There’s no denying the power of short-form video in direct-to-consumer (D2C) content — but does short-form really work for business-to-business (B2B)?

Consider these stats:

– Short-form video is the #1 format on social media, offering the highest ROI and will see the most growth in 2024. A quarter of marketers plan to invest more in short-form video than any other format in 2024 — and more than half of marketers who leverage short-form video will increase their investment in 2024.

– YouTube shorts get more than 70 billion daily views, and the number of YouTube accounts uploading shorts has grown by 50% over the last year

– On Instagram, Reels consumption is up 20% year-over-year.

– TikTok has been cagey about general engagement metrics, other than the ones that help them sell ads. However, research by SocialInsider found that videos that run shorter than 15 seconds see the highest view rates. Plus, LinkedIn began testing a TikTok-esque video feed in March.

Shorter videos win on TikTok

Videos less than 15 seconds tally the highest view rates.

Source: SocialInsider

Because these numbers predominately reflect B2C content, many B2B marketers assume the format is a lost cause. However, short-form content can be just as effective in the B2B space.

With overall B2B video budgets projected to increase from $1.3 billion in 2022 to $2.5 billion in 2025, now’s the time for B2B marketers to plunge into short form.

What exactly is short-form video?

Any video with a runtime of 1–60 seconds qualifies as short-form video. The most successful videos of this format hook the audience in the opening seconds then deliver a distilled, crisp message. They can be one-off productions or standalone clips from a longer video. While marketers most often use short-form on social media, these videos can also be effective on product pages and landing pages.

Why do audiences gravitate to short-form video?

Audiences love short-form video because it’s easy to consume — because the opportunity cost is low. Audiences feel they stand to lose little by wasting 15 seconds on a “bad” video.

On the other hand, they feel the risk-reward balance is in their favor. An engaging 15-second video might offer valuable advice without demanding much investment on the audience’s part — which brings us to the second reason audiences gravitate to short-form: Successful short-form videos are concise and to-the-point. Every marketer knows the importance of brevity, so it should be no surprise that principle applies — and works — here, as well.

But there’s a third important reason: The most engaging short-form videos demonstrate something. This includes sponsored product placement as well as user-generated demos, but it can also include organic content. When audiences see real action happening in a short-form video, success likely is not far behind.

Short-form video makes good business sense

Short-form video can be more cost-effective than traditional 3+ minute video for several reasons:

– You can create more content from a traditional shoot. This requires strategic coordination, but it’s possible to get both types of content from a single shoot. Script writers and producers can coordinate to help you get a longer-form video and a collection of short-form clips all at the same time — which helps you get more bang for your buck.

– Long-form video can be cut into short-form clips, helping you get more mileage out of that spend.

– Audiences are more forgiving of low production value if the content is good, which means spending less on lighting, sound equipment, crew, etc.

Where does short-form video fit into the B2B journey?

Short-form can fit into any stage of the buyer journey, however it’s most efficient at the top of the funnel. Considering that B2B buyers are 57% – 70% through their buying research before contacting sales, top-of-funnel video content becomes even more important. And we know it works: Nine out of ten B2B buyers say online content has a moderate to major effect on purchasing decisions, and 67% percent of the buyer’s journey is now done digitally.

Case study: B2B short-form campaign for financial services firm

It’s easy to forget that B2B buyers consume social media content as much as anyone else. We recently partnered with a top-50 global asset manager to create an awareness campaign based on short-form video. After just two months the campaign had garnered more than 2.2 million impressions, at an average cost of $0.008 per impression.

What’s more impressive, the videos had raked in more than 900,000 views at an average cost of $0.02 per view. Our contention remains: B2B marketing teams are leaving huge opportunities on the table by not embracing short-form video.

Conclusion

We’d love to help you with your next B2B video campaign! Whether you’ve got something in mind or aren’t sure where to start, please reach out to us. You can contact us at imprint@imprintcontent.com or by filling out the form here.