How to Use Videos Effectively for Account-Based Marketing
Account-Based Marketing (ABM) is a highly effective form of B2B marketing. You know what else is truly effective?
Video!
When you combine the two, through ABM videos, you create a powerful force for generating conversions, leads, and new clients. According to Wyzowl, 86% of marketers say video has helped them generate leads, 81% say video has helped them directly increase sales, and 87% say video has helped them generate positive ROI.
When used correctly, video content can help you stand out from the competition, captivate your audience, and drive your audience to action.
What is Account-Based Marketing (ABM)?
Account-Based Marketing (ABM) is a targeted B2B marketing strategy that focuses on a defined list of key accounts. The goal with ABM is to create customized campaigns specifically designed to engage each account, with the aim of driving sales conversations and ultimately new sales.
With ABM, you identify your ideal customers and then nurture them through each stage of the sales funnel. And it’s highly effective. As ITSMA notes, “Account-Based Marketing delivers the highest return on investment of any strategic B2B marketing approach. Period.”
Your marketing team and sales team work hand-in-hand to identify prospects that match your ideal customer profile and nurture those prospects from first contact to the point when they become paying customers.
ABM stands in contrast to other forms of marketing in which a wide net is cast in an effort to capture as many prospects as possible. With ABM, you focus your attention on a select group of high-value accounts. Rather than you and your team members wasting time on leads that don’t have a high chance of converting, you focus on the prospects you most want to work with.
How Video Strengthens Your ABM Effectiveness
Every day, your prospects see hundreds, if not thousands, of pieces of content. Blog posts, articles, emails, guides, LinkedIn messages, Tweets, presentations, and more. It’s an absolute avalanche of content.
In this age of content overload, it’s more important than ever to create content that cuts through the noise and captivates your target audience. If you want higher response rates from your marketing efforts, video is one of the most powerful tools at your disposal. It is one of the most engaging types of content. The explosion in video consumption over the past five years (TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, etc.) demonstrates just how engaging video is compared to other types of content.
When it comes to your ABM program, create videos that are specifically designed to resonate with your target accounts. The videos can create a personalized experience. For example, you may address industry-specific problems. Or, your videos can answer typical questions and overcome objections. And they can be customized in ways that other types of content cannot.
As an added bonus, many video platforms will show you exactly where someone stopped watching a video. This allows you to evaluate the effectiveness of your messaging and optimize your content where appropriate.
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Types of Videos to Use in ABM
There are numerous types of videos that can be used effectively in ABM video marketing, as outlined below.
Personalized Videos at the Account or Contact Level
Personalized videos at the account or contact level are an incredibly effective form of marketing. Don’t underestimate the power of speaking to someone “directly”. You can address their specific goals and objecives. You can use data from your CRM to personalize the video. Or, use data to illustrate a pain point they’re experiencing. Alternatively, position your product or service as the perfect solution to their needs (just don’t be sales-y!).
If you are not able to completely personalize every video due to time or resource restraints, put custom bumpers at the beginning and end of the videos.
Here at Stratabeat, we’ve customized ABM videos in full for certain campaigns, while using custom bumpers to reach thousands of contacts concurrently for others.
Videos at the Vertical Level
Videos at the vertical level are those that focus on a specific industry or market segment. These videos can address common pain points experienced by companies in a particular industry.
For example, if you’re selling cloud-based accounting software, you could create a video that addresses the challenges of managing finances for a small business. This type of video would be relevant to all small business owners, especially if they’re in the market for accounting software.
These videos aren’t as personal as targeting a specific account or individual, but they do make it clear that your solutions are perfect for a specific industry. Plus, approaching video production at the vertical-level is more scalable.
Screenshare Videos
Screenshare videos allow you to show, rather than tell, a prospect something important. They are perfect for doing on-screen analyses or software demos or presentations. You also can walk through a prospect’s website and reference clear pain points, then provide potential solutions accordingly.
Thought Leadership Videos
These types of videos enable you to demonstrate your expertise and position yourself as a thought leader in your industry. They are above-the-funnel content that appeals to key decision-makers. Videos that discuss current industry trends of “The Future Of ____” can both grab your prospect’s attention and prove that you have deep knowledge within your area of expertise.
Executive Briefings
Executive briefings are like webinars, but shorter and bigger picture, featuring content that would appeal to corporate executives. Ensure the content is worth of an executive’s time, sharing new insights, strategies, or trends, etc. One way to keep them exclusive is to invite only your ABM contacts.
ABM Video Hubs
Video hubs allow you to present a prospect with multiple videos while still maintaining a highly personalized feel. Create custom landing pages for each account you’re targeting. At the top of the page, include a video that is 100% customized for that account. Beneath that you can include other videos that are vertical-specific.
If the prospect watches the customized video, there’s a good chance that they’ll check out other videos in the hub, as well.
Personalized Follow-ups
Rather than sending email follow-ups, which can easily get buried in the inbox, use video to create personalized follow-ups. If a particular account or individual starts engaging with you, send a personal video to the appropriate individual, introducing yourself, offering to answer questions, personalizing the engagement, etc.
Drill-down Videos
If an account is showing interest in a particular topic, send a follow-up video that drills down even further into that topic, offering more details, insights, and angles. Not only does this demonstrate your expertise, it also preemptively answers any questions or objections an account might have.
Keys to Success with ABM Videos
There are a couple of strategies you can employ to generate success with ABM.
Customize Your ABM Videos
First, customize your videos per vertical, account, or individual contact. The more personal you can get (without being invasive), the more likely it is that a prospect will engage with you. Go beyond simple customization such as mentioning a contact’s name at the beginning of a video. Prove that you understand what they’re trying to achieve, the obstacles they are up against, and the frustrations they are feeling. They’ll have a sense that you “get” them and can help them with their challenges.
Mix Things Up
Second, mix things up. Create significant amounts of variety in your ABM calendar and videos. Send prospects different types of videos at different stages of the ABM program or funnel. If one type of video seems to particularly resonate with an account, you may consider sending more like that, but overall, variety is good.
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How to Use Video Analytics to Strengthen Your ABM Performance
When it comes to ABM videos, analytics is your friend. Video analytics provide you with data and insights that can be used to improve your marketing campaigns. When you understand how people react to the different types of videos you’re sending, you can then make necessary adjustments to ensure your message is being delivered correctly.
Types of video data to help guide your optimization efforts include:
- Views
- Percentage of video viewed
- Engagement
- Click-throughs
- Shares
- Conversions