Short-form videos have become a staple for B2B marketing, especially as more businesses leverage social media for awareness and sales. While some brands have got it right, others still struggle to make this format work for them.
In this article, we’ll share some outstanding B2B short-form videos that hit the mark. We’ll also explain why these brand awareness videos work so you can incorporate these learnings into your B2B campaigns.
The top 7 awesome B2B short-form videos we’ve seen
Need some inspiration for your brand’s next B2B campaign? Here are some of the best bite-sized brand content from B2B companies.
1. EmbedSocial UGC video
Industry: Ecommerce
Video length: 1 min
EmbedSocial, a social media aggregator tool, teamed up with a UGC creator to promote its shoppable feed feature. Partnering with a creator consumers are already familiar with lowers the trust barrier, helping them to get attention quickly.
But what’s most notable is the video’s authenticity. It shares a genuinely helpful solution and is powerful in its marketing by showing how the creator uses it to solve their challenges. This makes consumers more likely to buy in and take the desired action.
Here are the benefits of this marketing video:
- It opens with a strong hook that highlights pain points.
- The tutorial is simple and easy to follow.
- It does a great job of fulfilling its promise — that is, showing others how to solve their low selling problem. This builds trust and subtly nudges viewers to explore the solution.
2. Apollo.io Cold Calling Tutorials
Industry: Sales
Video length: 32 secs
This is another excellent example of how to speak to pain points. The video opens with a hook that any salesperson quickly understands. This does a great job of grabbing attention.
Then, it proffers a practical solution to the problem. The solution can be implemented “right now” — no need to download tools or sign up for complex software. This proves that the business is genuinely helpful and does not try to sell them something.
It’s also good to note that the narrator mentions this is a series, encouraging the audience to revisit their page for more information. This is a great way to build brand loyalty and retain attention on social media.
Here’s why it stands out:
- It gives value by offering tactical, highly relevant advice.
- It does a great job of securing repeat visitors (and even potential followers).
- It also uses captions to engage viewers who may not watch with sound, as optimizing for silent viewing is a great tactic to use in social videos today.
3. Gorgias’ “Black Friday” video
Industry: Sales
Length: 55 secs
Knowing that Black Friday can feel overwhelming for its target audience, Gorgias put together this humorous video that lightens things up. While there’s no dialogue, the actions and the text on the screen convey the marketing message clearly.
In the place of a CTA button, it ends the marketing video with a logo. This also shows empathy — the audience is already overwhelmed; there’s no need to add to that by selling them something. Overall, it’s in good taste.
This video stands out for:
- Its use of humor and empathy to convey an important message
- Exploring visual storytelling and using real employees.
- Its excellent use of visual elements and sound to sustain curiosity.
4. Zenmaid’s “Audience Education” video
Industry: Cleaning services
Length: 1 min
This marketing video feels like a relaxed conversation with a friend. It’s practical, helpful, and provides genuine information that proves the business’s knowledge. We also like that it shows how the product can help improve client acquisition.
Here are some more reasons this video stands out:
- It uses background music while not being too distracting.
- The video feels like a conversation but also has dynamic visual elements to match the energy of the pacing.
- It shows how the product solves the problem and ends with a powerful CTA.
5. Shopify Product ad
Industry: Ecommerce
Length: 1 min
Shopify created a video that is a great and simple product advertisement example! It highlights its newly-launched products in an educational way. It features a narrator who explains the main benefit of each product — one after the other.
Something that stands out is how the video includes actual footage of how each product works in some sort of walkthrough style so that your public knows exactly what they are getting. Although the video doesn’t end with a CTA, the subtle selling cues embedded throughout the footage are enough to convince Shopify merchants to explore the advertised features.
Here are more reasons why this ad made our list:
- It combines product walkthroughs with voiceovers to educate the audience.
- It sets expectations early and lives up to them.
- It is not salesy.
6. Zoom “AI Companion” ad
Industry: Video conferencing
Length: 1 min
This video aims to show that Zoom AI is a cost-friendly alternative to AI solutions from big tech companies. To effectively pass that message across, the video presents two primary characters: one represents Zoom AI and the other stands for big tech.
Each scene draws sharp contrasts between Zoom AI and big tech, such as cost. What stands out the most is how the video uses humor to engage while conveying its core message.
Here are other reasons why this video made our list:
- It doesn’t feel harsh or insulting to the competing company.
- It uses well-staged humor to pass its message across effectively.
- The combination of voiceover, dialogue, and human characters creates a relatable and engaging narrative, making the video feel authentic and memorable.
7. Zendesk “QA Introduction” video
Industry: Customer service
Length: 50 secs
Zendesk created a simple yet impactful video to launch its new QA feature. The video features a single narrator who doubles as the presenter, maintaining a personal and conversational tone throughout.
It uses smooth marketing transitions to switch between the narrator and product shots to explain the message in a better way. It also uses illustrations like numbers and percentages to support the video’s claims — and then ends with a simple CTA that invites your public to learn more.
Why this video made our list:
- The hook emphasizes who the video (and product) is for — showing good knowledge of Zendesk’s clientele.
