The Role of Video Content in Manufacturing Marketing
- Video was the best-performing content format in marketing in 2023.
- Video content marketing allows brands to educate and build trust with B2B buyers.
- Strategic video campaigns improve lead conversions for manufacturers ready to embrace multimedia's higher engagement, education, and sales potential.
In this Article
According to a Semrush analysis, nearly 70% of the respondents spent at least 10% of their marketing budget in 2023 on content. This covers social media posts, blog posts, video content, and more. Interestingly, the analysis established that video content performed best (45%) ahead of short-form articles (31%) and success stories (28%).
In fact, a recent Statista survey of business-to-business (B2B) marketers worldwide found that 69% of respondents intend to invest in video content marketing in 2024. The question is: if video is such a great marketing tool for B2B companies in all sectors, including manufacturing, why isn’t everyone using it? What does the 31% know or don’t know about the role of video content in marketing?
Likely, the industrial marketers who aren’t invested in video content marketing don’t have a clear perspective of its role in marketing. If this is the case, this article should be a valuable resource. It will guide you through the basics of video content in manufacturing marketing and close with a reflection on why it is an invaluable asset to marketers in the current business environment.
Understanding Video Content in Manufacturing Marketing
The English dictionary defines video as moving visual images recorded and saved on videocassette or digitally. According to the dictionary, it could also be a visual media product featuring moving images and may or may not include audio.
Using the definition as a foundation, we can define video content as any material distributed in video format. Marketers create and distribute video content to showcase their products or tell their brand’s story to the target audience.
Video content can be distributed in various forms, including testimonial videos, product demos, video blogs (vlogs), presentations, and more. Marketers can publish the content on Vimeo and YouTube or embed it on social media pages and the company website.
Video has unique strengths that make it highly effective for marketing industrial products:
- Bring products to life: Video content lets manufacturers illustrate how complex machinery or equipment works. Viewers can gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the product features and functions through visuals and demonstration.
- Convey emotion: Unlike static images or text, video can capture emotions and evoke human connections through visuals, music/audio, and narrative. This allows manufacturing brands to inspire, excite, and draw meaningful engagement from target audiences.
- Build trust and transparency: Trust is paramount in the B2B space. Video lets you open your doors, virtually inviting potential clients into your factories, labs, and offices. You can introduce your team, showcase safety protocols and quality control measures, and demonstrate your commitment to sustainability and ethical practices. This transparency builds trust and fosters more profound relationships with customers.
- Engagement and recall: Studies show that viewers retain 95% of a message conveyed through video compared to just 10% from text. Videos are inherently engaging, captivating audiences with visuals, sound, and storytelling. This leads to better understanding, higher recall, and a more substantial impact on purchase decisions.
- Versatility across platforms: You can tailor videos to fit any definition of the target audience, be it product demos on your website, explainer videos on social media, or behind-the-scenes stories on YouTube. This creates a multi-touchpoint experience, reinforcing your message and driving engagement across your marketing channels.
Video content for manufacturing marketing is unique.
While video marketing offers universal benefits, the manufacturing context demands a unique approach compared to other industries. Unlike many consumer-facing industries, manufacturing companies face additional challenges in creating compelling, effective video content. For instance, manufactured goods are typically complex, technical products that may lack visual appeal to the average viewer.
Therefore, the video content for manufacturing context often needs to focus more heavily on educating potential customers in a clear, visually engaging way. This means:
- Demonstrating value, credibility, and problem-solving abilities over simply entertaining
- Relying more on animations, dynamic graphics, expert spokespeople, and voiceovers explaining details versus trendy music or flashy transitions
- Catering the storytelling to rational decision-making motivators for B2B buyers versus impulse purchases
- Translating complex mechanical and engineering details into simple, exciting concepts for target buyer personas within conservative industrial organizations
- Requiring a higher degree of specialization in both production quality and messaging
The unique aspects of marketing manufactured products through video introduce further complexity. This implies that manufacturing marketers often face numerous challenges when crafting video content marketing strategies.
