#240: Video in B2B: What Works, What Doesn’t, and Where to Start

#240: Video Strategy | In this episode, Danielle sits down with Connor Lewis, founder of Studio Lewis, to talk all things B2B video - what works, what doesn’t, and how to actually get started. Connor spent years building in-house video from the ground up before going solo. Now, he works with B2B brands on high-performing video ads and he’s here to break down what he’s learned.

Danielle and Connor cover:

• Why production value doesn’t matter as much as you think
• How to turn existing blog posts and webinars into watchable video
• What’s working on LinkedIn video in 2025
• How to get started with video without hiring an agency or a full-time team
• Simple formats that make video approachable

Timestamps

• (00:00) - – Intro to Connor
  
• (04:33) - – Learning video by doing: from intern to strategist
  
• (06:33) - – What’s working in B2B video on LinkedIn in 2025
  
• (08:00) - – Three types of videos that perform best
  
• (09:21) - – Why video ads aren’t the best place to start
  
• (10:14) - – How to turn top blog posts into YouTube videos that rank
  
• (12:07) - – Using video to refresh blog content and boost SEO
  
• (12:47) - – How to use video effectively for virtual and in-person events
  
• (13:41) - – Repurposing Q&A sections from webinars into high-performing short clips
  
• (15:36) - – Creating shorts from top audience questions
  
• (16:49) - – The only parts of video that really matter
  
• (17:36) - – Why “how I” beats “how to” every time
  
• (19:24) - – The “reverse Rambo” hook format and how to use it
  
• (21:23) - – How setting and authenticity improve engagement
  
• (22:52) - – Why stiff, overproduced videos are killing your reach
  
• (25:30) - – How to get started with video if you don’t have a team or budget
  
• (27:36) - – Why marketers need to get comfortable on camera
  
• (27:58) - – Podcasts as a powerful entry point into video
  
• (28:55) - – How to test video with a simple 4-part limited series
  
• (30:31) - – Low-budget options that still convert
  
• (30:59) - – Why product marketers often make the best video collaborators
  
• (31:43) - – Final advice: don’t wait until it’s perfect, just start!

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‍

Dave Gerhardt [00:00:00]:
You're listening to B2B marketing with me, Dave Gerhardt.

Danielle Messler [00:00:17]:
Hey, it's Danielle from Exit Five here. And in today's episode, I'm talking with Connor Lewis, the founder of Studio Lewis and a total expert when it comes to B2B video. We talked about a ton from why high production value doesn't actually matter that much to how marketers can get started with video without hiring a team or spending a fortune. He shared super tactical advice for B2B marketers. Whether you're trying to repurpose blog content, promote your next live event, or figure out how to make videos that don't just look good, but people actually watch. If video is on your plate this year or you just want to make better use of the content you're already creating, you're going to get a ton out of this one. I'm so excited to have you here today, Connor. So Connor Lewis is the founder of Studio Lewis? Yeah.

Danielle Messler [00:01:03]:
That's yours? Yeah, that's me. I mean, it has your name in it, right? An absolute expert in video for B2B, which is a really cool niche. I thought we would have him on today to talk like all things B2B video because that is such a hot topic. We see it in the community all the time at Exit Five. We get questions about it. We see people like looking to hire, especially as, I think important trend now as everyone's going to events and smaller events and how do you even address that and getting content and so yeah, I wanted to have you on today to chat about all things video. So yeah, Connor, tell us about yourself. Give us the lore as I like the lore.

Connor Lewis [00:01:41]:
Well, thanks for having me. This is already so fun. My name's Connor. I am the founder of Studio Lewis. But I didn't start as an agency owner. I started in house and I worked at an HR software place that had about 70 employees. Worked there for 5 years up until we had like 250 ish employees scaled from 10 million ARR to 100 million ARR. That was not all me.

Connor Lewis [00:02:04]:
I'm not taking credit for that. That was just like the trajectory that I was on.

Danielle Messler [00:02:08]:
Quite a ride, I imagine.

Connor Lewis [00:02:10]:
Oh yeah, we hosted huge events. We built a category, we built a small video team in house. That was crazy. And this was all like in the span of like 2019-2022, 2023.

Danielle Messler [00:02:24]:
Oh, nice. You had like the COVID era disruption too.