- The clips switch between the narrator and the product screenshot. This dynamic editing style keeps a high engagement level while offering an impactful visual representation of the product — making the video relatable and informative.
- It has a compelling CTA that invites target clients to learn more about the product.
What is a short-form video?
A short-form video is also known as bite-sized content. It typically ranges from a few seconds to around 60 — although some platforms allow up to a few minutes. They are usually filmed vertically, making it easy for the public to view them on their smartphones.
These videos are designed to hook attention and deliver information quickly, so they work really well for sharing high-impact content like ads or quick tutorials. In contrast, long-form ones are great for narrative storytelling, especially when you need to draw the audience in.
TikTok globally popularized this content format (and vertical filming). These days, you’ll find them on nearly all platforms, including LinkedIn, YouTube (Shorts), Facebook and Instagram (Reels), and Snapchat (Spotlight).
What is the most popular short-form video platform?
According to 2023 Adobe research, TikTok is the most-searched platform for short-form videos in the U.S. In addition, 32% of viewers prefer to watch bite-sized content on channels like TikTok.
Although channels like Vine experimented with bite-sized content first (with six-second looping videos), TikTok made the format stick. Before then, no other major channel supported vertical or bite-sized content. YouTube allowed people to upload vlogs, and Facebook and Instagram supported the landscape format.
As TikTok became more popular and gained market share, other players hopped on this trend. Now, nearly every major channel supports bite-sized content — with LinkedIn being the latest to hop on the bandwagon and encourage its users to post.
How do you create powerful short B2B videos?
B2B marketing videos for companies that have complex products or services often take quite some time to explain fully. However, concise videos aren’t built for that. No one is waiting till the 5th minute to finally grasp what you’re trying to say.
So, you need to break down any complex ideas into an easy-to-understand message that can be communicated in a few seconds. Here’s how to do that.
1. Focus on a single idea
Don’t try to cram multiple ideas into a single piece of marketing content. If you do that, there won’t be enough time to explore them — leading to half-hazard messaging that leaves no impression on your audience.
Instead, narrow it down to the most important thing you want the public to know. For example, you can say, “At the end of the video, I want the audience to know that we now offer a free plan.”
Once you have an idea, the next step is to build a narrative that communicates it. To do that, you’ll need to write a video script.
2. Write a script
A script is a written document that outlines a video's dialogue, actions, and visual elements. It serves as a blueprint, ensuring everyone involved in the production understands the concept, message, and flow.
A well-crafted script keeps the production on track. It helps you stay true to your core idea — ensuring that all elements add up to the core message you want to communicate.
A good script follows a logical sequence and is easily translated into visual storytelling. Check out our video script article for a step-by-step process of how to create one.
3. Start with a compelling hook
The opening of any video is crucial, but it’s even more critical when sharing bite-sized content.
There are so many videos on one’s feed competing for their attention. If your intro isn’t interesting enough to stop the scroll, they’ll move past it quickly to another piece of content.
That’s why you need a solid hook. A strong hook immediately grabs their interest and sets the tone, increasing engagement and retention. Here are some hook ideas for your B2B content:
- Address a pain point: Start with a problem your public relates to. For example, "Struggling to keep your team on the same page?"
- Ask a compelling question: Engage curiosity with questions that peak interest, like, "What if you could double your leads in a week?”
- Use an intriguing stat: Share something surprising: "85% of businesses fail to use this simple strategy—are you one of them?"
- Show a bold visual or action: Open with something eye-catching or unexpected that makes viewers pause. Give them a scroll-stopper.
- Promise value: We always want to know what’s in it for us. Clearly state what they’ll gain: "In 30 seconds, I’ll show you how to simplify your workflow."
4. Experiment with visual elements and sound
Use creative visual and sound elements to capture and hold attention throughout the video.
Say you want to show how a concept or behavior has changed over time. In that case, you can visualize that information with an infographic or graph, creating an image the audience will easily remember.
Sound is super important, too. You can use upbeat music to set the mood for an exciting announcement — or sound effects to emphasize transitions and key information.
The important thing is not to overdo it. Video elements should add to your message, not distract from it.
5. End with a strong CTA
Don’t end with a cliffhanger (unless you’re trying to draw them to the next video, of course). Let them know the exact action you want them to take at the end of the video — whether that’s signing up for a free product trial or even sharing their thoughts in the comments section.
A solid CTA is clear, specific, and compelling. It tells the viewer exactly what action to take, why they should take it, and what they will gain. Here are a few examples:
- “Click the link below to schedule your free demo today!" (with a clickable link on the screen)
- “Get started now — tap the button to join our exclusive webinar!" (button appearing at the bottom)
- “Want to see more? Subscribe and stay updated with our latest content!" (with the subscribe button popping up)
- “Don’t miss out! Claim your free trial now and start saving!” (with countdown timer or visual of the trial sign-up)
- “Ready to transform your workflow? Click the screen now to book a consultation." (interactive clickable area in the video)
Of course, CTAs can be verbal or as text on screen. Play around and test what works best for your audience and platform.
Learn more: How to create a good outro for your video content
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