Trust Becomes Top Priority for 94% of Marketers

Video Use Reaches New Levels

According to recent data, 78% of B2B marketers now employ video in their ads. 56% of people want to use more videos in the next year, while 20% are just starting to use video marketing.

Short-form social video has the best return on investment (41%), followed by brand storytelling (38%) and testimonials with demos (34%). The main goals of video campaigns are to raise awareness (35%), develop trust and credibility (29%), and get people to take action (23%).

Authenticity Tops Selection Criteria

When choosing B2B creators and influencers, 58% of marketers say that authenticity and trustworthiness are the most important things to look for. Industry relevance comes in second at 49%, followed by brand alignment at 47%, subject matter expertise at 47%, and audience engagement at 45%.

Thought leaders and industry experts are the best types of influencers, according to 28% of firms. Customers of the company come in second at 23%, independent creators come in third at 20%, industry partners come in fourth at 15%, and workers of the company come in fifth at 14%.

Measurable Impact All the Way Down the Funnel

Companies that work with creators get many benefits in terms of performance. Influencer marketing increases brand awareness by 39%, lead generation by 30%, and revenue by 30%.

The biggest gaps in performance are in customer interaction through:

• content and advertising (39%)
• brand recognition growth (39%)
• creating thought leadership in the industry (32%)
• moving into new markets (31%)

Investment Plans Are Growing Strongly

A lot of organisations already use influencer marketing. 55% are doing it right now, and 29% want to do it next year. Eighty-three percent of teams that employ influencer programs are more likely to acquire bigger budgets than teams that don’t use them (58%).

More Mature Videos Get Better Results

LinkedIn observed that the number of B2B advertisers employing video went up by 12% from one year to the next. Video completions went up by 34%, and view-through rates went up by 3.8 percentage points.

Research suggests that videos that make people feel something get 44% more views and twice as many completions. Short-form video has a 17% higher completion rate, and video content in general has a 26% higher brand favorability and a 19% higher intent to buy compared to static material.

The Trust System Takes the Place of the Old Funnel

The study gives us tools to help us learn how to develop trust. It explains how video gets people interested, producers build trust, good content strengthens brands, and advocates spread the word.

There are five levels in the Trust Maturity Index: Experimenting, Emerging, Aligned, Advocate, and Optimised. 

Companies grow by moving from using video for short-term goals to forming long-term partnerships with creators that develop trust and encourage support.

Suggestions for a Full-Funnel Strategy

Companies should make sure that video and creator content are in sync at all stages of the buyer’s journey for the best results. Top-of-funnel uses short films and thought leadership content to get people interested. Mid-funnel builds trust by sharing videos of customer testimonials and conversations with influencers. Bottom-of-funnel helps people make decisions by showing them product demos and case study films.

Collaboration Across Functions Is Necessary

Companies that use trust-building tactics have more success and buy-in from their employees. Compared to teams that only use traditional methods, teams that use influencer programs are more likely to predict budget increases.

The study says that marketers should look at how people are currently using video and creators, ensure that content formats match the stages of the funnel, and put money into programs that focus on credibility and real stories.