B2W Blog

Video Analytics with AI: Guide to Redefining B2B Video Marketing Campaigns

Written by Kate Parish | Sep 2, 2024 9:56:09 AM

No matter what products or services you pitch to other businesses, videos can hugely streamline the sales process.

They hook viewers from the start, simplify complex ideas, and foster a stronger emotional connection. 

It’s hardly surprising that more than 90% of businesses deem video a crucial element of their marketing strategy.

However, generating excellent visual content is only one piece of the puzzle. 

The crux is understanding how users interact with it. Which part of your video draws them in? Where do they lose interest and drop off? What content are they most interested in and why?

AI-powered video analytics fills in the blanks.

It guides you through arrays of data, generates in-depth insights into viewer behavior, and helps you figure out how to fine-tune video content for high performance.

In this article, we’ll break down video analytics using AI in much more detail, highlighting its tech stack, benefits, and key considerations for adopting it in your marketing strategy.

We’ll also explore some popular video analytics tools, emphasizing their peculiar features. Read on!

  1. Video Analytics + AI: Deciphering How It Works
    1. Machine Learning Algorithms
    2. Computer Vision Technology
    3. NLP Techniques
  2. Compelling Advantages of Adopting Intelligent Video Analysis
    1. Refine Content Strategy
    2. Improve Audience Targeting
    3. Track Video Analytics in Real Time
    4. Optimize Lead Scoring
    5. Increase Workflow Efficiency
    6. Generate Accurate Predictions
  3. Best Video Analytics Software Solutions
    1. Wistia
    2. Vidyard
    3. Hippo Video
    4. NPAW (Nice People at Work)
    5. Vidalytics
    6. Vimeo
    7. Tubular
  4. Video Data Analysis: Navigating Privacy and Ethics Issues
  5. Top Tips for Leveraging AI Video Analytics Software

Video Analytics + AI: Deciphering How It Works

Without analytics, you’re in the dark about what video content caters to your audience, which channels drive the most engagement, and which aspects of your B2B video marketing strategy need improvement. 

The dashboard of a video analytics platform that uses AI (Source: Biteable)

Video analytics zeroes in on tracking key performance indicators and assessing the genuine impact of visual media on your bottom line. Some of the crucial metrics include:

  • View count (how many times a video has been watched).
  • Watch time (how much time viewers spend watching a video).
  • Audience retention (how long people watch before tuning out).
  • Engagement rate measures all kinds of user interactions (likes, shares, comments, etc.).
  • Click-through rate (CTR) estimates how many viewers click on a CTA or link within a video.
  • Traffic source and device category to identify the most lucrative channels and boost marketing efforts to reach the right audience.
  • The conversion rate reflects the total number of viewers who took the desired action.

Fundamentally, video analytics gives a broad overview of how your content performs but doesn’t grasp the nuances of audience behavior. 

With artificial intelligence, you can drill down into granular data, uncover hidden patterns of user engagement, and extract valuable insights to refine your content tactics.

This is made possible through the advanced technologies powering AI video analytics. Let’s scrutinize the core components of its framework.

1. Machine Learning Algorithms

Machine learning (ML) forms the basis of AI-based video analytics.

ML algorithms are capable of processing and interpreting huge data sets, identifying patterns in viewer interactions, and making accurate predictions. 

For example, ML models can analyze how prospective clients engage with video content throughout the sales cycle.

If a lead spends a considerable amount of time rewatching a section about product features, it might indicate a high interest and purchase intent.

Based on these insights, the sales team might follow up with potential customers to give additional information or offer personalized demos of the products or services.

One of the best things about machine learning is its ability to continuously learn and improve over time.

The more video footage data ML algorithms consume, the more accurate their predictions become.

As a result, B2B marketers can adjust their content, making sure they keep up with viewers’ preferences and industry trends. 

2. Computer Vision Technology

This crucial component of intelligent video analytics enables software to “see” and understand visual data much the same way a human does.

Computer vision is responsible for object detection, recognizing faces, tracking movements, and gauging emotions from facial expressions.

The technology opens up a realm of possibilities for B2B marketers to amp up content performance.

For instance, computer vision can determine which video elements users focus on the most, allowing for more personalized content creation. 

