It's not always easy to predict the future, but it's worth a shot. Video marketing is ever on the rise. In one survey, 64 percent of marketers admitted that video is set to dominate their content marketing strategy.
Video marketing is a venture with high ROI and buckets of creative potential.
In this blog, we will have a look at some of the most alluring new trends when it comes to video marketing.
More social networks are live-streaming than ever. Facebook and Youtube are leading the charge, but Instagram, Tumblr, and Snapchat are exploring the format too.
And with good reason; live video has the edge when it comes to viewership and customer interaction. Live videos rank higher on Facebook news feeds because they are deemed more relevant and interesting in real-time. Research has shown that hosting a live stream encourages more engagement from the audience. People are prepared to spend triple the time watching live video than a pre-recorded alternative.
There is an urgency and authenticity to live streams that goes unmatched by other digital media. Facebook users comment 10 times more on live videos than they do on regular videos.
Customer interactivity rises because the instant comment feature makes it easy to start and hold a conversation with your audience.
The transparency of live video marketing is what makes it so successful. Prospects love brands that are relatable and grounded. 82 percent of social users prefer live video to social posts. Live videos help potential customers learn more about your brand.
In the future, you can expect marketers to spend a larger percentage of their social media budget on live engagement streams.
Stuck for ideas? Here are some potential themes for live video:
Research says that 96 percent of consumers find video helpful when making a purchasing decision. That’s not a statistic marketers can ignore.
Video can show your product in its best light. It instils confidence in potential buyers and helps them to fully visualise the product or service you are offering.
This could take the form of a product demo, review, or beauty shot.
As many as 81 percent of people have been convinced to buy a product or service after watching branded video on the subject. Furthermore, video on a product page can provide a 50 percent increase in orders.
Video is a straightforward and reliable tool when it comes to encouraging prospects along the buyer’s journey. Using video to showcase the unique benefits of a product is one marketing trend that is here to stay.
There has been a surge in the release of immersive video content, like 360-degree and VR, in recent marketing campaigns. 360 video offers a spherical video capture of an environment, plonking your viewers straight in the middle of a story. Through 360, prospects can learn more than they could from any brochure.
The good news is, with advancements in technology, interactive videos are rapidly becoming simpler and cheaper to make.
360 video means viewers can see everything within range of the camera, rather than just the standard point-and-shoot POV. This puts viewers inside an experience and gives them full control over what they’re looking at. This format appeals to users on the lookout for a more immersive digital experience.
Does 360 video marketing actually drive more engagement than standard video?
Case studies suggest they do. Sony’s “Don’t Breathe” 360 trailer was watched nearly seven times more than the 2D version they released alongside it.
360 videos have been shown to have a higher click-through rate, higher interaction rate and make viewers more likely to share or subscribe.
Here are some common goals for 360 video:
Virtual reality makes viewers feel like they are part of the video. It’s been used in gaming, education, healthcare, and now it’s in marketing too.
Virtual reality allows you to show off your products without prospects being physically present. This technology is particularly handy when pitching to clients over long distances.
Viewers can also experience unusual or hard to visit environments. You could use VR to show off large, specialist equipment, or take interested prospects on a tour of your site. This makes virtual reality a particularly tempting solution for marketing manufacturing.
Marketers have uncovered the value of sending personalised video messages to nurture leads instead of calling prospects or sending an email. Simply mentioning the word “video” in your email subject line can plump up open rates and raise click-through rates by 65 percent. Video content could be the secret when it comes to successful managed email marketing campaigns.
Personalised video can be used to follow up on an inquiry, offer content, deliver support or just to say thanks.
In the same way that email campaigns can be used to build relationships with potential customers, your business can use targeted video funnels to provide information and build trust. In this way, video can move prospects from the awareness stage, to consideration, to conversion.
Email automation can inform your customers by offering them the right video content at the right time. Personalised videos have 3.5 times more engagement than standard videos.
Targeted video campaigns is certainly a trend worth getting in on.
Artificial intelligence is making video content more and more search engine friendly. Now, AI can even transcribe videos by using voice recognition technology. And the increased use of subtitles (closed captions) in online videos is helping to provide search engines with more information. This makes your video script a powerful weapon when it comes to SEO.
To keep ahead of the game, you need to make sure your video content is search engine friendly. Optimise your videos by including descriptive, keyword rich titles and including relevant meta descriptions and alt tags.
Blog posts containing video gather three times the number of inbound links as posts without videos.
This might be because the majority of people would rather watch content than read it. According to some research, 80 percent of consumers would rather watch video than read the entirety of a blog.
Video supercharges engagement rates and helps your viewers to retain vital information. This is why marketers are producing vlogs to fold into their content marketing strategy.
Vlogs can easily be produced by repurposing existing blog content.
As an inbound marketer, it's important to be aware of your competition. Keeping an eye on video marketing trends will help you to create content that is interesting and relevant to buyer personas conducting research around your industry.