In South Korea, YouTube has undeniably become the most widely used app based on monthly usage time. Naturally, interest and attention towards YouTube Marketing are skyrocketing.
Video marketing, in particular, boasts overwhelming effectiveness in terms of delivery compared to other static marketing strategies. It’s no wonder that companies frequently turn to this approach when promoting their products and services.
However, it’s crucial to approach YouTube marketing with caution, especially for B2B companies. Despite the booming trend, we must consider some realistic concerns.
Why aren’t there more success stories for B2B companies in this YouTube marketing frenzy? Let’s delve into the definition of YouTube marketing and explore its application to B2B companies.
What is YouTube Marketing?
Video marketing involves creating videos to promote products or services as part of content marketing. YouTube marketing specifically refers to uploading these videos to YouTube for promotional purposes.
These videos offer detailed product descriptions and user reviews, addressing the shortcomings of traditional blog or photo/text-based content.
YouTube is a platform exposed to global audiences, with minimal language barriers and easy integration with other social media channels. This allows for global marketing with brief content.
Additionally, YouTube marketing has the advantage of generating revenue through video content. For instance, paying influential YouTubers to experience and review products.
YouTube Guide for B2B Companies
So, is YouTube marketing effective for B2B companies? To answer directly, it’s unlikely.
Building a successful YouTube channel and using it for marketing is harder and slower than becoming a successful YouTuber.
The costs and time involved in producing YouTube content are substantial, and creating engaging content increases these costs further.
Despite the significant resources invested, successful cases are rare.
Although there is a possibility of success on YouTube, the likelihood is extremely low compared to the resources invested.
Some clients contact us out of curiosity after seeing references from so-called professional YouTube marketing agencies. They might start after observing famous online success cases.
However, these are merely rare success stories, and we can confidently say that 99.99% of B2B companies fail on YouTube.
Are There Successful B2B YouTube Marketing Cases?
For those skeptical about whether B2B YouTube marketing can succeed, let’s analyze B2B and G2C YouTube marketing cases.
Stone Gold’s Pet Rock
Stone Gold, a Korean company selling decorative stones, was significantly impacted by the construction industry’s downturn.
While contemplating ways to boost sales, employee Kim Myung-sung began uploading videos, which surprisingly garnered significant views.
A simple video of washing stones recorded over 9 million views, sparking interest in Stone Gold’s ‘pet rock,’ which was sold for 10,000 KRW and sold out the prepared 150 sets, reflecting its popularity. Pet rocks are ordinary rocks that are treated like pets: decorated with outfits, painted with faces, and given names and beds.
Subscribers who favored Stone Gold’s content suggested the company introduce ‘pet rocks,’ a trend at the time.
Although the ‘pet rock’ gained considerable attention, it was primarily a B2C product and a brand awareness event rather than a significant sales driver.
Analyzing the YouTube channel, despite uploading 60 pieces of content, the average views are only about 7,900.
Even with frequent, well-crafted updates, the results are disappointing. Although some interviews mentioned slight B2B sales improvement after YouTube success, it’s inappropriate to view Stone Gold’s video marketing as significantly beneficial.
In conclusion, while increasing B2C customers can improve Stone Gold’s awareness, it is not an effective method for boosting B2B product sales relative to the resources invested.
Chungju City’s YouTube Channel
Compared to other local government YouTube channels, Chungju City’s channel is highly successful.
The most viewed video uses the ‘Coffin Dance’ meme to promote social distancing, surpassing 500,000 views within three days.
Despite lower quality than other government videos, it succeeded by capturing user preferences and humor points, known as B-grade marketing.
However, would company executives support such an approach for their YouTube channel?
The channel’s success was due to the bold decisions of a manager who uploaded content without higher approval during weekends.
It’s challenging to choose and maintain a B-grade concept without internal support, making B2B YouTube marketing with such concepts virtually impossible.
Why B2B YouTube Marketing is Difficult
Many are considering other marketing channels besides YouTube.
Blogs can quickly secure traffic if the posted content demonstrates expertise or covers rarely discussed topics.
Instagram, on the other hand, is a platform for showcasing lifestyle and browsing affluent individuals, making it unsuitable for B2B purposes. Global brands use Instagram to display brand identity rather than drive sales.
YouTube’s success is determined by the algorithm.
Unless you handle popular, creative, and engaging content, your chances of failure are high.
Investing time and resources in other marketing strategies may yield better results than relying on YouTube’s uncertain success.
YouTube Marketing Guide for B2B Businesses
I once bought an electronic device and read the user manual. Despite the clear illustrations, the installation was still challenging.
Suddenly, I searched for the product name on YouTube and found a video demonstrating the installation process. Although it wasn’t official content from the brand, it was incredibly useful.
For B2B companies, YouTube channels can be particularly useful for showing how to use or operate products through video. Videos are far more effective at conveying information than written manuals, offering stronger delivery and higher satisfaction.
Additionally, YouTube can serve as a portfolio to showcase the company’s success stories. Videos of these achievements can be far more memorable than text or photos.
Therefore, it’s recommended to use YouTube for B2B businesses primarily to deliver necessary information conveniently.
However, it’s best not to expect high view counts, subscriber growth, or significant sales impact from YouTube.
If You Still Need YouTube Marketing
Searching for YouTube marketing on Google will reveal numerous agencies.
Unfortunately, many lack a deep understanding of ‘marketing’ despite their video expertise.
If considering YouTube marketing, ensure to work with individuals who confidently present successful B2B references (though none exist).
Consult with scriptwriters, producers, and cast with YouTube success experience, but be prepared for ambiguous responses regarding expected outcomes.
Conclusion: The B2B Marketing Landscape
Growth Marketing Agency integrates insights and expertise gained from various B2B and B2G marketing strategies to provide robust B2B marketing strategies.
We pride ourselves on the most efficient media strategies for B2B marketing.
If you’re contemplating which channels and methods to choose for B2B marketing, we recommend discussing it with Growth Marketing Agency.
