Video Marketing Trends: The Future of Content

Nowadays, every business under the sun is utilising video to promote their products and services. And for good reason – video Marketing is an absolute powerhouse for engaging modern audiences. Believe it or not, 86% of businesses now employ video as a core marketing tactic. Why is the video so viral? Well, it's a highly effective way to grab people's attention and keep them hooked.

Think about it – which would you instead consume: a big old block of text or an engaging video with visuals, sound, and motion? Humans are highly visual creatures. Our brains process visuals 60,000 times faster than text. Videos are leagues better at capturing audience interest and conveying information in an understandable, memorable way. Plus, let's face it – videos are just plain more fun to watch than to read a bunch of dry text.

However, the video marketing phenomenon goes far beyond viewer engagement and entertainment value. It's also an incredibly potent tool for driving all kinds of key business metrics like leads, sales, brand awareness, you name it. An incredible 92% of marketers say video is an integral part of their strategy. And 88% reported that video gave them a positive ROI.

Why Video? The Stats Don't Lie

Still not convinced that video belongs at the forefront of your marketing initiatives? Check out these eye-opening statistics:

• Video marketers get 66% more qualified leads per year.
• 79% say they've been convinced to buy a software or app after watching a video.
• Videos up to 2 minutes long get the most engagement.
• 59% of company decision-makers would rather watch a video than read an article or blog post.

The evidence speaks for itself. Video marketing flat-out drives tangible business results across the funnel, from awareness and lead gen to conversions and retention. Let's look at some of the powerful opportunities leveraging video can unlock.

Essential Video Marketing Trends and Opportunities

Short-Form Video is Crushing It

Talk about being in the right place at the right time. With human attention spans plummeting due to the rapid rise of mobile and social media, brands have struck gold with short, bite-sized videos perfect for today's endless scroll of content. Industry-leading platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and more have led to an explosion in viral short-form videos.

Heck, over 5 billion people worldwide watch short-form videos every single day! And with trends like the global splintering of mass media and growing digital ad fatigue, this insatiable appetite for snackable content will only increase. For brands, finding creative ways to integrate short-form videos into their content strategies is an absolute must to stay relevant and top-of-mind.

This could mean launching a branded TikTok or Instagram account to showcase your fun, human side through quirky videos, skits, and memes. Or putting out sneak peek teaser clips on Reels and Stories to drive buzz and curiosity around an upcoming product launch. Or simply posting regular short video updates and behind-the-scenes peeks to keep your audience engaged and invested. The ideas are limitless!

Bottom line: Short, catchy videos delivering quick value or entertainment are gold for cutting through the cluttered content landscape. Capitalise on this massive trend by consistently experimenting with fresh, outside-the-box video creative to surprise and delight modern audiences.

Live and Interactive Video = Next-Level Engagement.

Speaking of surprise and delight, another blazing-hot video marketing trend is live and interactive content that sucks viewers in through immersive, shared experiences. Livestream shopping events, Q&A sessions, interactive interviews, gaming streams, and more formats that bring customers into action are becoming commonplace. Audiences can't get enough of this highly participatory, community-building content!

These videos are perfect for exciting new product launches, having candid conversations with customers, sharing expertise through tutorials, and generally strengthening relationships with your most passionate fans. They're all about creating an experience of closeness and intimacy that's simply impossible through one-way, passive videos alone.

And the engagement metrics don't lie. Live video generates 8x more viewer engagement and interactions than pre-recorded videos. So it's no wonder 78% of brands report that live video has increased audience viewing time. You catch way more flies with interactive honey than static vinegar!

To capitalise on this hot interactive video trend, think about hosting a regular series on Instagram Live, YouTube Live, or even livestreaming to multiple platforms simultaneously. Brainstorm creative ways for your audience to participate through live Q&A sessions, polls, exclusive behind-the-scenes looks, and more. The more you can transform viewers into active collaborators, the better! Just sprinkle in plenty of personalised shout-outs to cement that intimate community feeling.

Long-Form Video for Deeper Brand Connections

While short snackable videos and live content will continue dominating a considerable portion of the video landscape, there's still immense value in producing high-quality long-form video, too. As in 10-30 minute or longer videos that allow you to communicate substantive, in-depth value that shorter clips can't match. The brand commitment consumers associate with sitting through longer-form videos is unmatched.

YouTube videos that are over 10 minutes long get the most engaged viewers and make up most of the content watched on the platform. And let's remember streaming video titans like Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+, where people binge for literal hours at a time.

When you can craft video content so thoughtfully fleshed out and compelling that audiences will voluntarily devote significant chunks of their precious time to consume it, that's the holy grail of brand connections and loyalty. It signals that your brand isn't just a fad or flashy gimmick – you offer deep learning value and emotional resonance worth slowing down and digging into.

To tap into the power of long-form, consider formats like:

• Documentary-style branded videos that tell your company's story
• Premium interview shows or panel discussions with industry influencers
• Educational courses broken into digestible chapters
• Video blogs (vlogs) that provide in-depth advice and expertise
• Webinar or virtual event recordings packed with valuable lessons
• Entertaining reality shows that take viewers behind-the-scenes

The creative possibilities are endless! Just focus on creating content so irresistibly informative, entertaining, or inspiring that audiences will gladly clear space in their jam-packed schedules to soak it all in from start to finish. This focused, invested viewing is marketing dynamite for forging meaningful brand affinity.

