Discover the strategic video lineup that maximises ROI, makes the most of your budget, and saves time.
If you’re running a B2B tech company, you already know that video marketing is a must these days. You’ve probably tried using video here and there, and you’ve likely seen your competitors nailing it with polished campaigns.
But figuring out exactly what types of videos you need—and when to roll them out—can feel a bit overwhelming, right?
We get it.
But don’t stress—this guide is your roadmap.
We’ve tested all kinds of video ads and seen the results firsthand, so we’ve been able to codify the techniques that move the needle.
1. Explainer Videos
First, you’ll want to create an Explainer Video. This is the bread and butter of your video marketing strategy, and it can be animated, live-action, or a combination of both.
The key is to explain who you serve, how it works, and why you’re unique in a simple, non-technical way.
KEY: Don’t make the mistake of producing fancy or fun videos before you have this key foundational video in place. The “Explainer Video” will create real measurable results in the business when it’s launched correctly.
A good Explainer Video has every person in your target market—and everyone around your business—understanding exactly what sets you apart.
When launched into your B2B advertising, this makes a huge impact because everyone involved with your business understands why you’re unique—not just prospects but also current clients, staff, your network, and even investors.
Now, imagine the ripple effect when they all align with your clear value proposition.
Key features of a Visionary Explainer Video:
- A solid distribution strategy. Your distribution strategy is even more important than the production itself. A perfectly crafted video is only effective if it reaches your audience.
- Audience-focused messaging. Once you reach them, you have to connect with them. Effective B2B videos are more about the audience, less about the company. The key is to make your messaging crystal clear – don’t try to be too creative here.
- A step-by-step explanation of your process. Make your service FEEL easier to proceed with by giving a step by step explanation of your process.
- Back up your claims with actual results and facts. Decision-makers trust numbers and results.
Length: Go for 90 seconds to 3 minutes.
Sure, you’ll hear people say that “no one watches anything longer than 30 seconds these days”, but when it comes to B2B, things are different:
Here are some great examples produced by The Visionary Team:
Or check out Visionary’s Explainer Animation here:
2. Live-Action Videos
Next, it’s time to introduce the people behind your brand. A live-action video introduces your leadership team, key salespeople and even key customers, adding that human touch.
After all, in B2B, people like doing business with people.
A skilled production team can produce highly polished videos, featuring your team, reasonably cost effectively. And great editors can really make every member of the cast present confidently and glow in the scene. That production value immediately positions your team as trusted authorities.
What’s the focus of this video style?
- Highlight why you’re the top choice over competitors.
- Build trust by demonstrating your ability to deliver.
- Ensure prospects know, like, and trust your sales team before their demo or discovery call.
- Position your delivery team as trusted experts, ensuring clients value their deliverables.
By featuring well-known faces from your team, these videos help potential clients feel more connected and confident in your brand, even before meeting you.
Don’t make the video too sales-y, though—incorporating real customers can make it more authentic.
Check out these case studies for inspiration:
3. Software Demo Videos
What’s the goal of this video style?
- Show off your UI to potential users
- Make the software FEEL real for your audience
- Walk them through your software step by step and let them visualise how it fits into their workflow
A well-crafted software demo video highlights the features and functionality while ensuring the user interface feels authentic and engaging.
By showcasing exactly what your software does and why it’s a better fit than the competition, you’ll help decision-makers understand its benefits.
Add some wow-factor effects to bring your software to life, turning potential viewers into qualified leads.
[CASE STUDY: Secure Code Warrior]
4. Process/Methodology Explainer Videos
In the B2B world, education is everything.
That’s where a process or methodology explainer video can really shine.
By breaking down your process into simple, easy-to-follow steps, you’re not just helping potential customers understand how your service works—you’re also positioning yourself as the go-to choice in your industry.
When an audience truly understands how your projets run, the clarity helps them make buying decisions. It doesn’t matter if your process is very similar to others – if you’re the one that gives them the clarity, you are in the box seat for winning the deal.
What’s the focus?
- Clear up any confusion about how your service works. Once they’ve got it, they’re more likely to choose you over someone else.
- Create a long-form video that can also be broken up into separate “chapters”, each becoming their own standalone video. Now you have a whole campaign of content in just one video shoot.
