The insight: LinkedIn is seeing a surge in video engagement, and the clips that resonate most are unscripted moments where “real humans [talk] like real humans,” CMO Jessica Jensen said in a recent EMARKETER interview.
- Executives are being urged to drop overly produced assets in favor of quick, authentic posts, like a CEO casually sharing thoughts after a long workday.
- Humor is also on Jensen’s agenda for B2B, pointing to Adobe campaigns with Kristen Chenoweth and Chance the Rapper as examples of how levity can break through in enterprise marketing.
“I used to be a text poster,” Jensen said. “Now I’m a video poster, and lo and behold, my content performs better.”
Why it matters: 52% of US B2B marketers say they used video content last year, placing second amongst marketing formats in an Endeavor study.
Nearly half (45%) of B2B marketers incorporated product videos in their strategies last year, with educational videos shortly behind, according to one Wistia study. That report found that 35% of this cohort planned to produce social media videos last year, showing that informal, social-style content is a priority.
Our take: LinkedIn may have a vested interest in promoting video as it expands its Brandlink program, but the fact remains: Millennials and Gen Z now make up 71% of B2B buyers, per Forrester—and they expect the casual, video-first content they grew up with in their professional lives.