The Difference between B2B and B2C Video Marketing

A general analysis of all business transactions will reveal two primary types: Business to Consumer (B2C) and Business to Business (B2B).

Although both are quite similar in many aspects, there are crucial differences that every marketer must know.

Video marketing can greatly benefit both types of businesses.

But the video marketing template that suits the former will be of little use to the latter and vice versa.

Regardless of the similarities, to ace the marketing game, marketers have to tailor the strategy and customize the campaign according to the business, target audience, goals, and offerings.

Whether you’re producing the videos in-house or hiring a video editing company, understanding the difference between B2C and B2B will be of great benefit.

It’ll help you decide how exactly video marketing can be used to benefit a specific business type.

Let’s get started.

 

B2B and B2C Video Marketing: The Key Differences

A clear understanding of the business type and customers is the first true step any video content marketing professional can take. This vital knowledge can prevent problems down the line.

Who are the direct beneficiaries of your offerings (products and services)?

In B2B, you’re selling the product or service directly to a corporation, retailer, manufacturer, distributor, or anyone that’s not the end consumer.

Then again, businesses that directly deal or sell to the consumer will fall under the B2C category.

The following are the areas where both business types differ:

 

Content Strategy

In B2C, you’re at liberty to go the extra mile in attracting the consumer’s attention using entertaining content.

The main idea of B2C video marketing is engagement which can be achieved through light-hearted and fun content.

We aren’t in any way suggesting that B2B video content is less engaging. For example, Instagram reels for business aim to blend fun content with branding.

Videos in B2B marketing often focus on the company, its product/service, the benefits, etc.

In B2B video marketing, the focus, to a greater degree, is on the products, benefits, and financial aspects.

Ultimately, the video content strategy must depend on what the audience wants to see.

Bear in mind, in B2b, the audience isn’t your average Joe or Jane. He or she is representing a business.

Their decision might impact others too. Hence, they are quite clear about what they want from the product.

Your content strategy must focus on those points and the video content must effectively deliver the message.

 

Content Quality

No effort should be spared in making the best videos for your business. Use the best production equipment and online video editors such as Clipchamp.

Both audiences deserve the best videos in terms of content and messaging.

That said; target your B2B audience with professionally-produced videos. In most cases, your target audience in B2B video marketing is a company.

Companies expect a high degree of professionalism from the people they deal with.

The B2B videos must be well-produced with top-notch talent, audio, visuals, etc.

Moreover, in B2B, high-quality video content signifies capability and capacity to deliver.

You’ll lose your audience’s trust if the videos aren’t professional.

In B2C, you can get away with content that is authentic but not great in production quality.

Remember: video marketing is a powerful way to increase brand awareness.

Hosting Platforms

Some 10-12 years back, only a few video-hosting platforms satisfied the needs of all businesses.

Times have changed. Now there are niche platforms with a dedicated user base for both types of businesses.

Although there is some amount of overlapping, we see brands opt for specific hosting platforms depending on their target audience.

For example, Vimeo, SlideShare, and Linkedin are ideal places to host B2B video content. Entrepreneurs and professionals spend a considerable amount of their time on these platforms.

Then again, for B2C content, videos that directly target the consumers, social platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook are the obvious choices.

These platforms provide features that help in giving maximum exposure to the video content.

Both business types can host videos on these platforms and embed videos on other websites to expand the reach.

 

B2B and B2C Video Marketing: The Areas of Convergence

Though the focus of this article is on the differences, a brief look at the similarities is equally enlightening.

These areas of convergence between B2C and B2B will help you understand the subtle differences better.

Furthermore, understanding both the differences and similarities will lead to a better video marketing strategy.

Here are a few similarities.  

 

Creativity Is Paramount

Video marketing isn’t the privilege of the few with big budgets. Regardless of the size of the company, it’s possible to grow your business with video content.

It has become the most common marketing medium, as prevalent but more popular than text and image content.

Billions of videos are uploaded every day and 82% of web traffic will flock towards video content.

In such a scenario, nothing except the most creative and best quality video would stand out and attract attention.

Run of the mill content with nothing unique to offer will make your video no different from the others. Soon, your videos will be lost in the crowd.

Video content in both businesses needs to be of the best quality to boost customer engagement.

 

Educate the Audience

Every customer, be it a corporation or regular person, prefer products or services that offer the best value for money.

Of course, they are interested in knowing what the product can do for them and how it will help their lives.

Both B2B and B2C videos keep the customers interested in the video and product by educating the audience.

Even if they can’t produce quality explainer videos in-house, they can choose any of the top explainer video companies in their area.

Both businesses highlight the benefits and the many ways the product or service solves the customer’s problems.

 

Earn Their Trust

Most video marketing campaigns flop because they fail to convince the audience about their ability to deliver on promises.

In both B2B and B2C, one of the goals of video marketing is to build trust.

It doesn’t matter, if the video is promoting a product/service that’s worth a few dollars or millions of dollars, the idea is to convince them that you can give them what they need.

 

Final Thoughts

Whether it’s B2B or B2C, video content is the best content type today.

It can be used with the best marketing tools to create awareness, educate customers, generate leads, and drive more sales.

Each of these marketing goals plays a vital role in the success of a business.

To do things right, one needs to understand the subtle differences between the two types of businesses.

This article sheds light on both the differences and similarities.