B2B Video Marketing: Millennial Buyers Deep Dive

Millennials are the first generation to have grown up in the world of multimedia and, as a result, have more access to the content they consume and are more critical when it comes to what they view.

Our research study, “B2B Video Marketing: The Power Of Video In The B2B Buyer’s Journey”, examined the role that video plays throughout the B2B buying process. Due to Millennials’ unique preferences, it’s worth taking a deeper look into how ingrained video is in their content consumption habits.

Key Highlights

• 96% of Millennials say video is important when deciding to move forward in the decision-making process.
• 81% of Millennials say they prefer video over written formats for troubleshooting.
• 80% of Millennials say they prefer video over written formats for learning how to use a product or service, and
• 70% of Millennials say that video is the most helpful content format when creating awareness of business-related problems.
  

Marketing to B2B Millennial Decision-Makers

Marketing to Millennials is no longer future-thinking; it is marketing to today’s B2B buyers and decision-makers. Over half (52%) of respondents self-identified as Millennials between the ages of 26 and 41 years old at the time of the survey, and 42% of this Millennial group are currently in VP/SVP and executive roles at their respective organizations.

Nearly all Millennials (96%) say that video is important when deciding to move forward in the decision-making process, and for 70% of them, video is the most helpful content format when creating awareness of business-related problems, beating out other formats significantly.

Generational Differences: Viewing Frequency

Millennials have developed different habits and expectations than the generations before them when it comes to consuming business-related content. Our research shows that video is the overwhelming preference for this group. It is essential for businesses to adapt their marketing strategies to meet these demands. If you haven’t transformed your marketing with video, you’re behind the curve and will likely miss enormous opportunities to engage with this demographic.

Millennials watch far more video than generations before them, with over one-quarter (26%) watching video 10+ times in the last three months, compared to just 9% of those in the Generation X and Baby Boomer generations. Similarly, one in five professionals in the older generations report watching no business-related video at all in the last three months, compared to approximately one in twenty (6%) Millennials.

Video Impact Post-Purchase

Millennials feel strongly about the impact video has in the post-purchase stages of a B2B buying journey. Nearly all (97%) professionals in this age group agree that video content and communication is useful in the post-purchase stages of their buying journey.

A significant portion of this group prefers video over written formats for post-purchase situations. For instance, 80% of Millennials prefer video for learning how to use a product or service, and 81% prefer video over written formats for troubleshooting.

In what ways do Millennials find video most helpful? Over half (53%) report that video is most helpful in sharing information with peers/colleagues who could also benefit from their recent purchase.

Video Availability is Important to Millennials

So how can B2B businesses reach today’s increasingly Millennial workforce? Have video content available for prospects and customers to explore and engage with throughout their entire buying journey. This means not only hosting video content on your company website but meeting your customers with video across all touchpoints throughout their journey with your brand.