Connor Lewis [00:02:27]:
So like, yeah, pre Covid, a little bit post Covid. It was wild. And the strategy changed a lot to fit where people were at that point. So I saw a lot of different iterations of video. We tried so much different video too. We tried ads, we tried social, we tried YouTube, we tried events, like everything. So it taught me a lot about my point of view on video.

Danielle Messler [00:02:47]:
Yeah. So you had extensive experience in house and you kind of. We chatted a little bit before we started hitting record. And how did you approach even learning? Were you hired for video? Did you find yourself like in this niche?

Connor Lewis [00:03:02]:
I was hired for video, but it was like a risky hire at the time. It was 2018 and video wasn't hot then. We just had a pretty forward thinking director of marketing who hired me as like a video intern. This was baby Connor. And my main role was making sure that our videos looked good. And they were all talking head, Danielle. Like, they were all just straight to camera, educational, super straightforward. And then when it got more creative, like I was out of my comfort zone, then I had to learn animation.

Connor Lewis [00:03:31]:
I had to learn how to put together compelling scripts, which were all skills I didn't realize I was lacking. Until you get thrown into the job.

Danielle Messler [00:03:39]:
Yeah. And then you're like, wait, I'm kind of a producer instead of a marketer. But also both.

Connor Lewis [00:03:46]:
You go from this videographer role to, you're right, a producer role. And then eventually you have to level up to like some kind of strategist. Like, what videos should we make, Connor? With like, the questions I started getting asked and then I was like, well, shoot, I don't know. I should probably read up on this or test some stuff or come up with some theories. So, yeah, I started out in that world and learned so much from it.

Danielle Messler [00:04:07]:
Yeah. And now you specialize in helping B2B companies specifically with video ads, or do you do other types of video?

Connor Lewis [00:04:13]:
I did other types of videos for two years. But I'm in the Fletch school of marketing now where sticking with one niche and one use case is best. I ended up doubling down on ads just because that feels like the medium I know best at this point. I don't think that's always the best starting point for companies when it comes to video. But yeah, I have done it all and now I'm in the middle of a transition when it comes.

Danielle Messler [00:04:35]:
No, that makes sense. And that is like good to niche down. And I think we see that across a lot of the people in our network that have started out more broadly. Like, I do B2B video, or like Tess Wilber was like, I do all these things. Nope. I do landing pages.

Connor Lewis [00:04:47]:
You're Right, Yeah.

Danielle Messler [00:04:48]:
So I want to talk about. Well, obviously if you've been on LinkedIn or pretty much any platform, you know that like, video is here, it's not going away. We did the pivot to video.

Connor Lewis [00:04:59]:
Yeah, we did.

Danielle Messler [00:05:00]:
Probably a little PTSD from that phrase, but I feel like it's getting put on a lot of marketers plates that's like, hey, we should do a video or we should do a podcast and then use that video in some way. So what are you seeing across B2B video with your clients? And just like in our little world, I'd love to know what you're seeing in 2025 and what you saw last year and what you think we're going to see going forward.

Connor Lewis [00:05:25]:
Yeah. So I'll Talk specifically about LinkedIn video, because you brought that up and it's a hot space right now. It was because in 2024 we had those explosion of impressions that people kept boasting about that I'm sure you saw. And there were real impressions. Even though the engagement looked low, they were trying to push video really hard. And so it brought a lot of video creators to the platform. And I think now what we're seeing in 2025 is like this. We're settling into what kinds of videos we like as a community, as a larger platform, because I think that's still to be determined.

Connor Lewis [00:05:54]:
But the three things at least, that I've seen with clients that work the best on social video specifically and have worked for me for my own business is, number one, is building in public. I think there are a lot of creators you could point to who you probably know, how their business is doing and what they're doing. Vinmitano comes to mind from creator Buzz as an example. Building in public's really hot right now. It's not always the easiest thing to do if especially for businesses, but does work really well. The second one is, I call it edutainment. It's basically a mix of education. But how do we make it fun? Yeah, how do we bring us.