It can also automatically check videos for logo placement and brand compliance, ensuring every piece of content matches the company’s visual identity.

3. NLP Techniques

Subtitles, on-screen text, and spoken words, along with viewer comments and feedback, comprise valuable information for B2B marketers to tap into.

Natural language processing is crucial for making sense of these diverse and vast data sets, especially when video content analytics is concerned.

NLP technology transcribes and analyzes speech, identifies recurring keywords, and spots topics that strike a chord.

Moreover, it can decipher the emotional tone of viewers’ comments and feedback so marketers understand how their audience feels about a product/service. 

Compelling Advantages of Adopting Intelligent Video Analysis

AI video analytics extracts valuable insights from large amounts of video data, empowering B2B marketers to revamp their strategies and maximize ROI.

To tap into its full potential, many companies are investing in AI model creation.

With the help of dedicated services, businesses can leverage bespoke solutions developed with their brand and audience in mind. 

Whether you opt for a ready-made model or a custom one, the benefits of intelligent video analysis are undeniable. Below, we’ll explore its major perks.

1. Refine Content Strategy

What makes your audience click?

Amid the variety of video types, businesses should focus on producing content that connects with viewers and keeps them engaged.

AI eliminates any guesswork and lets you pinpoint precisely what appeals to your target buyers. 

By analyzing viewer behavior, namely, which parts of video people repeatedly watch, where they churn, and what content grabs their attention, AI tools allow businesses to create more relevant and captivating media.

2. Improve Audience Targeting

Generic messages don’t cut it anymore. People crave personalized experiences and want to feel valued and recognized.

According to research, 66% of B2B customers expect tailored content when purchasing a product or service.

AI transforms the way you connect with your audience.

It sifts through extensive viewer data, such as demographics, engagement patterns, and watch history, and groups users into specific categories. 

With detailed audience segmentation as AI can show in your video analytics software, B2B marketers can craft targeted content that matches customer needs and pain points and suits their preferences.

3. Track Video Analytics in Real Time

With AI video analytics, you’re always in the loop on how your video content performs.

There’s no need to wait till the end of the campaign to figure out if the marketing efforts paid off.

AI-driven tools help you stay agile and optimize videos on the fly based on real-time insights.

Suppose you’re in the B2B SaaS industry.

You have recently launched a campaign showcasing a product demo that generates high engagement, only to drop sharply at a specific point. 

Through continuous monitoring, AI systems reveal that this moment occurs when the technical explanation begins.

You can then adjust the content by simplifying the description, adding more visual aids, or rearranging critical information to retain the audience's attention.

4. Optimize Lead Scoring

AI video analytics can significantly aid in your lead scoring strategies.

If someone keeps replaying certain segments or sticks around watching the entire video, AI picks up on these signs and flags such people as high-value leads.

As a result, your sales team will focus on nurturing relationships with interested viewers who are more likely to convert.

5. Increase Workflow Efficiency

Examining video performance data manually to determine what’s working and what’s not would eat up a lot of time and resources.

AI automates the whole process. 

Smart models process hours of video footage efficiently, uncover patterns, and generate useful insights in real time through your video analytics software.

With AI handling the grunt work, marketers may get down to more critical tasks, like brainstorming new content ideas or developing targeted campaigns. 

6. Generate Accurate Predictions

AI video analytics goes beyond just processing extensive data sets.

Powered by advanced algorithms, it can recognize and interpret complex patterns in viewing behaviors and forecast trends in video content performance with high accuracy.

This way, B2B businesses can stay proactive and plan their video content strategy more efficiently.

For instance, your B2B company hosts quarterly webinars showcasing new software features.

AI might detect spikes in viewership on specific days and at certain times.

Based on this pattern, it may suggest optimal periods for scheduling future webinars.   

Best Video Analytics Software Solutions to Amp Up B2B Video Marketing Strategies

Creating killer videos will not suffice for marketing success.

You need to comprehend whether your content hits home.

With the right video analytics tools, measuring video performance and making data-driven decisions about future strategies is much easier. 

Let’s explore some of the best video analytics software to decode and tweak your video marketing approach for prime results.

1. Wistia

Source: Wistia

It’s an all-in-one solution for B2B companies aiming to amp up their video marketing efforts.

