Marketing with Visuals and Video: The Suitability of Pinterest and YouTube for B2B

I’ve been writing about the benefits of including social media in your B2B marketing mix. This week I‘m covering Pinterest and YouTube.

Specifically, I’m focusing on B2B transportation and logistics companies in the space.

Unlike the other social media platforms covered, Pinterest and YouTube focus on visual and video marketing.

B2B Video Marketing

Visual Marketing for B2B

Both Pinterest and YouTube offer opportunities to broaden your exposure and increase and enhance customer engagement.

Given these advantages, you’ll want to integrate visual and video into your overall content marketing strategy.

According to a 2015 Social Media Marketing Industry Report by Social Media Examiner, visual and video marketing are growing.

• 57% of marketers use video marketing today
• 73% of marketers plan to increase their use of visuals
• 72% plan increase their use of video marketing

As the popularity of visual and video increases, you’ll want to select the platforms that best meet your needs.

This post will help you decide whether Pinterest and/or YouTube may work for you.

Let’s first look at what Pinterest offers. Then we’ll explore YouTube.

Should B2B Marketers Consider Pinterest

Pinterest took social media by storm in 2010. It was one of the fastest growing social sites, growing to over 70 million active users.

Its founder, Ben Silberman, calls it a social discovery tool. It uses photos, videos, and now has a messaging capability similar to email.

As of May 2015, women make up 85% of all users. And their primary interests are fashion, décor, recipes, weddings, and babies.

You might say, this sounds this sounds a lot like B2C. And you’d be right. It’s turning into an effective B2C e-commerce site. But it B2B companies also use Pinterest. About 33% of Fortune 500 companies maintain a presence.

Only 39% of B2B marketers use Pinterest compared to 49% B2C marketers. (2015 Social Media Marketing Industry Report.)

However, whether Pinterest is right for you, depends on your social media expectations. If gaining exposure through increased distribution is important, Pinterest might fit the bill.

Additionally, if you’re interested in improving engagement, then Pinterest might work. Pinterest scores high on engagement due to its unique layout. Its design transforms how information gets organized on the web. The heavy use of photos is a game-changer.

Its layout looks like a storefront. Ben Silberman wanted people to intuitively discover information on the web. And the browser experience does that, resulting in increased engagement.

That’s important because the average order value of a Pinterest user is much higher than that of Facebook and Twitter.

Pinterest also works well with mobile devices such as the iPad and Apple and Android smart phones. This bodes well for the future, as we trend away from desktop use.

Clearly, Pinterest offers some unique features and benefits.

Now, let’s explore YouTube.

YouTube – A Proven Social Media Powerhouse

According to Alexa, YouTube has over 1 billion users. As a website, it ranks third behind Google (1) and Facebook (2).  

Its size makes it a favorite among B2B marketers. According to the Center for Marketing Research, 67% of Fortune 500 companies have a YouTube channel.

You can find YouTube in 75 countries. With so many people in so many countries on YouTube, gaining exposure comes easily.

Moreover, 66% of marketers say they plan to increase their use of YouTube. Fifty-five percent of both B2B and B2C marketers use YouTube. (2015 Social Media Marketing Industry Report.)

Also, video helps improve customer engagement by creating an experience. According to Google, hundreds of millions of people watch YouTube monthly. And, compared to last year, the number of hours watched monthly YouTube has increased by 50%.

YouTube offers major benefits for B2B marketers.

Now, let’s uncover some key trends for both sites.

B2B Social Media Trends for Pinterest+ and YouTube

Based on the 2015 Social Media Marketing Report, YouTube and Pinterest are the fifth and sixth most commonly used social media platforms, following Facebook (1), Twitter (2), LinkedIn (3) and Google+ (4).

Use of Pinterest, meanwhile, is not far behind. Fifty-one percent of marketers indicate they plan to increase their use of Pinterest. However, only 42% of those represent B2B marketers.

The same study highlights three emerging social media trends:  

•  Increased use of visual marketing 
• Increased use of video marketing
• Expansion of mobile computing

Content marketing is growing and changing. It’s becoming a core competency, as some companies move to self-publishing.

Besides that, content marketing is becoming more customer-focused. That translates into story telling marketing, which naturally enhances engagement. If you don’t grab your customer’s attention, your content will fail.

But that’s not all.

Content must also reside where your customers hang out. So it’s important to post and distribute content where it will be read. Otherwise, if no one reads it, your content is D.O.A.

Both Pinterest and YouTube are riding the wave of the future.

Conclusion

When it comes to choosing a social media platform, there is no “right” answer.

You can make any social media platform work to satisfy our needs. And both Pinterest and YouTube show great promise for the future.

That leads to the question: “Which one should you use”?

Even though Pinterest can be made to work… its user base and market opportunities favor B2C marketers. Presently, it’s simply more suitable for retail.

All things considered, there’s no reason you shouldn’t use YouTube. You can use YouTube either as a stand-alone channel or you can integrate it with your blog, articles, and website content. 

Integrating YouTube into your marketing mix will help you increase distribution and enhance customer engagement. It achieves both easily, making YouTube a clear choice for any B2B marketer.

If you have any questions, you may contact me by phone or email. I’d like to know what you think. Leave your comments directly on my blog.

Check out these links for more detailed information.

Social Media Trends: http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/social-media-marketing-trends-gaining-traction-in-2015-new-research/

5 Great Pinterest B2B Accounts: http://blog.tailwindapp.com/great-pinterest-b2b/

5 Ways to Take Your Pinterest Marketing to the Next Level: http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/pinterest-marketing-next-level/

For Better B2B Video Marketing, Check out the Top B2B Companies on YouTube: http://www.toprankblog.com/2012/07/need-better-better-video-marketing-check-out-the-top-b2b-companies-on-youtube/

How to Choose Social Media Platforms: http://www.melissaleiter.com/how-to-choose-social-media-platforms/

YouTube Statistics: https://www.youtube.com/yt/press/statistics.html

Thanks and have a great week!

Alex Milo

B2B Copywriter and Consultant

“Helping Transportation and Logistics Companies Generate Leads with Compelling Content” 

Phone: 256-886-4684
Email: amilo@b2bcopywriting-alexmilo.com

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