Connor Lewis [00:06:27]:
We're on zoom screens all day or a lot of are in SaaS at least. And so how do we bring it out of, you know, the virtual kind of we're at our desks with microphones world and make it a little more interesting. That's what I've. I've tried to be. I've been going outside, for instance, and just the change of setting alone has been like a pattern breaker and a good hook will kind of bring people in. So that's edutainment and then the third thing that I think is working really well is collaborations. I'm looking at like Devin Reed's between the Lines. I'm looking at Event Shark is doing a lot of different collaborations.

Connor Lewis [00:06:58]:
ClickUp is collaborating with even creators who are from Instagram. You're sharing other audiences when you do that, so you naturally get more reach and you get access to people you otherwise wouldn't have had access to. So those are the three things that I think are working on social video. That said, you don't have to do video to blow up on LinkedIn. Like there are text creators and carousel creators who are doing just as well.

Danielle Messler [00:07:19]:
Yeah, I did like one video and it did really well. But I, I don't know, I'm still. I think I'm more of a text creator than a video creator, but maybe a podcast will change it.

Connor Lewis [00:07:28]:
Yeah, this is your coming into yourself, Mom.

Danielle Messler [00:07:33]:
No, something you said really interesting a little earlier in the conversation was around video ads. And like, you don't think that companies should always start there. Tell me more about that. If not ads, where should they start and when is the point where you start actually bringing video into your ads mix?

Connor Lewis [00:07:48]:
Yeah, good question. I think a lot of people are premature with video ads because you have to have a good understanding of what kind of messaging works before you invest in that kind of creative. In my opinion, there's a really good way to get started, which is just doing virtual production ads. And by that I mean like animation ads or text on screen ads. Stuff that doesn't include like someone sitting in a studio with really nice professional lighting or you know, actors and locations and stuff like that. I feel like you should move into that realm once you've figured out messaging, once you have a bigger budget. But the, the virtual production is kind of a good place to start. But even before ads like V, we didn't really have a huge ad budget when I first started out.

Connor Lewis [00:08:27]:
And so what we did, we had an SEO based strategy and so a lot of our videos, a lot of my first videos in house that were actually really successful were just taking our best performing blog posts and turning them into how to videos specifically.

Danielle Messler [00:08:41]:
Interesting.

Connor Lewis [00:08:42]:
And the process for that I can share if that's interesting.

Danielle Messler [00:08:44]:
Yeah, yeah, definitely share that. So how do you do that? So say I have this like awesome blog post. How do I then get it into a video that people actually want to watch?

Connor Lewis [00:08:53]:
Yeah, good question. My process was we knew that we wanted to repurpose them for YouTube too, so I would use this tool called TubeBuddy. And TubeBuddy would tell me which it's basically an SEO ranking tool for YouTube. And so I'd try a bunch of different iterations of the title of the blog post and the content of the blog post, making it into a video title and then work towards the video from there. So for instance, we were an HR tech company, so we had the top 10 ways to engage your employees was a huge blog post for us. And at the time that we were making the videos, we were having a huge disengagement crisis called quiet quitting. And so yeah, yeah, one thing that was like really trending on YouTube at the time that people that there was a huge gap in the space for is like, why are people quiet quitting? Here are the top 10 ways. And so when I had that title and I saw that it ranked well, we backed into that title for the YouTube video and got around 6,000 views in about six months.

Connor Lewis [00:09:48]:
Which is pretty good for B2B.

Danielle Messler [00:09:50]:
No, that's great for B2B.

Connor Lewis [00:09:52]:
And when we just stapled that to the blog post, it gave it a huge refresh. We were able to say last written the current date that we posted the video which brought our ranking up. It also allowed it to show up in more search queries. So when people were looking this on Google, they could go over to the video tab and find us that way. We were even getting in the top ribbon of Google before Google AI was there. And so that was just a huge way to like double down on something that was already working for us and for most companies. To answer like your original question, which is how should people even think about getting started with video? I would just say double down on what's working. Video fits into blog posts, it fits into event marketing, it fits into ad campaigns.

Connor Lewis [00:10:34]:
Just like I was talking about, like if you are doing paid, then good use video and paid. If you're not doing paid, don't change strategies just to do the hot new video, you know?

