TikTok for B2B Marketing and Sales, Anyone?

TikTok has more than 800 million users and a global audience with an insatiable appetite for short videos.

In other words, it is the perfect platform for B2B marketing and sales. If you’re a B2B company, why not embrace a user-friendly, highly addictive platform that engages and entertains? It’s a no-brainer.

I’m not suggesting B2B companies actually jump on the TikTok bandwagon. But TikTok’s popularity shows the potential of short videos to capture the spotlight, turn prospects into leads, and nurture leads into customers.

B2 companies should combine TikTok’s approach to video with microlearning, a faster, more flexible, and engaging way to educate. The digital marketing love-child would be a combination of TikTok, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

First, let’s look at why TikTok is so popular. 

Content is designed for easy and ultra-fast consumption. It aligns with short attention spans and people who are notorious multitaskers.

TikTok delivers information in bite-sized pieces. It’s instant gratification brain candy, making it perfect the next-generation B2B buyers.

Still not convinced about TikTok’s B2B potential? Look at how it lines up against existing marketing and sales options:

• eBooks: Lots of people download them, few people read them. They involve too much work and time.
• Blog posts: Again, reading is a challenge for short attention spans.
• FAQs: All text, no video.
• Sales sheets: Boring. No one reads them.
• Videos: These days, one-minute videos seem long.

Now, think about the potential of a 15-second video:

For prospects, a super-short video offers rapid-fire insight into a product’s benefits and features.

Prospects can be easily nurtured. In fact, prospects will want to be nurtured if videos are entertaining and structured as episodes. When a product is upgraded, a new “season” of videos is published.

Customer testimonials can be short, sweet, and on point. Forget about flowery platitudes. It’s about instant show-and-tell. How did the product perform and why was it purchased?

You can update customers about new features in seconds. And if they want to learn more, offer a “long-form” two-minute video, or brands can extend the micro-learning concept with quizzes, audio, or games.

But wait, there’s more: embed videos into Websites, mobile apps, newsletters, and chatbots for instant and contextual consumption. 

Still with me?

Here’s a high-level action plan on how to embrace a TikTok approach to marketing and sales.

Pick a benefit or feature to highlight. Focus on a single point or aspect. One idea. One thought.

Then, write a script or create a storyboard.

Now, cut down the number of words by 25%. Heck, eliminate 50% of the words. Make the script super, super tight.

Insert a one-second pre-roll and a two-second post-roll to highlight a CTA.

Publish and pollinate on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. Then, embed in newsletters, onboarding emails, landing pages, blog posts, and presentations.

With this formula, create TikTok-like videos at scale. I’m talking dozens, if not hundreds.

Measure open and watch-through rates, and actions driven by CTAs.

See what works and make some more.

The B2B digital marketing is ripe for TikTok-like videos, just as it was eventually ready to embrace Instagram.

Millennials have already impacted the B2B buying process. They want the same kind of experience as B2C marketing.

And it’s only a matter of time before Gen Z, which has grown up consuming micro-updates and mini-videos.

TikTok, anyone?

I’m an action-oriented marketing professional who helps B2B brands move faster. I help them figure out why what they do matters to prospects and customers, and create strategic positioning and compelling content to drive actions.

For a free consultation, send me an email: mark@marketingspark.co or DM me on Twitter.