When it comes to online marketing, there's a reason that videos perform better than any other type of post, encouraging viewers' engagement naturally. Videos have the power to take static content and transform it into interactive content that's fun to watch and easy to digest.
Whether the focus is email, social media, or web, more businesses are starting to see the positive effects of incorporating this type of interactive content into their marketing strategies. Demanding the audience's full attention means that they stay engaged for longer, making it easier to convince them to take action.
This year in particular has seen a rise in video-driven apps, including TikTok, Lasso, and byte. But we have also seen video shake up the existing social media landscape. Professional network LinkedIn recently announced that they now support video in their feed, while Instagram Stories recently surpassed Snapchat for monthly active users. Facebook video has gained so much popularity that it's now on par with the likes of YouTube and Vimeo — platforms built specifically for video.
Recognising the potential this type of content has to pique customers' interest and win them over, many businesses are now implementing video into their marketing strategies. But as video marketing trends continue to change, if businesses want to dominate within their industry, they must stay up to date.
While we are on the topic of video marketing, do you know what makes an excellent tool for it? It's not the heavy editing options, but its usability. Tools such as Canva empower everyone to create videos. The catch of a great tool for video marketing is that they translate your vision without any intense technical skills. Remember this, and don't let any tool hold you back from trying new trends.
Fast-paced living may mean we shop more, but it also makes us impatient. If businesses are to keep up with today's on-demand economy, the key is making the buying process for consumers as simple as possible. One of the major recent e-commerce trends has been ‘shoppable videos', something which is being increasingly used as a form of social media marketing, particularly for things like Facebook ads.
Eliminating the need for consumers to shop manually, they can simply click on the product in the video that they want and are automatically redirected to the brand's site. Some even take you directly to the checkout. The instantaneous nature of this process shortens the customer journey and accelerates conversions since consumers can buy what they want as soon as they see it.
Just as you can personalise email marketing campaigns, you can personalise video content, too. Research shows that consumers want videos to reflect the products and services they're interested in. By providing them with experiences that are specifically tailored to them, businesses can build a relationship with their audience and stand out from the crowd. Personalised videos utilise data and customer feedback to create content that is both relevant and valuable to consumers. In their eyes, it's essentially like having a video made just for them. Not only does this save consumers time when it comes to searching for solutions to their problems, but when consumers feel that their requirements and pain points are being addressed, they are more likely to make a purchase.
The process may sound complex, but there are plenty of clever tools that allow you to get started with personalised video, including Spirable and Idomoo. Using this type of software, you can target individuals, groups, and even companies.
Thanks to smart devices and VR headsets, 360-degree videos are becoming more accessible to businesses. Having a controlled perspective allows for a more immersive, interactive experience for the consumer, taking them on a journey that may not necessarily be accessible to them otherwise and putting them as the focus of the story. This type of video content also helps to retain customer attention, resulting in longer watch times (and usually a higher conversion rate). KitKat is just one example of a brand that has used the format. It launched a YouTube campaign to announce the release of its matcha chocolate bar, resulting in a completion rate that was more than double the average of a video platform.
Like most forms of online content marketing, 360-degree videos are trackable and can provide valuable user data for future marketing strategies. By looking at metrics such as the number of skips, rewatches, and the paths consumers take, businesses can get a better idea of what they need to do more (or less).
Google's job is to give you the result it thinks you're looking for as fast as possible. When you type in a search query, the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) display exactly that. Often, you'll see a row of videos displayed along the top — something Google is starting to place more emphasis on. This may be influenced by the fact that Google owns YouTube, but the fact that we are also starting to see the same thing happening on Microsoft Bing indicates that posting more videos is likely to place you higher in the search results.
That doesn't mean you have to create a bunch of new videos. You can repurpose blog posts and social media content, for example. Quite often, you'll also see video content displayed in the search results for FAQ queries, so posting short videos answering customer's questions is a great way to increase visibility. To cover all bases, we recommend taking an integrated approach to content, posting both text and video.
One thing we see on social media, in particular, is a significant number of users watching videos without sound. Often, we're accessing content while on the go, and if you're traveling without headphones, most of us would rather not draw attention to ourselves by blasting audio out of our phones (although there are some exceptions). To ensure that video content fully reaches your audience, captioning and on-screen instructions are a must. Of course, soundless playback also has the added bonus of making your video content accessible to more people.
Let's be honest, most of us would rather not watch ads if we don't have to. But what if your video ad finished before the ‘skip now' option pops up? Micro ads (i.e. ads between around 6 to 10 seconds) are set to be a growing trend for the near feature. Having a really short advert ensures your content will be seen and works its magic by teasing users just enough to make them want more. The challenge? Creating content that's interesting enough to make them want to do that…
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by Emma Gibbins | 27 Sep 23