Danielle Messler [00:10:43]:
Yeah, I like what you said about video for events. I think one of the things that it's like kind of a low hanging video fruit that I've done is like so say we have a virtual event coming up in a couple of weeks and one of the things I want to do pin in that if I find the time is you get like your key speakers just to record 10 to 15 seconds of them, like being excited about their session and what they're going to talk about and like releasing that. Getting people engaged, I feel like is a really Good way to incorporate it for events.

Connor Lewis [00:11:14]:
Totally agree. We did that in house, too. We. We ran an event called Optima, which was like our big conference, and we were nervous about getting people to actually show up for it. And we did one virtually too, and we were extra nervous about that one because virtual events, we always, at least we in house had this stigma that, like, no one wants to go to them. So how do we get people hyped? But we did have big speakers. So, yeah, I would say that getting your speakers just to do a quick little promo for you, 15, 20 seconds. And the more humid it is, the better.

Connor Lewis [00:11:40]:
Like if they're stiff, being like, in my session, we're going to talk about. No, maybe even put the producer who's asking the question in there, get a little laughter, like a quick summary of what they're going to talk about. And mostly they're going to be there to be with that person and ask them questions. So bring that up to. Yeah, I really like using speaker promos. Another thing that we did was for webinars, which is similar to a virtual event, we would actually to drive people to the webinar recording, which is a lead magnet for us at the time.

Danielle Messler [00:12:08]:
We.

Connor Lewis [00:12:09]:
We would take the Q and A section, not the actual content of the webinar, but the Q and A section. We'd repurpose the top questions into shorts, basically for social and for our newsletter. And so people would just click in, they'd see the number one question asked at the newsletter and what people seem to be responding to the most in chat. And that was a bigger lead magnet than when we just recapped the newsletter or like pulled a clip from. Or sorry, recapped the webinar or pulled a clip from the webinar because it was what our users were curious about. It's not what our predetermined agenda was. And so that was a huge unlock for us where it's like, oh, people really care about the Q and A for virtual events. Let's just keep boosting the Q and A.

Connor Lewis [00:12:47]:
And that created a really nice cycle for us.

Danielle Messler [00:12:49]:
Yeah, that's super smart. I'm even thinking of like our own webinars. Don't call them webinar. They're live sessions. That's like our little in thing, even though we call them internally webinars. But I digress. We always do a Q and A.

Connor Lewis [00:13:03]:
I like live session.

Danielle Messler [00:13:04]:
I do too. And it's like a webinar makes me think of, I'm just going to an online training that I have to check off a box. It brings me back to my corporate days where I'm just like when I was in finance and it was like, here's basically how to insider trade but don't do it. And it's like all these actors in horrible suits.

Connor Lewis [00:13:24]:
Yeah, no kidding. Yeah. Live session sounds like, oh, you're just hanging out with a bunch of musicians. Like we're jamming, we're. There's art happening here.

Danielle Messler [00:13:31]:
Yeah, we kind of describe it as like a live like podcast recording almost where we like bring in experts. Maybe it's on a teaching subject, maybe it's more panel style. But we always like love doing the Q and A section and we always kind of like rush through whatever the other stuff is to get to the Q and A because I mean we have built a really engaged audience and it's, it's a like self feeding cycle too. Right. It's like people show up, they know they're going to get their questions answered. It's really fun. People are adding their own stuff in there. But I think we can really even lean into that at Exit five with our recordings.

Danielle Messler [00:14:03]:
We do put them on the podcast and then we have the video. But I like that like narrowing in on that specifically the Q and A section as a short of like, hey, here's the top three questions, let's use that for video.

Connor Lewis [00:14:14]:
Yes. And you know, it makes such a good title too. I think what's underrated in social video especially is the actual text on screen that is in the first five seconds like is so important because it just contextualizes what they're about to watch. And for the Q and A, you just put the question on screen and if people have that question, they'll watch. If they don't, then the content's probably not for them anyway. So yeah, it makes itself and it creates this little feedback loop that's just beautiful.

Danielle Messler [00:14:40]:
I love it. So that's actually a good question. So you have the text on the like the actual video. Right. Is like you start what are I think like maybe like 3 to 4, 5 elements of B2B video you should like really focus on getting. Right. You said the YouTube title, having those first five seconds question on screen. I think we over index a lot of on like oh, the production has to be perfect and I have to get this awesome camera and the fancy microphone and make sure the setup's perfect.

