Humanize Your Business

For Ryan Peña, Social Media & Events Manager of MentorMate, "video brings our company to life, and is critical to our success."

Peña discussed that due to the nature of creating complex software solutions, it's difficult to "talk about" or explain in detail the solutions they provide for businesses.

To work around this challenge, the team at MentorMate positioned video as a means to highlight the talent of their employees, to showcase the people behind the solutions.

With so much information available to us, Peña expressed the need humanize his organization's brand using behind-the-scenes videos and case studies.

"Video adds the human element to B2B," he said.

Jump in With Video

Erica Hanna, Owner of Puke Rainbows Creative, believes that anyone with a smartphone can create video on the fly. And should be.

Her advice for getting started was simple:

• Stop overthinking video
• You don't have to be perfect
• Just jump in
• Jump, jump, jump...

And if you're deciding whether or not to produce video content in-house, or to outsource video production to professionals, she explained that "many people don't take into consideration – the cost of frustration!"

Her recommendation for a quick test to see if in-house resources are a fit, is to conduct a do-it-yourself workshop for interested parties. That way, you can quickly decide if outside vendors are needed to help with efficiencies in production.

In addition to data, Hanna suggested that video ROI needs to be measured in other ways as well. One example she cited was company morale increasing after video projects were completed and implemented.

The Science of Video

With a background in whiteboard videos, Andrew Herkert, Chief Revenue Officer of TruScribe, takes a scientific approach to creating video for a specific need.

From that perspective, the ROI of video is based on hard numbers. However, said Herkert, we never want to say video is the magic bullet, just that it has predictable results.

Those results are why most Fortune 500 companies are releasing, on average, 250 videos a year, said Herkert.

If you're not building a foundation to match that type of output, now is the time to get started.

"Don't try to live there today," he said. "But build a foundation to scale."

To gain an edge, he mentioned that B2B marketers can learn from B2C trends as consumers are early adopters of tech.

The corporate world can look to the "consumer market as a weathervane," he added.

Video Trends

And speaking of the latest trends, Chuck Olsen, CEO/Cofounder of Visual, described his passion for 360-degree video and virtual reality.

He said that VR and 360-degree video sparked a new passion for storytelling without a frame.

This user-guided experience is different from traditional video production, he explained, but holds tremendous potential for transporting people.

After testing out his VR gear after the discussion, I can attest to that.

Olsen admitted that the novelty of 360-degree video has given the medium attention, and because Facebook and YouTube both feature the videos on their platforms, the potential for new branding and marketing uses are on the horizon.

He mentioned that for $350 (which is relatively inexpensive when it comes to video equipment), a Ricoh Theta camera is an easy-to-use option for businesses looking to dip their toe in 360-degree video, especially for social media use.

With all of the advice and tips being thrown around at today's panel discussion, it became evident that the event's description tagline was appropriate: "It’s no secret that video is a great way to tell your brand’s story."

All of the panelists agreed that video is here to stay. So you better get on board. And always remember, the story is a priority.

Wondering about your video marketing strategy? Check out our 6-part video series for tips on getting started.