Video marketing is more important than ever today, with its use in marketing strategies at an all time high. Brands have incorporated it into their budgets to achieve key strategic objectives.
With customers making purchase decisions based videos that move them, it’s no wonder that 81 percent of businesses are using video marketing to drive sales for their products. The importance of video marketing is only set to increase with researchers estimating that 85 percent of all internet traffic within the United States will be video-based by 2020.
So now that we agree on the importance of video marketing, and the influence that it carries, the question of how to run effective video marketing campaigns is an important one. How can you make your content stand out from the millions of other videos already out there on similar subjects? How do you grab the attention of viewers and keep it long enough to successfully deliver your brand message?
By keeping up-to-date with current video marketing trends, you can ensure that are using the most effective strategies and tools to boost customer engagement; and that you are always at the forefront of video innovation. That’s what this post is about: the video marketing trends that will dominate in 2019.
Let’s go over them!
1. Authenticity
We all know advertising budgets can run from several hundred thousand into the millions based on the size and scope of a brand’s goals. If you are a small business, with a lower budget, do not fear.
As a small business, you should know that there are now plenty of video hosting and creation software tools available to fit your budget. Lumen5 for example, helps you create professional videos, quickly, at a relatively low cost. But we digress — let’s talk about authenticity.
How can you grab a viewer’s attention in such a crowded video market and with a limited budget? By being authentic. People spend 3 times longer watching Facebook and Instagram Live videos that normal playback videos because they see live videos as being more authentic.
In particular, live videos make the marketing process more personal and relatable so people don’t feel like you’re pitching to them. For example, going live and showing behind the scenes content helps users to connect with your brand on a personal level. They will better understand the process, the hard work, and attention to detail that you put into your business.
Again, the ability to make things seem genuine and relatable is the main reason that live videos have taken off — people want to have an unfiltered dialogue with those in the know. They want to feel as though you are speaking to them directly, rather than just being a number in your bottom line.
Put authentic video experiences at the top of your video marketing strategy in 2019.
2. Video Storytelling
Almost all customers prefer to view content that tells a story. That’s why you see more and more brands creating a narrative around their products: to make their brand more relatable and to easier connect with viewers.
Stories humanize a brand and enable them to stand for something bigger that just sales and profits. The numbers prove the effectiveness of this storytelling — it is reported that storytelling increases the value of a product or service 20 times over.
Unfortunately, there’s no one-size-fits-all method to creating captivating stories. You need to be creative with your narratives — always be truthful and authentic — but also speak in a way that will connect with your ideal customers and relate to them on a emotional level.
Take note of the way Airbnb using storytelling to move us:
Over time, you will be get better at consistently engaging with your customer base. You’ll need to master the craft by 2019.
3. Short-Lived Video Content
The launch of snapchat in 2013 and its popularity in the following years, proved and showcased how much people like short and short-lived videos. Since then, more and more social media platforms have taken note and incorporated the feature into their platforms.
For example, Instagram Stories has increased the time spent on Instagram overall from 15 minutes to 32 minutes per day. What this tells us is that there is a clear consumer preference toward watching live videos over social posts.
Short-lived videos capitalize well on FOMO (fear of missing out). It specifically creates a sense of urgency around your content, making viewers feel like they have to constantly be on the lookout for your next update.
4. Selfie Videos
The self-recorded video is massively trending today, thanks to Snapchat, where users record short videos to send to their friends. The videos disappear as soon as they’re viewed by a recipient; or can play on repeat until the viewer closes it; or it simply disappears after 24 hours.
According to a Hootsuite study, over 100 million people in the US and 200 million people worldwide use Snapchat and watch over 10 billion videos daily. That’s a whole lot of people. They also spend an average of about 30 minutes a day on the app. Its largest demographic is 18 to 24-year-olds while 25 to 34-year-olds make up about 26 percent of its user base.
Once its popularity skyrocketed, Facebook, Instagram and even LinkedIn began offering similar video services. With features like “Native video” on LinkedIn, “Days” on Facebook and “Stories” on Instagram, users can share their everyday lives temporarily with friends and the world simply by self-recording on their mobile devices.
Some companies have caught on to the trend, and some even record videos that try to mimic the look and feel of selfie videos content in order to come across as more authentic and to establish a personal connection with viewers.