Danielle Messler [00:15:11]:
But does that actually matter? Yeah.

Connor Lewis [00:15:16]:
I'm a high production agency and I'm here to tell you that it really doesn't matter that much, especially on LinkedIn. I spend as much time in the first five seconds as I do in the next five minutes, if you will. Because attention is just so scarce these days that like, if you're not hooking them immediately, then it's tough. And I can give you several tips on hooks. I'm sure everyone on LinkedIn can give you several tips on hooks if you're doing a gut check on your hook. Just like, does this succinctly tell people what the video is about? And. And do I probe on some kind of pain in the first few seconds? If you can do both of those, then you're usually pretty good. How I posts work better than how to posts.

Connor Lewis [00:15:53]:
So always speak from your own experience.

Danielle Messler [00:15:55]:
Ooh, that's interesting. I think I over index towards how to instead of how I not in my video. Just like in writing anyways.

Connor Lewis [00:16:03]:
In writing. Yeah. Well, it's tempting because you want to seem like an expert, but honestly, the posts that I've done where I'm speaking from my own experience do three times better than the one where I'm trying to grandstand. Even though it doesn't feel like I'm trying to grandstand. Whenever I say how to, I look back on it. I'm like, oh, wow, I really look like a know it all there, don't I?

Danielle Messler [00:16:22]:
Yeah. Any more tips on hooks? Cause I feel like, I mean, that's like kind of applicable across formats too, but like, video is really important.

Connor Lewis [00:16:31]:
Yeah, yeah, yeah. For hooks. I follow this person. He's been blowing up on LinkedIn a little bit. His name is Lewis Butterfield. Really cool dude. He has this hook format called the Reverse Rambo, which is really funny and I couldn't forget it. And it's worked for me, so I feel like I'll share it here.

Connor Lewis [00:16:47]:
Now, you basically say like a very common belief in your first line. You're like, for instance, everyone says that cold emailing is dead. I'm so sorry I used that example. But you know, I just saw today before this.

Danielle Messler [00:16:58]:
Yeah, yeah, it's all over LinkedIn.

Connor Lewis [00:16:59]:
That's a classic. Just say a common belief and then say the word but and say your point of view on that belief and then back it up with some kind of stat or back it up with some kind of personal experience. And then their third line is, and here's how you do it. It's so simple, like destroying that common belief and then here's how you do it. Works really well. That's one of many hook formats, another one is just like saying a bold statement. One of my posts that did really well is a building in public post. I just, like, declared that I almost went bankrupt at the beginning of 2024.

Connor Lewis [00:17:34]:
And, like, just sharing something so stark about yourself can catch people off guard and want to read more. So, like, what are you feeling bold enough to share about your business? About how you're thinking about marketing? If you're ahead of marketing, you can share about, like, some of the struggles you're running into with marketing and how you overcame them. So it's a story about empowerment that also boosts your personal brand, that also showcases your software. So, yeah, I mean, I could wax philosophical about hooks forever. There's no perfect hook format. There's just a lot of ones that do work pretty well.

Danielle Messler [00:18:07]:
Yeah. And I think, like you said, it's. You kind of have to experiment and, like, play with it a bit and figure out what works for you and feels good and you want to, like, keep owning in on. That's funny. You said the struggles you're having. I posted maybe like, two weeks ago. Last week on, I just had a subject line that just, like, totally flopped. And I thought it was gonna do really well.

Danielle Messler [00:18:30]:
The post did awesome. Cause everyone was like, oh, like, I love this. Everyone was, like, trying to, like, help me in the comments. And like, they're like, what was the subject line? And, like, how can we fix it? And it was really funny. I mean, not funny. It was really cool. Because, like, I also think, like, marketers are just inherently helpful people too.

Connor Lewis [00:18:46]:
And you know what I love about that little anecdote that you shared is LinkedIn is full of bravado. It's full of people saying, I did it right. All the I always do it right. And so for someone to be like, I actually struggled with this thing, and here's how it made me reflect on my own thinking that stands out just on its own by its ethos. That is something that's interesting. You're being honest with us.