- Tell the story through the voices of your delivery team. That then positions them as trusted advisors, which helps them give world-class client experiences during delivery.
[CASE STUDY: RPG – See VIDEO #2]
[CASE STUDY: Consilo – See video #2]
5. Thought Leadership Content Videos
Once you’ve got your foundational videos sorted, it’s time to move into thought leadership content.
These videos go beyond just telling people about your service—they educate your audience and let you showcase your expertise upfront, building that digital relationship before they even become customers.
When you feature your team in these videos, you’re positioning yourself as the trusted go-to in your field.
The best part? These videos don’t need to be super polished. You can shoot them on your phone, record a webinar, and keep the editing light and easy.
What’s the goal?
- Share valuable insights and position your team as experts in the field.
- Deliver more value to your audience and your customers, over and above just your product
- Featuring your delivery team or client managers also has your audience respecting their deliverables more.
Here’s a really good example from our own portfolio:
[VIDEO: The Visionary 4-Layer Framework]
6. Entertaining/inspiring “Variety” Videos
Once your core videos are locked in, it’s time to explore “variety” videos. These are your chance to let your team’s personality shine and build some genuine brand love.
Key Insight: A lot of B2B companies make the mistake of diving straight into the fun, flashy videos because that’s what they see in B2C campaigns or on TV. Don’t make that mistake. First, focus on producing the foundational videos that bring measurable business value.
But once you have your foundational videos produced, go ahead and have some fun—experiment with “cool” ideas, be creative, try out different formats—just make sure they stay on brand and bring real value. This extra variety really creates “brand love” – but only if you’ve already demonstrated clear value through the foundational videos mentioned earlier in thee article.
What’s the focus of this video style?
- Teach your audience something new yet valuable.
- Make sure your audience gets the most value possible from your products and services
- Stay front of mind and build “brand love”
- Give your audience hits of love, humour, entertainment and inspiration. Emotions build digital relationships
- Show off your team – start creating connections straight from the newsfeed
KEY: Avoid content that feels too generic, like AI-generated scripts or content whipped up by an intern (for intelligent decision-makers, they’re so easy to spot). It’s great to be fun – but it needs to come from strategic experience and giving value to B2B decision-makers.
Visionary like to produce plenty of these, just to keep the creative juices flowing! Check out some examples on Instagram here:
[INSTAGRAM: @visionary_digital_studios]
Mistakes to Avoid in B2B Video Marketing
Before you start filming, animating or producing… let’s cover a few common mistakes we see so many companies make when approaching video marketing:
- No distribution strategy: The biggest mistake in B2B video marketing is producing a great video without a launch plan. To get results, you need to put it in front of decision-makers through targeted ads, your website, or conferences. Distribution is 80% of your video’s success. A great video without viewers will not deliver any results at all… Great videos are designed to achieve measurable, agreed KPIs – without this, your video just adds to the heap of expensive noise.
- Muddling the message: Your message must be spot on, ESPECIALLY in your first few videos. Get an experienced marketer involved to ensure it’s crafted for maximum impact. Thousands of key decision-makers will see these videos. When the message is lukewarm or wrong, that becomes a compounding problem.
- Getting the introduction wrong: Your video’s intro is everything. In those first 5 seconds, viewers need to feel that this video is the most relevant thing to focus on amid all the distractions in their newsfeed and life. If you lose them in the first 30 seconds, they won’t stick around for the rest.
- Trying to be too entertaining too soon: In B2B, your initial videos usually shouldn’t be about being flashy or funny. They’re about building trust and getting the fundamentals right. Save the creative, quirky stuff for later once you have the fundamentals done and you have a recognisable brand.
- Making explainer videos too short: B2B buyers are making 5-7 figure decisions, so they need more in-depth content to feel confident. Shallow videos attract shallow leads. Without proper education, those leads waste the sales team’s time—an expensive mistake to make. Don’t be afraid to dive deep and give the most interested viewers the depth of insight they need.
Wrapping It Up
So, now you’re a video marketing pro, where do you start!?
We recommend kicking off with the Explainer Video in either Animation or Live-Action—it’s the most valuable for your business.
Once that’s produced and launched professionally… You can start building an entire video content library that covers all your bases and is shown to your audience on the right platforms at the right time.
If you want to get those video production creative juices flowing, here are about 70 examples to inspire you:
