How to Turn Subject-Matter Expertise Into Engagement: B2B Short-Form Video Content

How to Turn Subject-Matter Expertise Into Engagement: B2B Short-Form Video Content

More and more B2B brands are pressing play on video content, and it's redefining how companies engage online.

Fully 78% of B2B marketers currently use video in their programs, and 56% plan to increase their investment in B2B video marketing within the next year, according to the 2025 B2B Marketing Benchmark Report from LinkedIn and research firm Ipsos.

What's more, almost half of B2B marketers say short-form social video content delivers the highest ROI, according to the same report, which also found that about 58% of marketers choose B2B influencers based on authenticity and credibility, while nearly half prioritize industry relevance and subject-matter expertise.

Short-Form Video and Subject-Matter Experts

You don't have to look far to see those findings in practice. Many of today's leading B2B brands are prioritizing short-form video content in their marketing strategies, in large part due to its effectiveness in building trust and connecting with target audiences.

And most of those videos feature subject-matter experts (SMEs) who provide insights on specific topics and areas of specialization.

Consider Salesforce's Instagram strategy. Some of the company's most-viewed reels showcase influencers or in-house experts demonstrating Salesforce products in ways that are both compelling and easy to understand.

For example, one Salesforce reel with around 15,200 views spotlights an SME at Salesforce explaining how to land an entry-level role with AI.

Authentic, expert-led short-form videos can effectively engage B2B audiences, ultimately driving real results.

Expert-driven, bite-sized videos are a valuable tool for reaching key decision-makers.

To stay ahead, creatives working with B2B brands may want to focus on mastering SME-centered strategies tailored for TikTok, Instagram Reels, and other forms of short-form video content.

Four Ways to Use Short-Form Video

Here's how marketers and creatives can effectively integrate SMEs into their short-form video campaigns to maximize reach, engagement, and trust with the companies they serve.

1. Emphasize information-sharing and education

SME-driven content should be informative and practical, and it should provide viewers with a clear takeaway related to a specific technology, topic, or issue.

That approach helps potential buyers understand how a product works, the value it can bring to their organization, or the broader problem it addresses. It can also help current clients discover products they aren't yet using but may want to add to their existing services.

Shopify is a great example of a brand using short-form video content to inform and educate its audience. In a recent reel highlighting "underrated features" in its Theme Editor, Shopify clearly demonstrates tips and capabilities that many users may not have discovered on their own.

The video could also help convert prospective clients who were previously on the fence but became convinced after seeing the Theme Editor in action.

Expert-led content can also help educate audiences on broader global issues they may not be familiar with, while highlighting how a company is addressing those challenges.

Consider the Siemens reel highlighting the company's microgrid project on Terceira Island, developed in collaboration with Fluence. The video not only introduces the microgrid initiative but also explains its potential impact, exploring how the microgrid can "cut diesel use by over 1,150 metric tons each year" and lower "CO2 emissions by more than 3,600 tons annually."

The video's 20,000 viewers have gained insight into the project's significance and into Siemens' capabilities in building sustainable energy solutions.

SME-centered, short-form video content that focuses on actionable knowledge helps prospective clients make informed buying decisions, shows current customers new ways to get more from the services they already use, and gives all viewers a clearer understanding of the company's work and impact.

As a result, this type of content drives B2B brand engagement while serving as a trusted resource for both current and future stakeholders.

2. Highlight actual, relatable experts

Another way to maximize the impact of SME content is to be highly intentional about which thought leaders are showcased.

IBM executes this seamlessly across its social media platforms. In a recent "We're Mainframers" TikTok post, which has around 16,000 views, the company spotlights real mainframers who explain their jobs in a fun, approachable way (tapping into the popular "We're XYZ-type of person" TikTok trend).

By introducing real experts, using a popular trend, and making the content relatable, IBM draws viewers in with an entertaining format and keeps them engaged by revealing what mainframers do and why their work matters.

Companies can also showcase customers in different industries who use their products. Adobe regularly employs the tactic on TikTok, and it pays off.

Adobe's TikTok on Mato Wayuhi, who uses Adobe for their music, has over 2.3 million views. Similarly, the brand's TikTok showcasing Likha Filipino Kitchen using Adobe to create the restaurant's daily menu has more than 700,000 views.

Those videos provide viewers with a glimpse into the ways professionals can apply Adobe's suite of products for a range of use cases.

Featuring genuine, relatable professionals as experts not only adds authenticity to short-form video but also helps audiences connect with the content on a deeper level and builds trust. And it drives engagement by making products accessible through entertaining, real-world stories.

3. Keep content relevant

Just as important as sharing pertinent information and picking the right SMEs is making sure the content you're creating is relevant. As noted earlier, IBM's "we're mainframers" video is one successful example of how to create effective content that's connected to what's currently relevant.

However, smaller marketing teams or B2B brands without the bandwidth to keep up with constantly shifting news and trends can still stay relevant without needing to monitor every development in real-time.

One example is the enduring popularity of "day in the life" videos, which have evolved from longer-form vlogs audiences have closely followed on YouTube for nearly a decade. For instance, Upwork's "Day in the Life" Reel of a parent who uses the platform for freelancing has over 11,000 views.

Such videos continue to resonate because they offer a relatable, behind-the-scenes look that remains timely, even as platforms and formats change.

4. Lean into creativity

One thing many of the most popular TikToks and reels from B2B brands have in common? They aren't stale. They attract eyeballs through artful visuals, clear captions, and well-thought-out concepts in addition to the practical wisdom and informative insights.

And although a large marketing budget can help produce polished videos, it's hardly a requirement, and it's not always what resonates most. As in the IBM and Upwork example, a client filming their workday or an employee recording on an iPhone in the office can be just as effective, if not more so, than a highly produced video.

Authenticity, expertise, and creativity can go a long way when optimizing short-form video strategies.

By sharing educational content, spotlighting real experts, and tapping into trends, complex topics are made accessible and businesses build trust with key audiences.

Invest in genuine expertise, and brand engagement won't just follow, it'll flourish.

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If you need help with your email, web site, video, or other presentation to promote your company, product, or service, please give me a call at 330-815-1803 or email me at john@x2media.us

Until next month. . . .remember. "you don't get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression." Always make it a good one!!

The Real Reason Your Shiny New Product Isn't Converting

The Real Reason Your Shiny New Product Isn't Converting

You have a technically sound product, sure to disrupt the market. You've invested heavily in R&D, engineered something truly innovative, and you're confident in the value you deliver.

So why is your sales pipeline stuck?

For marketing leaders in B2B companies (particularly those in industrial tech, hardware, or software infrastructure), that scenario is frustratingly familiar.

Often, the assumption is that the market needs more education. Or that it's just "a long sales cycle." Or that maybe the product is too niche.

But after 20+ years in marketing and sales across fast-growing B2B environments, I've found it's rarely a product problem. It's a messaging-bottleneck problem.

And that bottleneck is almost always internal.

It's not that buyers don't get it, it's that we're making it too hard to understand

The deeper and more technical your product, the more tempting it is to lead with its functionality instead of its benefits.

You build a value proposition that makes perfect sense to your engineers, your internal champions, and your technical founders, but not to the people trying to buy.

And when your story doesn't translate, you start to hear things like...

• "We like it, but we're not sure we're ready yet."

• "We're still trying to understand how this fits with what we already have."

• "We need to socialize this internally."

Those aren't objections. They're signals. What they're saying is, "I don't fully understand the value, and I'm not going to spend the next two weeks figuring it out."

In a market flooded with options, clarity isn't a nice-to-have, it's a competitive edge.

Great products don't sell themselves, especially when they're complex

Working with brilliant engineering teams, innovative founders, and product-first organizations. The throughline? Everyone wants the product to "speak for itself."

But it won't. Not in enterprise. Not in manufacturing. Not in industrial IoT. And not in a world where your buyer has 10 tabs open and multiple stakeholders to convince.

If your product requires a 30-minute call just to explain what it does, you've already lost half your audience. Not because they don't care, but because they don't have the time, the context, or the technical fluency to connect the dots.

The problem isn't complexity, it's translation

Not saying your product needs to be dumbed down. We are saying your messaging needs to do its job at the speed of your buyer's attention.

