Video in B2B tech PR: Should we always aim to go viral?

Video has the ability to communicate a company’s message in a completely different way to the written word; as the old saying goes, a picture can tell a thousand words! In the early days, video was just another means of presenting information that was already in the collateral arsenal, be that product information or a customer case study. Today, there is increasing pressure to be more creative, entertaining and experimental; in the hope that these videos ‘go viral’ and reach as wide an audience as possible. The question is: should going viral be the focus for all video campaigns?

The fixation on going viral is no surprise really; we are constantly being bombarded with videos from colleagues and friends – a cute kitten playing the oboe here, a skateboarding pensioner there – so we can see first-hand how far they can spread and the huge audiences that can be reached. Social media encourages us to share, like, and tweet at every turn, with content being distributed on a global platform in seconds; it’s word of mouth on steroids.  Yet we are predominantly experiencing this as part of our role as the consumer, prompting many to ask whether the same wildfire approach to content spreading can be applied in a B2B context.

In business to business technology PR, the audience you are trying to reach is very different to that of a consumer product. ‘Viral’ videos are often created to reach as wide an audience as possible, making them indiscriminate when it comes to targets. Yet many of our clients are working on multi-million pound contracts with very niche and specific audiences they are looking to reach; so how much value would there be in a video that was designed to appeal to a mass audience? Bearing this in mind, the focus should not reaching as many people as possible, it should be reaching the _right _people; this is where PR can play a key role.

According to a Forbes Insight report – Video in the C-Suite: Executives embrace the non-text web – 75% of executives watch business related videos every week; furthermore, 65% have visited a vendor’s website after watching a video. For B2B technology companies, the key to success is ensuring that their video is on these executive’s watch lists; this is where going viral can make a big difference. In this context, ‘going viral’ can take on a slightly different meaning. Rather than focusing on millions of shares and likes, it is more important to gain validation from a select few influencers for them to spread the word to their relevant and trusting audience. Journalists, analysts, bloggers, and senior business people fall into this category and PR creates a vital connection to these influencers.

Yet inspiring people to share and like a video is not necessarily a straight forward task. Close attention much be paid to content; it needs to be unique enough to stand out, as well as to engaging and inspiring enough to provoke a reaction from the viewer. Humour can be a very useful tool, but it is vital to strike a balance between simply having a funny video that people will share, and actually motivating the viewer to take action. You also need to be careful that people are not sharing it for all the wrong reasons. Microsoft has certainly endured a fair few bouts of public humiliation following misguided attempts to seem ‘cool’ through video, with attempts to change their image backfiring by making them look distinctly ‘uncool’; for example, this ‘spontaneous’ dance episode, or worse  still, this cringe-worthy  attempt at creating interest in its Windows 7 release.

Content and focus are the keys to success; who is your ideal viewer? What message are you trying to get across? What action do you want the viewer to take? It is also important to ask yourself why you are making this video; is this about awareness? Brand building? Education? Persuasion? Thought leadership? By knowing who you want to reach; why you want to reach them; and what you want them to do; you can build a video that is targeted to meet your needs, whether that is reaching the masses, or targeting that one needle in the haystack.