It is very effective because it gives viewers the impression that they are being spoken to — not at. Sincerity and authenticity truly matters to consumers. That means it should really matter to you as well in 2019.
Check out this awesome selfie video from Dove:
5. Educational and How to Product Videos
When new users discover you for the first time, they are unaware of your product and brand message. This is where a short video is most valuable in quickly projecting your brand message and proving that you have the perfect solution to whatever problem your product solves. But what should the video cover?
How-to videos are an obvious choice when creating videos for your landing page. Brands have been using it heavily in the past year was an easy way to draw people in. Your goal for 2019 should be to know your customer’s or client’s preferences, concerns and interests so you can create more relevant educational and how-to videos for them in 2019.
Tech Insider show us how to escape quicksand in this video. Note how well they use captions and animations to tell the story:
6. The Rise of Vertical Video & IGTV
Phones are an important part of people’s daily lives. According to eMarketer, 78.4 percent of digital videos are accessed through a smartphone. Social Media platforms are dedicating themselves to the mobile experience for this very reason. This also means that it is very important to make sure that all of your videos are compatible with mobile devices in 2019.
Most people hold phones vertically for the majority of the time, so portrait, vertical, or videos with a 9:16 aspect ratio that take up 70 more space would be a sure bet. In addition to video specifications, you need to add other elements to your video to boost views and conversions. For example, you should use subtitles to boost mobile views because most mobile users will have videos playing on mute.
With the recent launch of IGTV on Instagram, you can now upload 60 minute video (this removes the need to split content between Instagram and Youtube). IGTV makes it easier for you to incorporate all of your videos on a predominantly mobile based platform, plus, you know your videos will stream flawlessly on your prospective customers’ devices.
In saying that, the effectiveness of YouTube should not be underestimated. YouTube is still the number one video hosting website for many brands. The added benefit of analytics means that you can see who is watching your videos, for how long, and which parts of your video creation process produces the best results. By using that data, you can improve your video creation process and produce better content.
National Geographic makes good use of IGTV and they even published an epic 48-minute documentary on it in June.
IGTV should definitely be part of your video toolkit in 2019.
7. Collaborations with Influencers
A Collective Bias survey revealed that peer recommendation influenced 70 percent of millennial consumers when it comes to purchasing decisions.
By collaborating with influencers, you can showcase your brand in front of an already established community, who trust their recommendations. That enables you to indirectly create a higher degree of brand loyalty.
Here’s how some brands are using influencer marketing to create brand awareness and drive sales:
8. Go Where Your Customers Are
When it comes to marketing anything, there isn’t a more popular option that the number one social media platform, Facebook. With 41 percent of its user base over the age of 65, it has become an important marketing tool to target the senior demographic.
Despite all of Facebook’s success, there has been a public shift in perception over the past few years regarding political propaganda and fake news. As a result of that, it has lost popularity with the younger demographic, who have gravitated towards other platforms like Instagram and Twitter.
Knowing which demographic you intend to target before spending marketing dollars is key. If your ideal customer is in the more senior demographic, then Facebook may be the platform for you.
Instagram on the other hand, attracts a much younger demographic than Facebook, with the majority of users being under the age of 30.
Bottom-line? Make sure you go where your customers are in 2019.
9. Voice Over Videos
What was the last good movie you saw? Which characters did you connect with? Why did you connect with them? Could it be that there was something about their voice that tugged at your emotions? Perhaps the words didn’t really matter, it was all about the voice?
Indeed, a human voice can achieve something that words simply can’t. We are betting that you’re probably reading this post in your own voice. We’re connecting with you but not on the same level that you connected with your favorite movie character.
By adding voice overs to your videos, you can use the power of the human voice to add a level of intimacy and authenticity to your content.
Video voice overs are indeed a great way to add personality and soul to your video. They let you connect with your audience and tell a powerful story.
Here’s a brilliant use of voice over in a video, courtesy of Hubspot:
So aim to use voice over to strengthen your brand narrative in 2019.
Over to You
You already know how important video marketing is and that you can’t afford to miss out on it. You need to produce videos that help you stand out from the competition in 2019. In order to do that, you need to understand your potential customers really well: what they love, what they worry about, what they need, etc. The next step is to give them know they want by using the latest video marketing trends.
So tell us, which of these trends are you going to follow in 2019?
This content was originally published here.
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