Challenges manufacturers face when using video
Creating compelling video content presents several hurdles for manufacturing marketers, including:
- Identifying relevant and engaging video content ideas: The Semrush analysis cited earlier lists generating content ideas as the third most difficult challenge B2B marketers face in content marketing. Add to that the fact that manufactured products can be technical and design-focused, and you have a clear picture of the challenges around creativity that manufacturing marketers encounter.
- Translating complex product details into easy-to-understand video: It requires specific skill and experience to simplify the intricacies of how mechanical parts, equipment, and systems function. To communicate this simplicity to target audiences without losing critical details is an outstanding achievement.
- Obtaining the necessary video production resources: Filming manufacturing facilities or demonstrating equipment operation often requires securing access and investing in specialized video production crew and equipment.
Measuring content performance and ROI: Most (54%) marketers measure their content marketing strategies’ ROI, and the primary goal is to attract more traffic to the company website. However, brands face challenges when quantifying the impact of manufacturing marketing videos on prospects relative to costs. Consumer brands do not face such issues because of the proximity to the end user.
Types of Video Content for Manufacturing
Typically, manufacturing marketing strategies deal with two main problems: 1) how does the marketer showcase the products to increase sales? 2) what tactics should the marketer deploy to enhance the brand’s image?
So, at any point in time, manufacturing marketers think about the products the company manufactures and the brand perception in the market. Accordingly, a typical video content strategy involves two main types of videos: product-focused and brand-focused.
Product-focused video content
These videos are specifically designed to highlight the features, benefits, and applications of a company’s products. Some examples of video formats in this category include product demonstrations, customer testimonials, animations, and behind-the-scenes glimpses, all with the primary goal of showcasing the value and functionality of the manufactured products.
1. Product demos and overviews
This video format aims to showcase your products’ intricate features, benefits, and real-world applications. A strategy built on this type of video content would seek to:
- Provide in-depth demonstrations highlighting the functionality and versatility of your products.
- Address common pain points your audience may have and demonstrate how your product offers solutions.
- Incorporate close-ups, annotations, and narration to ensure a comprehensive understanding.
For example, consider a power tools manufacturer whose main product line includes cordless power drills. The brand could showcase its latest high-torque impact driver model by:
- Filming a worker using the drill to fasten several inches long of screws into dense hardwood with ease
- Comparing the power and speed against a leading competitor model drilling the same screws
- Close-up slow motion shots emphasizing ergonomic grip, battery gauge, built-in level, and different torque setting functions
- Side-by-side demo of swapping out screw bit tips in 5 seconds without needing tools
This video demo approach brings key drill product advantages to life. The demonstration goes beyond stationary images that fail to convey power, versatility, and performance nuances important to buyers.
2. Customer testimonials and case studies
The primary goal for this type of video content is to build trust, credibility, and social proof. Typically, brands feature satisfied customers and successful implementations of their products.
Marketers can deploy several tactics to implement this strategy, including:
- Interview satisfied clients who have experienced tangible benefits from your products.
- Incorporate before-and-after visuals or success metrics to emphasize the positive impact.
- Showcase a variety of industries or applications to demonstrate the versatility of your solutions.
For example, your brand could approach and interview a major construction firm. The objective could be to obtain the client’s thoughts on one of your products which you want more buyers to acquire. The client could describe how:
- Your cordless circular saws improved onsite job efficiency by 20% over previous models
- Battery life lasts the entire shift without interruption, which is familiar with older saws
- Lighter composite materials reduced operator fatigue, allowing more daily cuts
When seen by potential buyers, this video lends credibility to your products’ capability.
3. Product animations and explainer videos
Marketers should use this video content to break down complex technical concepts into visually digestible content. If the objective is to simplify the complex, the videos should incorporate humor and storytelling and, most importantly, focus on delivering the critical message without losing the audience’s attention.
In this strategy, you can:
- Utilize animations or 3D models to illustrate the inner workings of your products.
- Focus on critical features and components, emphasizing what sets your products apart.
- Keep explainer videos concise and engaging, ensuring they resonate with technical and non-technical audiences.
