video is a highly interactive medium and short-form videos can increase your audience’s engagement through likes, shares, and comments.
- Education: Short-form videos help your target audience quickly understand complex B2B solutions, products, or trends in your industry.
- Humanizing your B2B brand: Short-form videos offer a glimpse into the human side of B2B brands, creating a trusted and authentic connection with viewers. A look behind the scenes, employee highlights, and videos about how you work for customers help humanize your B2B brand.
- High ROI: According to research from Hubspot, short-form video content has the highest ROI. And some more facts about video: 74% of B2B marketers say video has a better ROI than static images (source).
Leveraging video is part of authority marketing and helps demonstrate your thought leadership with which you can position yourself as an authority in your industry.
Best Practices For Creating Short-Form Video Content
To create effective short-form video content, here are some best practices to keep in mind:
- Keep it short and sweet: Keep your videos as short as possible and make sure every second counts. Stick to the core of your message.
- Start with a hook: A good video hook should be short, catchy, and intriguing. The goal is to make your viewer curious about what comes next within seconds. For example, you can ask a question such as: “Want to know how to double your productivity within a week? The answer is simpler than you think. Keep watching to discover how.”
- Tell a story: Use storytelling techniques to convey your message engagingly. A good story engages the viewer emotionally and creates a lasting impact. For example, use the problem-solution framework where you first explain the problem, magnify it, and then state the solution. Or use the “rule of 3”: divide what you want to tell into 3 pieces or give 3 examples.
- Be authentic: B2B marketers sometimes tend to come across as formal and businesslike. However, in short-form videos, you can show more personality and use an informal tone to create a deeper connection with your target audience.
How Do You Distribute B2B Short-Form Video Content?
There are several ways to distribute short-form video content:
- Social media platforms: The most popular platforms for sharing short-form videos are TikTok, Instagram, YouTube Shorts, and LinkedIn. For B2B short-form videos, I personally always use LinkedIn and YouTube shorts. If you do this yourself, my tip is to focus on 1 channel first.
- Websites and blogs: Place your short-form videos on relevant pages of your website to retain visitors longer.
- Email marketing: Add short videos to your email campaigns to increase engagement with your subscribers or existing customers.
- LinkedIn Ads: I use the best-performing videos for LinkedIn campaigns for my clients. You already know that these work for your target audience, so with an ad campaign you can increase that effect with a greater reach.
You can also combine some short-form videos into a longer video that you then repost to YouTube.
Analyze and Measure Results of Short-Form Video Content
It is important to analyze and measure the results of your short-form video content. Here are some statistics you can look out for:
- Views: The number of times your video has been viewed.
- Engagement: The number of likes, shares, and comments your video has received.
- Conversions: The number of viewers who take action after watching your video.
Tips For Creating Engaging Short-Form Video Content
Here are some tips to make sure your short-form video content is attractive to your target audience:
- Be authentic: Show the personality of your brand and be genuine. People love to connect with real people.
- Provide value: Make sure your videos provide useful information or entertainment to your viewers.
- Experiment with different formats: Try different formats, such as tutorials, behind-the-scenes footage, or interviews, to discover what works best for your target audience.
Tips For Recording Your B2B Short-Form Video
Here are some tips to make the production of your B2B short-form videos go smoothly:
- Set up good lighting: Good light makes a big difference in the quality of your videos. Make use of natural light or invest in lighting equipment. You can already make quite a difference with a ring light.
- Use great audio quality: Sound quality is essential. Invest in a good microphone to make sure your message comes across clearly.
- Know your target audience: Understand who your ideal customers are and make sure your content is of value to them.
- Use subtitles: Since many people watch videos without sound, adding subtitles is essential to ensure your message comes across clearly.
- Be consistent with your branding: Make sure your videos reflect your brand’s visual style and tone-of-voice.
How To Repurpose Long-Form Video Content For Short-Form Video Content
If you already have existing long-form video content, you can reuse and adapt it for short-form videos. For example, cut highlights from long webinars or interviews and turn them into a short-form summary.
This is where AI can help you. We use Whisper (from Open AI) to create transcripts of webinars and then ask ChatGPT or Perplexity AI to extract the highlights. You can then use those as short-form video content.
My tip is to create a long-form video as a base and then extract short-form videos from this. In a 1-hour session, I record myself (or my client) based on questions from the target audience.
A 1-hour session produces a lot of short-form videos, some long-form videos but also a blog, material for emails, and finally we post the videos on the website. This also allows sales to refer to videos when there are specific questions with a video answer.
Conclusion
In summary, short-form video content is a powerful tool for B2B SaaS marketing. By using best practices, distributing and analyzing results effectively, as well as creating engaging content, you increase engagement, generate brand awareness, and ultimately achieve your marketing goals.
