3 Ways to Merge B2B Content Videos with LinkedIn & Profit from It

By Bruce McKenzie, Published January 8, 2014

 So, you’re creating videos and distributing them through Facebook, YouTube, your blog, and paid media opportunities to generate hundreds to millions of views. Are you forgetting LinkedIn, one of the most important channels for B2B marketers? LinkedIn has documented research indicating that members of the “buying committee” are more likely to connect with vendors on LinkedIn than with any other social media platform.

So, if video = good-for-business (Dell Inc.’s Enterprise Solutions Group’s revenue rose 8% largely because their ramped up video marketing efforts got 6.5 million views), and if LinkedIn = good-for-business, then combining the two makes sense.

Here are three ways to make the combo work for your B2B organization.1. Turn your boring resume-looking profile into an interactive marketing tool

If your LinkedIn profile (or your sales and marketing team’s LinkedIn profiles) reads like an impressive resume, it might sell you (or your team) to HR executives and recruiters. But it won’t do a good job connecting you with decision makers and influencers. Your prospects are not looking at your profile because they want recruit you, but because they are considering doing business with you. Your profile should be designed to sell you and your organization’s products and solutions.

When you read my profile, you’ll see my story which highlights the difficulties I experienced as the Director of Creative Services for International Paper when we needed to produce videos to explain the intricacies of antitrust regulation, printing technology and how quality affects production. When videographers focused on creating visually stunning, award-winning short films, the message IP was trying to communicate often got lost. I share how these experiences shaped the methodology I started to use when I left IP to start my own video marketing firm which creates 2-Minute Explainer® videos that target audiences can quickly connect with.

Right below my summary, you’ll find a one-minute animated video that reiterates our company’s marketing messages in a way that prospects can visualize and remember. They can now see the value we offer, and why it matters.

In my profile’s experience section, I created a number of positions to show how I worked with technology companies in many segments of the IT industry (e.g., services – CA and IBM, logistics – UPS, manufacturing – Rockwell Automation, etc.). There are videos under each position to showcase our work.

If you look at WebAttract President Michael Agron’s LinkedIn profile, you’ll see that he uses videos to describe his webinar management process. He also uses testimonial videos to back up the case studies he provides in his profile.

2. Generate More Leads

Now, with a strong LinkedIn profile foundation that’s filled with engaging videos, you and your sales/marketing team will attract more prospects. Plus, you’ll have more prospects accepting your invitations to connect. Now what?

You need to nourish those relationships until they become viable leads. Most people’s connections become “dead” connections if there is no initial interest. That’s why you need to create a LinkedIn community that’s alive with discussions based on your video content — 72% percent of senior executives research an organization after watching a B2B video marketing campaign (International Data Group).

To help you with your lead generation efforts, you should be sharing these discussions with other LinkedIn groups that your targeted audiences belong to as well. The discussions should then link to your videos, which should include a call-to-action to download your white paper, webinar, ebook or other value-added offering so you can capture leads.

3. Improve Your Outreach Efforts

At some point you’ll want to take your LinkedIn conversations offline (i.e. out of LinkedIn and into a more personal and interactive connection — phone, a video chat, Google hangout, or whatever works for you). Before you do that, it’s a good idea to provide additional material your prospect can watch or read before the call. I know of an organization that provides prospects with an ebook to read before there is a phone conversation. If that organization gets the prospect to read at least 30 pages, there is an 80% chance of a conversion. Now, since visual information can be processed much faster than print, I suggest testing using videos instead of an ebook or white paper.

Videos such as customer testimonials and short product demos will certainly work well in this context. By providing this additional information, you will improve engagement, increase your prospect’s comfort level with you as a vendor, and make the conversation flow more smoothly. Your prospect will begin to visualize how they might work with you before they even speak to you.

In short, if LinkedIn is an underutilized marketing asset, then video content is certainly underutilized in LinkedIn right now. You should be taking advantage of this undervaluation, because it’s easy to do, and because it will make it easier for prospects using LinkedIn for research to do business with you.