Optimising Your Video Marketing Strategy for Success

Of course, creating incredible video content is only half the equation. You also need a cohesive multi-channel distribution and promotion strategy to crush it with video marketing. Otherwise, your extraordinary video efforts could be the online marketing version of the proverbial tree falling in the woods with no one around to see or hear it.

Lean Into Data and Video Analytics

A wise first step is leveraging video analytics and insights to your advantage. Most video hosting platforms like YouTube, Wistia, and Vimeo provide robust analytics showing how your content resonates and performs. You can track beneficial metrics like:

• Average watch time and viewer drop-off rates
• Popular traffic sources driving views
• Geographic locations and viewer demographics
• Overall watch time, impressions, and engagement levels
• Which videos are your top performers

Rather than producing videos aimlessly and hoping for the best, let data and feedback loops guide your video strategy. Study the numbers to pinpoint your most significant content opportunities and gaps. Perhaps your how-to video series dominates watch time, signalling you should double down with more of that beloved format. Or your introduction video has an extremely high drop-off rate after 1 minute, meaning you should re-edit and tighten that opening hook.

Bottom line: Don't sleep on video analytics. It's a gold mine of complex data and actionable intelligence for levelling your content with a scientific, prove-what-works approach.

Multi-Channel, Multi-Purpose Video Distribution

I hate to break it, but slapping a new video on your website alone won't cut it in today's saturated marketing arena. Video success hinges on innovative, multi-pronged distribution across all the channels where your target audience is active. This means hand-tailoring and optimising your video content to thrive on every relevant channel.

For YouTube, that means:

• Uploading keyword-optimized titles, descriptions, tags, captions, and eye-catching custom thumbnails
• Creating searchable playlists to drive binge-viewing
• Embedding hyperlinked CTAs to gather leads

On social media:

• Repackaging snackable clips for native viewing on TikTok, Instagram Reels, Twitter, etc.
• Testing different formats, hooks, hashtags, captions, etc. to maximise engagement
• Running paid video ads targeting specific audience interests

And on your website:

• Optimising site pages around your video content
• Embedded videos at key customer journey points
• Video content downloadable lead magnets

You can also leverage videos in virtually every facet of your funnel, from prospecting emails and Chatbot messaging to webinars and on-demand video libraries for existing customers. The possibilities are limitless!

Modern video marketing requires a headless monster, channel-agnostic approach. Produce highly engaging video content, but don't just leave it in a vacuum. Study the data, experiment constantly, and sow those sweet baby video seeds far and wide across the digital landscape.

Lean Into Timely Video Content and Trends

Another brilliant tactic for fueling success with your video marketing efforts is keeping a finger firmly on the pulse of timely trends, relevant current events, and cravings from your audience. This is content marketing 101 – serve up helpful, entertaining videos when and where your prospects need them most!

Innovative brands monitor things like:

• Emerging industry news and hot topics
• Seasonal trends and cultural events
• New hashtags, memes, and internet frenzies
• Top-ranking questions and keywords in their niche
• Common pain points and challenges their customers face

Then, they create hyper-relevant on-demand or live videos that directly tap into those raging interests and needs. For example, maybe your audience is abuzz about a significant new regulatory change affecting your industry. You could rapidly produce a live Q&A session or news breakdown video providing helpful tips. Or chime in on a viral new TikTok dance craze with a fun branded challenge video.

The more you can leverage video as an agile tool for piping hot, instantly gratifying content, the more you'll drive engagement loyalty and see your content spread like wildfire through likes, shares, and word-of-mouth buzz.

Even an evergreen library of on-demand how-to videos or educational courses can benefit from a timely refresher based on new trends. Adding a bonus module here, a pop culture reference keeps things fresh and relevant instead of stagnant. Regularly scanning the zeitgeist for opportunities to repackage and repurpose your video content to meet the moment is straight-up marketing gold.

The Future is Video-First Marketing

There's simply no denying it: in our modern digital world of fierce competition for ever-dwindling attention spans, marketing has become an unabashedly video-first playing field. And those who master the art of producing thumb-stopping, click-worthy video content will win big.

It's a video buffet, from hypnotic short-form videos for igniting brand fascination to high-quality long-form shows for fostering customer relationships. An endless buffet filled with opportunities to rethink everything you know about creative storytelling, interactivity, and delivering value.

So grab your cameras, strike your favourite power pose, and get ready to start channelling your inner Spielberg or Tarantino because finding fresh, bold new ways to leverage the immense power of video is mission-critical for marketers hoping not just to survive but utterly dominate in the years ahead.

Video is no longer simply the shiny new toy that anyone could ignore or put off. It's rapidly becoming the core competency that separates marketing winners from losers. You've got audiences endlessly hungry for show-stopping video content. Will you be the one to serve it up with flair?

FAQs about Video Marketing Trends

The post Video Marketing Trends: The Future of Content is by Stuart Crawford and appeared first on Inkbot Design.