With Wistia, you can generate content, host, and promote videos, as well as measure their effectiveness with top-tier video analytics.

The platform’s key features for video analysis include:

  • A/B testing to compare two video versions and see which one does a better job at engaging viewers and converting them.
  • Video heatmaps to understand viewer behavior and interactions. Identify parts of video visitors, watch, skip, or replay, and determine the most winning content.
  • Extensive integration allows marketers to send video engagement data directly into CRM and marketing automation platforms.
  • Social media insights: Get a holistic view of how your audience responds to videos across social media platforms.

2. Vidyard

Source: Vidyard

Vidyard is more than just a video hosting platform. Its core functionalities enable businesses to step up their video marketing game.

The tool seamlessly integrates with leading CRM and marketing automation platforms like Salesforce, HubSpot, Marketo, and others. 

You can feed view data into CRM dashboards to spot high-quality leads and track how videos contribute to the sales process.

Vidyard moves beyond mere view counts when it looks at video content analytics. Among its key features, we should mention the following:

  • View notifications: know precisely when someone watches your videos to personalize follow-ups.
  • Video analytics dashboard: gain insights into top-performing content and viewer engagement.
  • Team performance dashboards: track and analyze progress of each team member in driving views and engagement.

3. Hippo Video

Source: Hippo Video

This comprehensive AI video analytics tool enables B2B marketing teams to create personalized videos at scale.

The software offers pre-built and custom workflows to streamline video production for various use cases.

Hippo Video enables you to track video performance with comprehensive analytics. The key information includes:

  • Location and device data to optimize content delivery.
  • Details on where people share videos the most (via social media, email, or other channels).
  • Visual representation of watch time and viewer behavior.
  • Report filtering by weekly/monthly performance data.

4. NPAW (“Nice People At Work”)

Source: NPAW

It’s a full-fledged video analytics platform providing end-to-end streaming services.

NPAW has a vast toolkit for monitoring and analyzing videos in real time.

The core features are as follows:

  • The platform generates a churn risk score based on engagement metrics. This way, businesses can stay proactive and take smart steps to retain viewers before they drop off.
  • Audience insights (user journey, viewing habits, preferences, and geographic) allow for targeted content creation.
  • Multi-CDN capability. The platform automatically selects the most efficient network, ensuring a high-quality streaming experience.
  • Customizable dashboards allow marketers to track metrics that matter most to their campaigns and goals.

5. Vidalytics

Source: Vidalytics YouTube channel

Vidalytics is an easy-to-use platform designed to help you solve the video marketing puzzle.

With its advanced analytics, marketers don’t stumble in the dark but know for sure whether their video content clicks with the audience and drives conversions and what needs to be adjusted for maximum impact.

Here’s what you can do with the tool’s rich feature set:

  • Spot the exact drop-off moment with a second-by-second audience engagement graph.
  • Run A/B tests of two videos to determine which converts better and why.
  • Analyze viewer behavior through video heatmaps highlighting skips and replays.
  • Monitor important metrics like average order value, engagement, and conversion rates directly within the platform, eliminating the need to switch between various tools.
  • Slice and dice the audience based on various parameters (location, traffic source, device type, first view, repeat view, buyers, non-buyers, and more) to target viewers who drive revenue.

6. Vimeo 

Source: Vimeo

The platform is trusted by creative video pros, entrepreneurs, and businesses.

It’s a go-to solution for crafting top-notch video content.

Besides, Vimeo’s live and on-demand video analytics paint a complete picture of viewer behavior and help you make smart tweaks to boost future video performance.

With Vimeo’s key video analytics features, marketers can:

  • Track how viewers engage with videos across different platforms from a single dashboard.
  • Integrate with Google Analytics for comprehensive viewership data.
  • Update videos hassle-free without affecting URLs, stats, likes, or comments.

7. Tubular

Source: Tubularlabs

Tubular is the ultimate source of social video intelligence.

The platform has a vast database of 15 billion social media videos.

It also gathers data from 40 million creators, including influencers, brands, and media companies.