Danielle Messler [00:19:06]:
Well, it goes back to something you said earlier, too, which I think is interesting. Around, like, pattern interruption, like, just filming videos outside instead of, like, talking head at your desk with, like, perfectly styled background and manicured head. Yeah, exactly. I actually. I put on makeup today, so never do that.

Connor Lewis [00:19:24]:
Let's go.

Danielle Messler [00:19:25]:
But even, like, going outside, Dave posts videos from outside all the time. Because normally when you think, like, B2B video, you're like, okay, like, I'm at a perfect office or I'm, like, sitting at my desk, but it's like, oh hey, this person's outside. Maybe I should watch it cuz my brain is activated because it's different. I'm not conditioned to just like ignore it because I've seen it 10,000 times on LinkedIn.

Connor Lewis [00:19:44]:
You're so right. When it comes to pattern interrupt, the first person that comes to mind is Liam Moroney from Storybook Marketing. For me, he literally just has three to four minute videos where he's sitting outside, there's no editing and he's talking about a concept and sometimes it's even like snowing on his head and you're like, how are you cold, man? But also you're making really good points right now. I think it's very tempting to copy what seems to be working for other people, but by doing that you're automatically blending in. So like, how can you make something that's unique in your own. There's another person. I'm sorry, I'm just like name dropping and referencing.

Danielle Messler [00:20:15]:
No, go for it.

Connor Lewis [00:20:16]:
Renee Shah from Too Long didn't view tldv. It's like a recording software. She's awesome in that she has this like quirky personality and she brings you around her town as she's talking about something that she's doing. If it feels like you're having fun with it, if it feels authentic to you, then it's going to do better. Because people can inherently feel that in the video. If you're stiff and in front of the camera and you're doing something that doesn't feel like you, they feel that too and they. And they tune off, you know.

Danielle Messler [00:20:43]:
Yeah. And even thinking about the video that I ended up doing and I was like excited about it because what I did was I just like recorded a bunch of little clips from like prepping for Drive last year of like us like unboxing all the T shirts and making all the boxes and what I was doing in like our hotel room, like trying to get the newsletter off. And that did really well because it felt also like authentic to me. More so than me like sitting down and being like, this is how you do content marketing. I am the expert.

Connor Lewis [00:21:12]:
Yeah. Yeah. Because people get to see the process. There's an obsession with process lately and I think it's really good because it leads to a lot more transparency in business. From my in house days, we had a video of our CEO in a suit talking to the camera and basically declaring the different types of updates that we did to the software this month. And then we had like a really laid back version of that too. That we tested where he wasn't in a suit, he was just like in a normal sweater. He was kind of sitting down with one of the engineers and talking through it.

Connor Lewis [00:21:42]:
And like we referenced a whiteboard and people liked the conversational one like three or four times more views and engagement. It's so tempting in B2B to just be on a high horse all the time, but really that's what's killing the videos is being on a high horse.

Danielle Messler [00:21:55]:
Yeah. And okay, so that actually leads into something else I want to talk about. And we touched on this a little bit before we hit record. But because video is so hot right now, a lot of marketing teams are probably getting it either put on their plates or they want to try experimenting with it. And like we were talking about like you had a super visionary head of marketing who was like, okay, we're gonna go hire like like specific video person. And I've been lucky to have that on my teams too. Like I, I worked at ProfitWell which like we had a whole studios team which was awesome and fun. Cause like, like our CEO was super bought in.

Danielle Messler [00:22:28]:
He was like no, this is the future, this is what we're doing. We did full shows and it was super fun, unlike pricing pages and retention sequences. And it was fun. But that being said, how do you go ahead with video? Like you said, if you're say I'm like a marketing manager that now needs to do video or wants to try video without having that like dedicated person. We talked about like the best performing blog posts. I think that's an awesome entry point. But what else would you say?

Connor Lewis [00:22:53]:
Yeah, I'm going to say this answer. Assuming that it's basically a solo head of marketing without too many team resources or money or the ability to hire an agency, stuff like that. So you're probably pretty early stage in those kinds of companies. I really think doubling down on whatever strategy you have, however you're going to market and seeing what's working, just try video in that area. You do not have to be a LinkedIn influencer to start on video. Honestly, it's one of the hardest videos to do because it's like nerve wracking and it's your public image and all those things and all of those are going to be blockers to you actually just getting started with video. And so if SEO is your strategy, the blog thing that we talked about. Perfect.