That means:

• Your headline should pass the "10-second test."

• Your website should feel like a walkthrough, not a glossary.

• Your decks should be layered for multiple audiences, not one-size-fits-all.

• Your positioning should lead with outcomes, not features.

Because when buyers see the value quickly, they lean in. When they don't, they move on.

How are you positioning your product to customers?

Here's the part many teams skip: identifying the actual pain your customer is feeling right now and then building the story around how your product solves it.

Too often, messaging starts with what the product does instead of positioning the product as the answer to the problems the customer is struggling with.

Let's say your customer is a manufacturing unit manager in a high-volume facility. That person's team is constantly fighting downtime, juggling outdated monitoring systems, and struggling to prove ROI to leadership. If your product automates diagnostics or prevents failures before they escalate, that's not just a "feature." That's the relief they've been looking for.

Your job is to identify the customer's pain before you position the product. Try to create a storyline on how your product not only solves the issues at hand but also makes the customer a hero in the eyes of the stakeholders.

It's not about adding more features to the slide deck. It's about showing how your product removes the blockers standing in the way of your customer's success. That story is what gets remembered, shared, and championed internally.

If you're not solving an urgent problem your customer can recognize in themselves, no amount of technical excellence will carry the deal across the line.

Who's getting it right (And what you can learn from them)

Some of the most effective B2B companies aren't simplifying the product; they're clarifying the story.

Take the Interceptor suite of products, for example. Rather than diving into technical jargon, its messaging leads with a clear value promise: "The Interceptor product line is a modular platform designed to monitor, control, and automate critical functions across multiple industries."

The messaging doesn't overwhelm you with specs; it tell you exactly what the product empowers you to do.

Or look at Figma, which launched with "what you see is what you build." Members of its audience knew exactly what they'd get and how it would change their workflow.

The key takeaway: if your buyers can't, in one sentence, repeat what you do, they're not going to champion you internally.

Unblock your messaging in four steps

If you suspect your brilliant product is stuck in the funnel because the message isn't landing, start with the following four steps.

1. Test the 'explain it to a colleague' rule

Find people outside your function—Operations, HR, Finance—and ask them to read your homepage. Can they explain your value prop in under 20 seconds? If not, you've got work to do.

2. Map your messaging to stakeholders

Your technical buyer wants depth. Your economic buyer wants outcomes. Your champion wants internal credibility. Each needs a version of the story that makes sense from their seat.

3. Lead with the Why, not the How

You can always go back to how your product works. But if the "why this matters now" isn't clear in the first five seconds, you're creating friction that kills momentum.

4. Use the language your customers already use

This one is the fastest fix, and often the most overlooked. Spend time on support tickets, sales calls, and onboarding recordings. Pull the actual words your buyers use to describe the problem. That's your messaging goldmine.

You can't afford to let messaging be an afterthought, especially if you're selling a complex product. Buyers don't reward depth alone. They reward clarity, relevance, and confidence.

If your product is solid but conversion is soft, don't rewrite the road map. Rethink how you're telling the story.

Because in B2B the best product doesn't always win. The clearest one does.

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If you need help with your email, web site, video, or other presentation to promote your company, product, or service, please give me a call at 330-815-1803 or email me at john@x2media.us

Until next month. . . .remember. "you don't get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression." Always make it a good one!!

The 4Es of Video: How to Align Your Marketing Content Strategy With Buyer Expectations

The 4Es of Video: How to Align Your Marketing Content Strategy With Buyer Expectations

Although every business has its unique set of marketing challenges, all those challenges seem to stem from one root cause: the changing behaviors and expectations of today's buyers.

Customers want a sense of connection with brands, and most of that now happens digitally. They want to learn and engage on their own time, and they expect friction-free experiences when researching new topics or learning about vendors. They rarely want to block off time to speak with real people, yet they expect and crave a sense of personal connection to what your company does, and how.

In response to those shifting trends, video has emerged as a powerful content format for marketers. It offers new ways to show, rather than tell, how your product or service can help, and it can create more meaningful connections and earn the trust of buyers before they ever engage your sales team.

And, it can do all that in an on-demand format that respects the time and preferences of today's online audiences.