As a video analytics software, Tubular enables businesses to:

  • Search through a massive collection of social videos and filter and explore specific content. Build custom lists, reports, and dashboards to analyze how various videos perform and stay on top with the latest trends.
  • Group and label videos by relevant categories and topics to thoroughly understand the social video market.
  • Connect video data with business intelligence tools to drive strategic decision-making.
  • Discover the audience’s viewing interests to tailor content that appeals to them.
  • Measure video performance across social channels using standardized metrics. 

Video Data Analysis: Navigating Privacy and Ethics Issues

Video analytics software reveals valuable insights into what your audience is truly engaged with.

These tools go beyond just analyzing viewing patterns.

Some may capture personal details, such as location, gender, age, etc. 

B2B marketers need these data points to better understand clients, create targeted campaigns, and personalize messaging for different decision-makers.

Meanwhile, customers may be concerned about their privacy and how this information will be used.

You should find the right balance is essential to ensure trust and security. Keep in mind the following practices when handling viewer data:

  • Being transparent and getting explicit user consent is a prerequisite for ethical video data analysis. Make sure to explain to viewers what data you’re gathering and why. Suppose your platform uses facial recognition to assess viewer engagement. You must let the audience know about it in advance and get their approval first.
  • Minimizing data collection. It’s best to focus on the most crucial information for your analysis and anonymize it as much as possible. Thus, you can mitigate privacy risks.  For example, a tool for tracking viewer engagement can aggregate data and derive actionable insights without compromising individual user identities.
  • Securing data. With cyberattacks constantly evolving, businesses should implement robust security measures to ward off data breaches and unauthorized access. Encryption is a case in point. This technology scrambles sensitive information, so it’s unreadable and can’t be intercepted during transmission.
  • Staying compliant with privacy laws. Data protection laws and regulations, including the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) in the EU and the CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act) in the United States, outline how to handle and safeguard personal details adequately. 

Ignoring these rules can lead to severe penalties and damage your company’s reputation.

To avoid legal risks, opt for video analytics tools that prioritize privacy and comply with these regulations.

For example, the software should allow viewers to access, correct, or delete their personal details whenever necessary.

  • Using data responsibly. While abiding by the law is non-negotiable, you also want to employ viewer data ethically. This means staying clear of practices that may come across as unfair or manipulative.
  • Leverage video analytics to polish the user experience. By embracing ethical principles, you build trust with your audience and foster a respectful online community.
  • Performing regular audits. Make it a point to review your video analytics practices frequently. Check how the tools function and whether they align with privacy and ethical standards.

For example, test how your AI-driven video analytics system tracks and categorizes user interactions.

If certain demographic groups are underrepresented, it may indicate algorithm bias and the need for readjustment. 

Top Tips for Leveraging AI Video Analytics Software

Getting started with video analytics using AI shouldn’t be overwhelming when you have a clear roadmap and the appropriate tools at your disposal. 

First and foremost, define your goals. What do you want to achieve: increase viewer engagement, improve content targeting, or know your audience better?

Setting clear objectives from the outset will guide your strategy and help measure success.

Then, choose a platform that best meets your business needs. Different tools have different features.

Accordingly, assess their functionality thoroughly.

Take advantage of free trials (if such an option exists) to make an informed decision before committing to specific software.

Consider the integration capabilities. The AI video analytics solution should perfectly synchronize with your current systems for a smooth workflow and holistic data analysis.

Finally, don’t overlook the value of training and support. Even the most advanced tools won’t be helpful if your team isn’t comfortable using them.

Therefore, provide comprehensive training resources and ongoing support to make the most of AI video analytics.

Conclusion

AI-powered video analytics is picking up steam and transforming various industries, from retail to security.

Take traditional video surveillance systems as an example. Once limited to basic monitoring and recording, they have evolved into advanced solutions capable of interpreting data in real time, detecting anomalies, and predicting potential threats. 

For B2B marketers, AI-based video analytics has become a game changer as well. It enables businesses to scrutinize video content at a granular level, namely:

  • Collect audience details and segment viewers into different categories;
  • Pinpoint drop-off points and the most engaging parts of a video;
  • Identify high-quality leads based on behavior analysis;
  • And more!

Armed with these insights, B2B marketers can tweak content strategies in real time, target viewers with personalized messaging, and drive higher engagement.