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Short vs long B2B videos

Wojtek Jezowski

November 7, 2022

Table Of Content

Treat videos as what they are: tools.

How short vs long B2B videos perform? Both have a job to do, whatever that job is. When you're a hammer, everything looks like a nail…You wouldn't use a hammer to screw in a… You get it. Is it better to make long videos or short videos? It's essential to treat videos as tools. Some videos can be short, 30 seconds (or even 3 seconds) long, while on the other side, in the B2B world, you may find videos around the 3-5 minute mark.

However, there's practically no limit when it comes to video lengths. It depends on how certain you are that your audience will watch it till the end. Let's go over the pros and cons of both the short and the long.

 

b2b videos short or long

Let's go over the pros and cons of both the short form video content and the long form video.

The short of it.

What are the benefits of short form videos? Short is quick. It grabs attention. They're easy to make (in theory).

Remember the "I'm on a horse" commercial? That was short. But as hell, it wasn't easy, and it wasn't cheap. On average, the more filming days you have, the more complexity will increase and, in turn, the expenses.

Short video content is easy to promote on social media platforms or paid ads.

To be honest, that's what short video clips are for. With attention spans getting smaller and smaller with each passing year, short ads can grab that attention more easily. Plus, there's a chance that it will be viewed until the end.

Short content is excellent when used for advertising. It keeps your message specific.

Super focused. A good rule of thumb is to concentrate on one key message per 30-second video. The less time you have, the more accurate you need to be.

Sometimes, breaking up the grand message into smaller bite-size chunks could be the thing that makes or breaks a campaign. For example, consider a series of videos, each having its own objective.  It can be an asset that builds brands (raising brand awareness) or pushes the viewer to buy something, or visit a landing page for more information (activating sales). 

To summarize, short video format can be effectively used as asset at any point of your B2B funnel.

Some examples of great short form video content: 


A tasty Heineken recruiting video.


Brand building video from Crowdstrike.


GE Capital, brand video and customer success story... it's just a good ad.


What’s a Rich Text element?

The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.

Static and dynamic content editing

A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!

How to customize formatting for each rich text

Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.

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The long of it.

What are the advantages of long form video content? Long form videos are, well, longer. It requires more attention and time. Both to watch and to.

Remember how long it takes for your boss to green-light a one-minute video ad? Now, think of them green lighting five minutes or an hour… Yup. We made a few video projects over 60 minutes, and each usually took close to a year from brief to deployment. But for argument's sake, let's say the average length in question is five to ten minutes.

Longer content is more challenging to promote.

So you need a shorter teaser to engage the viewers and encourage them to click to see the full video. That means your overall CTR may be lower, HOWEVER, this kind of content is not for everyone. Long form video is for in-depth discussions. It expresses your expertise and understanding of your industry. 

Longer B2B video means you can say more.

This requires storytelling skills to ensure your audience remains engaged with every twist and turn. The point is you have to make sure your audience isn't watching a PowerPoint presentation. Nothing against PowerPoint. Feel free to replace this with Keynote. The message remains the same: Your video marketing can't be boring.

Sometimes, longer video content is excellent for raising brand awareness through thought leadership, and it also works wonders lower in the funnel. It can also be used as a form of video testimonials.

The audience learns more about what you stand for, what you do, and how you do it.

Longer content is educational.

It's the core of all explainer videos. If your problem needs that kind of solution, long-form is a golden-tier way to inform and convince someone serious about purchasing or diving deeper to discover more about your offer. 

When a viewer is engaged and sincerely interested in the topic, they will be okay with spending 5, 10, 30 minutes, or longer watching your video. But, on the flip side, if a viewer doesn't care, they'll leave in a blink of an eye. 

Here are some long videos we like:

An amazing brand film that won Grand Prix at the Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards 2022.


Documentary focusing on the future of AI.


A "Mythbusters" vibe video from General Electric.


A beautiful brand story from Patagonia.


A joyful B2B explainer video for Virtual Receptionist service.

Read more about long form video content here

Forgive a bit of selfless promotion, but here are some of our long forms. 

Sci-Fi Web Series > "Project:2030"

Presenting the benefits and security concerns of the continued evolution of technology. Based on a white paper published by Trend Micro, authored by Dr Victoria Baines & Rik Ferguson.

Interactive Film (Choose your Own Adventure) > "Data Center Attack"

Become a CISO of a large hospital and make decisions that may have an impact on human lives.


The key takeaways.

It's best to build a marketing strategy that uses both forms. Sometimes you need a hammer, sometimes, you need a power drill. But whatever tool you need, use it wisely. All roads lead to Rome, and it's up to you to know what path to take. 

Metaphors over. Mic dropped. See you in the next one and enjoy the summary.

Summary: the short form videos.

Pro's

  • grabs attention
  • quick turnaround on production
  • easy to promote - ideal for paid ads
  • single, concise message
  • reasonably easy to get a 100% view rate
  • good asset for any point in the funnel

Cons

  • limited time = limited things you can say
  • short doesn't mean easy or cheap
  • works well in a paid media plan
  • everyone runs short video ads
  • has to be unique to stand out 

The long form videos.

Pro's

  • expertise / educational vibe
  • room for more insight and messages
  • ideal for explainer videos and thought leadership
  • hugely engaging for the right people (interested in the category)
  • it's kinda like a TV show

Cons

  • it's not for everyone
  • hard to promote
  • hard to get a 100% view rate
  • can take longer to produce and can be expensive
  • needs other assets to drive traffic to it
  • it's kinda like a TV show


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