7 Ways to Keep New B2B Video Content Rolling During COVID-19

Has COVID-19 affected your video plan for the year? Forced to work remotely? No doubt these last few weeks have changed the way we normally work — a change we’ll likely be dealing with for the foreseeable future in various ways. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t keep churning out video for your B2B audience. In fact, they may even have a little more free time, meaning they might be more receptive than normal. While it might be somewhat difficult to provide new video content without being able to shoot it, it isn’t as hard as you think. Here are a few ideas on how to keep the B2B video content coming.

1. What’s on “the cutting room floor?”

You’ve likely already made the investment in shooting some great content. Odds are you have a lot of great footage that, for whatever reason, never made it into your final product. Or better yet, you can tap into your library of footage and repurpose it for new content. If you’ve conducted interviews or testimonials, look for relevant soundbites for a new project. If you need voice-over support, most professional V.O. artists have home studios and are ready to record.

2. Reformat for social.

Maybe you have a longer piece that hasn’t quite gained the traction you were hoping for but still has a relevant message. Consider how to repurpose the footage into shorter snippets for social media channels, ultimately driving traffic to the full video. On the flip side, if you have a topic within a video to expand on, think about how you can make that topic a stand-alone video. Figure out ways to get more “bang for your buck” out of video you already have at your disposal.

3. Get the planning out of the way.

Did you have to cancel a shoot because of COVID-19? Do you know for sure you have a big video project on the horizon once things get back to “normal”? Get all the preproduction elements out of the way now! Talk to your agency and develop treatments, scripts or storyboards now and get them approved by key stakeholders so when you are ready to get into production you can hit the ground running. Take the time to plan now and don’t hold up production on your next shoot once we find our way out of our home offices.

4. Utilize stock video

If you have a message you want to tell with video but you don’t have any current assets at your disposal, take a look at stock video/photo sites. You might be surprised at what you can find. Stock sites have really increased the quality and variety of their stock video selection in recent years. There is a ton of great content on these sites for a variety of B2B industries. This option is best suited if your messaging isn’t very specific and is kept at a high level but with that said …

5. DIY!

If stock just won’t do because you have super specific messaging about a product or a “how-to” tutorial and you can get all the necessary props from your house … shoot it yourself! Odds are you have a smartphone with a pretty decent camera (and maybe a little extra free time on your hands), so why not try it yourself? While it may not look like the other pieces in your portfolio, your audience will probably be a little more understanding given the current landscape. If nothing else, you’ll have a great conversation piece to look back on.

6. Develop your graphic templates.

This is truly a best practice that is often overlooked. If you are consistently putting out video content, you are doing yourself a disservice if you haven’t templatized your on-screen motion graphics (lower thirds, full-screen graphics, intro/outros, logo reveals, etc.). This will take out the guesswork during post-production and should save money in the long run.

7. Go live!

You’ve likely flipped through the channels or tuned into the news and have seen interviews conducted via Zoom or Skype. Join in on the latest craze and go live on your preferred social channel. Interview an SME on a relevant subject or service your company is offering. Better yet, go live and take questions directly from your audience.

There you have it. COVID-19 has certainly put us in some unchartered waters. However, with these helpful tips, you can hopefully think of some ways to utilize video to help you navigate through to your B2B audience.