For example, you could create an animation that illustrates the internal mechanisms of a complex reciprocating saw. The video should educate buyers on why the blade lasts longer, reduces vibration, and offers tool-less blade changes compared to competitors.
4. Behind-the-scenes manufacturing videos
Most buyers would feel emotionally invested in a company when they witness how it turns raw materials into the products they use. This explains why most industrial brands produce behind-the-scenes content – it helps humanize brands.
Beyond humanizing the brand, sharing peeks inside advanced manufacturing facilities builds credibility with buyers. B2B buyers want to inspect equipment firsthand and scrutinize elaborate production environments before making large capital purchases or contractual agreements. Therefore, video content provides the next closest engagement and due diligence.
These product-focused videos have two primary objectives: nurture prospects and relate benefits to buyer needs. Some elements of this strategy include:
- Take viewers on a virtual tour of your facilities, showcasing the production lines and quality assurance processes.
- Introduce key team members and experts involved in the manufacturing process.
- Highlight your commitment to sustainability, safety, and ethical practices.
Creating Effective Video Content
Unlike other industries, manufacturing involves complex processes and often sophisticated products. For this reason, developing impactful video content requires careful planning and strategic decisions from the outset.
It means developing and following standard operating procedures to guide the planning stages of the strategy. Here is an example of a roadmap to ensure your video content aligns with your marketing objectives.
Step 1: Define your target audience and goals
Any strategy built on a clear foundation has a higher chance of success. In this case, clarity entails a detailed knowledge of your prospects and an understanding of organizational objectives.
So, know your buyer personas: Who are you trying to reach? Are they DIY enthusiasts, professional contractors, or industrial buyers? What are the common pain points? This information will help you know what action you want viewers to take after watching.
Also, match video style and messaging to the intended audience takeaways. Is the aim to drive product inquiries? Build technical understanding? Or position corporate leadership?
Step 2: Develop a clear video concept and message
Typically, manufacturing videos lean heavily on educating the target audience. However, it is also apparent, as seen earlier, that they can be helpful to endear the brand to existing and potential buyers.
So, avoid generic corporate videos or vague messaging. Instead, focus on concepts that educate around specific products, innovations, applications, or expertise worthy of the spotlight. Most importantly, align the message with broader marketing initiatives and campaigns.
Step 3: Choose the correct format and style
Decide on the suitable type of video content based on your goals and insights from audience research. Typically, animated explainer videos are ideal for complex features, customer testimonials for social proof, behind-the-scenes glimpses for transparency, etc. The format should match your message and resonate with your audience.
Don’t be afraid to inject personality and authenticity into your videos. Find the style that your brand and target audience – a playful tone for DIY enthusiasts or a more authoritative voice for professional audiences.
Step 4: Set a budget and production timeline
Your capital allocation capacity often determines how far and deep the videos get. However, it is always best practice to set aside adequate funds to execute high-quality productions. This implies engaging professional scriptwriters and harnessing authentic branded environments, not generic stock footage.
Additionally, develop reasonable timetables for concept approvals, filming coordination (if onsite), post-editing, and final reviews ahead of launch events or campaigns. This level of organization prevents rushing videos, which may compromise quality.
Production Tips and Best Practices
A video production framework, however impeccable, may fall short of creating a successful campaign. This mostly happens when one has inadequate knowledge of best practices – so these pointers should be invaluable:
High-quality visuals and sound
Viewers will pause to take in a professionally done and polished video – the high-quality visuals capture and retain their attention. You should invest in experienced videographers, proper lighting, audio gear, and other professional equipment.
However, maintaining the desired quality level may be challenging, especially in a large organization with several teams working on a single project. As such, there is a need for tools like a digital asset management (DAM) system to enforce and maintain high-quality visual and audio standards across all your video assets.
Additionally, a DAM like Catsy centrally stores and manages all video and audio assets. This hub provides a single source of truth from which you can seamlessly syndicate approved videos to product detail pages on eCommerce platforms. This maintains consistent quality and branding.