Connor Lewis [00:23:32]:
If you have a product led growth company, a lot of your marketing efforts are probably going to be focused on upgrades and so product updates, teaching people like educational Videos do so well in PLG companies with freemium trials. Putting those in the products, actually putting those in nurture sequences. And literally it can be as simple as like putting a phone on a tripod and having PowerPoint slides of the product updates. And just being really casual with it can go a really long way. There's this YouTube company that's trying to be the next search engine called I think I'm going to mess up their name, but it's something like the browser company. Their videos are entirely just the founder hopping in front of a computer and being like, here's what we worked on this week. I'm really stressed about this. And also I think here's how we can do it a little differently.

Connor Lewis [00:24:20]:
And the features that I have in mind, and here's my dream, and here's how you could get started today. And it's very product led. It's very, like, focused on their user base. Like, no one really watches it unless they have a free account. So for a PLG company, educational videos are a great way to start. If you do have a more social led strategy, then tiptoe around finding your voice on camera. You know, how are you going to tell an agency or even a video hire how you want your videos to look if you haven't experimented it with yourself? As a head of marketing even a little bit, I'm also of the opinion that, like, being in front of camera is a skill that I think marketers need today. And so you should get on that.

Connor Lewis [00:24:59]:
If you tense up when you think about getting in front of the camera, like, you should probably flex that muscle. You can record videos and never show them. Just putting yourself in front of the camera is the first step.

Danielle Messler [00:25:09]:
Yeah, no, that's a really good point. And like, just getting like, it's like with anything you need, like, practice.

Connor Lewis [00:25:14]:
Yeah. Video is just a muscle.

Danielle Messler [00:25:15]:
Right. And podcast appearances, great place to start. Like, you don't even have to start your own, just go on someone else's.

Connor Lewis [00:25:21]:
I didn't even bring up podcasts. So smart. The people saying podcasts are dead, I think are missing the point of podcasts. They build a deep audience, not like a wide one, which is amazing from like a benefit standpoint. But most importantly, they build the skill of just being able to talk in front of the camera and network. I know so many heads of marketing who have a podcast that doesn't have a ton of viewers, but an amazing channel for them to connect with the people that they want to connect to. Just inviting them to a podcast and Starting that connection. And then also their speaking skills get better.

Connor Lewis [00:25:54]:
I'm still working on my speaking skills and I'm showing up to podcasts like this.

Danielle Messler [00:25:59]:
Same. This is officially the third episode I'm.

Connor Lewis [00:26:01]:
Hosting, so you're killing it.

Danielle Messler [00:26:04]:
No, and I think I was talking to someone a while ago and I'm going to forget who it was, but we were even talking about if even a podcast seems like too much because there is this, this feeling of permanence with that. It's like, oh, we have a podcast now.

Connor Lewis [00:26:18]:
Yeah. And then you're committed.

Danielle Messler [00:26:19]:
Do like a four video series on something and just interview someone. Like, if I wanted to do a series on like B2B video and get like, you and like, dang from event Shark or something like that. And it's like, okay, we're just doing like a miniseries. I love a limited series. They do too.

Connor Lewis [00:26:34]:
Yeah, they do well on Netflix. They'll probably do well in B2B world, you know. I agree. That's a great idea, 100%.

Danielle Messler [00:26:41]:
Yeah. And it's also like an easy, like, not easy, but a good contained experiment that's not like, hey, we have a podcast now. It's so permanent, blah, blah, blah. It's like this onerous thing that you have to constantly keep doing. But it's like, hey, like, we did that and it really worked. Or like, hey, like, maybe we missed the mark on that. Let's try something different.

Connor Lewis [00:26:58]:
I love that because it's so experimental and I think that's how you need to be in the beginning. You can't go all in on something before you know what actually works for video for your brand. And a lot of videos, just product messaging, like you're figuring out your product messaging and your positioning and stuff like that. And also what personality works well with your audience. So yeah, I love limited series because it sounds like you're testing a concept and you're, you know, we'll do four episodes, we'll see which episode did best, we'll see overall how it compared to our other marketing materials, if this is worth the investment. And then we'll pivot and try something new. And like, I think in the first year of doing video, that's all I would do is like experiment one experiment to, oh, okay, this works. Let's double down and experiment to that kind of thing.