Effective video content marketing focuses on the unique attributes of video that can make it more useful than traditional static content—what is refered to as the 4Es of video.

The 4Es of Video

1. Education

Video is the best way to educate audiences who are searching for answers throughout their buying journey.

Video can explain complex topics, and it's more consumable and memorable than static content. In fact, the human brain processes visual information much faster than it does text.

You can use video content to clearly answer questions your audience may have, visually demonstrate how to solve a problem, or walk people through your product or service in a way that is clear, concise, and memorable.

Put your own preference to the test: If you wanted to learn about how a product works, would you prefer to read a guide, talk to a sales rep, or watch a demonstration online?

2. Engagement

Video is a great way to engage audiences, pull them into your story, and maximize their content consumption time.

Video uses visuals, audio, music, and creative storytelling to give audiences something relatable that piques their interest. Using video, you can create suspense, stimulate curiosity, and offer a tremendous amount of value in a short time.

And that doesn't apply just to video advertisements and promotions; you can make any topic more engaging with a thoughtful approach to visual storytelling.

3. Emotion

Video content can stimulate an emotional response from someone who is experiencing your brand for the first time—or coming back for more.

Whether it's a fun and creative social video, an inspiring interview, or a highly relatable customer story, invoking an emotional response will increase the chances that online audiences and consumers will come back for more content.

4. Empathy

Video can showcase empathy and create a human connection that goes deeper than messaging alone.

Empathy is important at every stage of the buying journey, as well as when potential buyers are looking for trustworthy answers to the questions they have. A short video featuring one of your employees, or one of your customers, clearly explaining a complex topic beats any text-based article for showing you truly understand your market and can relate to your buyers.

Using Video Content to Align Your Strategy With Buyer Expectations

Inbound marketing and content marketing have become a staple of modern marketing programs.

The premise of inbound marketing is to publish helpful online content as a means of attracting new visitors to your website, as opposed to using paid advertisements and other forms of "outbound" media to vie for their attention. The content you publish is typically aligned with the most common questions your prospects may be searching for, or the topics they need to learn about while researching possible solutions.

But the role of content has now expanded well beyond inbound marketing. To meet new expectations of the "on-demand" buyer, marketing teams are becoming responsible for an increasingly large portion of the customer lifecycle.

Those trends have spurred another important shift: the diversification of content mediums used to reach audiences, and the expanding role of content throughout the customer lifecycle.

When learning about new topics, particularly in the world of B2B, most people will choose to interact with a variety of content formats for both passive and active learning. Blog posts, guides, social media content, videos, explainers, podcasts, and even Clubhouse chat rooms may all play a role in how today's buyer self-educates and gets exposed to ideas and potential vendors.

As they dig deeper into potential solution providers, buyers increasingly prefer to consume on-demand, self-service content to better understand what vendors offer. Though that call with the sales rep may still be required at some point, most people prefer to learn on their own time for the majority of the consideration and decision phases of a buying journey.

That is exactly why savvy tech brand Marketo swapped its "Talk to Sales" calls to action on its website with ones that say "View a Product Tour." After doing so, the conversion rate on its website increased more than 1,000%. Engagement time on the website skyrocketed, and the time to qualify a new lead was shortened six-fold.

Of course, once prospects do become customers, their preferences don't suddenly change; and the way you treat them shouldn't, either. Well-planned onboarding videos and FAQ content can play a significant role in helping your customers realize value quickly and get off to a quick start.

Equally important, video content marketing demonstrates that you're willing to put in the time and resources to deliver the best possible experience for your customers.

It's an on-demand world, and business is becoming more and more virtual. The role of content is more important than ever: It is used to market, sell, and support your customers, and to do it all at scale.

And if your content strategy embraces rich media formats such as video, you'll find new opportunities to educate your prospects more quickly than ever, engage them with on-demand content that connects on an emotional level, showcase your empathy, and transform satisfied customers into raving fans.

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If you need help with your email, web site, video, or other presentation to promote your company, product, or service, please give me a call at 330-815-1803 or email me at john@x2media.us

Until next month. . . .remember. "you don't get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression." Always make it a good one!!