Engaging storytelling and scripting
Craft a compelling narrative. This means the video should do more than just list features – it should weave a story that connects with viewers on an emotional level and highlight the problems your products solve and their impact on users’ lives.
Also, keep the content conversational. The script should avoid technical jargon and focus on a natural, engaging tone. Script your key points, but leave room for improvisation to maintain authenticity.
Keep it concise and focused.
To maximize impact, make shorter videos focusing solely on one clear concept. This ensures audiences can quickly grasp the message and act on it. Eliminate unnecessary pauses, drawn-out intros, or tangents diluting the core message.
Every single second must engage viewers and efficiently educate target buyer personas. Short, tight videos concentrating on a single product, pain point, or proposition will increase retention rates and lead conversions.
Include a clear call to action.
Strategically integrate explicit nudges directing viewers on the next steps. You could encourage them to visit URLs, download assets, or contact sales reps highlighted at multiple touchpoints. Eliminate friction through clickable links, QR codes, and phone and email details layered within the video.
Optimize for search engines and social media.
The primary objective of creating content is to show it to as many eyes as possible. Search engines and social media pages are the modern-day vessels through which this is possible. So, you should ensure your video content is optimized for these platforms, but how?
For starters, search engines index new content based on the most used keywords in queries. This means your video titles, descriptions, and metatags must be optimized to improve visibility to search engine crawlers.
The optimization is lots of work, especially when your workflow does not incorporate handy tools like DAM solutions. A DAM like Catsy provides robust metadata tagging and enrichment features to add relevant keyword-rich information to your videos, boosting searchability. Even better, the system’s readiness reporting feature ensures that all teams know when content is ready (sufficiently enriched with the correct number of keywords and alt-text) for publishing across channels.
Why Video Content?
As we have explored, video content offers immense strategic value as part of holistic marketing strategies for manufacturing brands. But why should industrial companies prioritize resources for creating and distributing video assets over alternatives?
Video content specifically empowers manufacturing brands to:
- Showcase products, factories, and people in visually compelling action unachievable through static print
- Accelerate technical buyer education through animated explanations and on-camera demonstrations
- Build product trust and credibility by filming strict quality control oversight
- Generate exponentially higher lead conversion rates and sales through engaging storytelling
- Rank higher in organic search results and boost website engagement metrics
- Differentiate brand excellence as competitors play catch-up with multimedia adoption
While traditional marketing formats remain crucial, prioritizing video content strategies now is imperative for manufacturers aiming to attract the modern B2B buyer (the Semrush report confirms this). Video is compelling, mainly because it moves engineering ingenuity and operational efficiencies from static pages to dynamic screens. This conveys the human innovation and the technological sophistication of industrial enterprises better.
Key Takeaways
As digital engagement becomes increasingly video-centric, manufacturers embracing this content strategy reap extensive rewards. Video content helps them cut through the intensified online noise. Strategic video content explains complex products faster through animated explanations, and authentic visuals build immense trust. They also have compelling brand stories, which convert viewers into sales leads at significantly higher ratios than static web pages alone.
Videos also enable manufacturers to target multiple audience stages – from prospects unaware of industrial brands to reactivating past customers across devices. While text assets have long-anchored marketing, video quickly becomes indispensable for humanizing manufacturing ingenuity. So, remember that video content is not just a complement to your manufacturing marketing strategy – it is a cornerstone.
Video content in manufacturing marketing enhances brand awareness, educates audiences about complex products, builds trust through transparency, and ultimately drives lead generation and sales.
Manufacturers can use product-focused videos, including demos, customer testimonials, animations, and behind-the-scenes glimpses, to showcase features, applications, and the quality of their products.
Engaging storytelling in manufacturing videos creates a narrative that humanizes the brand, communicates values, and establishes a connection with the audience, increasing trust and credibility.
Video content improves SEO by ranking higher in search results and increases website traffic by keeping visitors engaged for longer durations, contributing to a more comprehensive online presence.
Absolutely. Manufacturers can guide potential customers through the buying process by creating video content for awareness, consideration, and decision stages, addressing their needs at each step and maximizing conversion opportunities.