Danielle Messler [00:27:41]:
Yeah, I also, earlier you said something around and I don't remember the phrase you used, but basically like non production video. Is that what it is? Where it's basically like text on screen or something? Like that, like, that's animation version.

Connor Lewis [00:27:54]:
It's all cheaper to make.

Danielle Messler [00:27:56]:
Yeah. And like animation, I feel like I'm like, that sounds so scary. I need to go, like, learn after effects or something. And please forgive me if this is offensive. But like, you can do that in canva.

Connor Lewis [00:28:04]:
You can, you can. Yeah, it's not offensive. It's true. Yeah, it's true. It's like those kinds of videos too. The animation style videos are closer to copywriting than closer to like actual production. I saw a poster that was like, the number one hire should be a product marketer. And I couldn't agree more because video is very much related to copywriting.

Connor Lewis [00:28:22]:
And if you don't know what copy works on like a landing page or a webpage for your icp, it's going to be really hard to build scripts that resonate too, because the amount of time you have is very similar. The length of sentences should be very similar to copywriting. It should be snappy, it should be punchy. So, yeah, to your point.

Danielle Messler [00:28:38]:
Yeah. No, I love that. Well, this was super fun. Any kind of closing thoughts on video? Anything you want to touch on?

Connor Lewis [00:28:47]:
Don't be scared. Just get started. Yeah, there's your inspirational call.

Danielle Messler [00:28:52]:
But like, so much of that is true in marketing.

Connor Lewis [00:28:55]:
Yeah, it's not video specific. You're right.

Danielle Messler [00:28:58]:
No, it's like get out of the perfection bubble that everything has to be like polished and perfect and just like try the minimum viable version.

Connor Lewis [00:29:06]:
Yeah. Also, my first videos were terrible. And then I did video for six years and then my first social videos were terrible. You're only going to get better and so you got to work that muscle. And we're all front burner around trying to figure out what works with video. No one has a golden bullet. You just have to test and learn each time and get better each time. It's just like any other marketing.

Danielle Messler [00:29:27]:
Exactly. Well, this was super fun. I'm so glad we got finally got you on the podcast today. And also you made really cool videos from Drive, so we'll have to share those too. I loved those. And I might even get that little camera that you had. I loved it. But can find you on LinkedIn.

Connor Lewis [00:29:42]:
Yeah, please do.

Danielle Messler [00:29:43]:
And also check out Studio Lewis.

Connor Lewis [00:29:46]:
Yeah, hit me up for any questions. You don't have to be into ads to ask me a video question. I'll give you my unbiased opinion even if I'm not in that realm.

Danielle Messler [00:29:53]:
And I can verify that because Connor is genuinely one of the most helpful people in B2B. So take him up on that offer. He's in the Exit Five community too, but also on LinkedIn.

Connor Lewis [00:30:02]:
Oh yeah, 100%. I check Exit Five every day, so if I see a video question, I'll try to hop in.

Danielle Messler [00:30:06]:
I'm telling Dave that right now in Slack. He's going to be so excited.

Connor Lewis [00:30:11]:
Oh cool. I love that community.

Dave Gerhardt [00:30:17]:
Hey, thanks for listening to this podcast. If you like this episode. You know what? I'm not even going to ask you to subscribe and leave a review, because I don't really care about that. I have something better for you. So we've built the number one private community for B2B marketers at Exit Five. And you can go and check that out. Instead of leaving a rating or review, go check it out right now, now on our website, exitfive.com our mission at Exit Five is to help you grow your career in B2B marketing. And there's no better place to do that than with us at Exit Five.

Dave Gerhardt [00:30:46]:
There's nearly 5,000 members now in our community. People are in there posting every day, asking questions about things like marketing, planning, ideas, inspiration, asking questions and getting feedback from your peers. Building your own network of marketers who are doing the same thing you are so you can have a peer, your group, or maybe just venting about your boss when you need to get in there and get something off your chest. It's 100% free to join for seven days, so you can go and check it out risk free and then there's a small annual fee to pay if you want to become a member for the year. Go check it out. Learn more exitfive.com and I will see you over there in the community.

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