In the U.S. alone, digital video marketing is a $135 billion industry. Whether it’s in the form of a livestream that’s broadcasting in real-time, social stories that get in front of your user’s face, or a next-generation VR or AR offering that adds an extra digital element, video marketing is going strong.
The Many Benefits of Video Marketing in 2019
Do you know why video marketing is going so strong that 93% of businesses reported gaining a new customer as a direct result of a video posted on social media? It’s because of the power of video storytelling that engages and keeps them on the hook until the very end. In fact, because of its visual nature, 80% of users can recall a video ad they’ve seen in the past 30 days, and an astonishing 81% have been convinced to buy a product or service after watching a brand’s video. To top it off, of the businesses using video marketing:
- 97% say video has helped increase user understanding of their product or service
- 78% say video gives them a good ROI
- 76% reported an increase in traffic
- 76% reported an increase in sales
It all comes down to the fact that videos are equal parts entertaining and engaging, and can deliver just as much, if not more information than other forms of content. Even better, it’s all passive. Whereas a blog post like the one you’re reading right now necessitates a user to become a reader, a video does not. Instead, they become a viewer whose only job is to watch and absorb.
Video Marketing Trends for 2019
Now that you have a good idea of the power of video marketing, it’s time to get your brand ready to use it. To this end, we’re going to cover a list of five video marketing tips and predictions from the experts you need to know about as we move deeper into 2019.
1. Social Media Will Feature More Vertical Videos
“Facebook ads get prohibitively expensive for most businesses, as there is increasing demand against an inventory base that isn’t growing. We’ve seen the base cost of traffic nearly double each year– now being close to $8 per thousand impressions, regardless of whether they are bidding for leads, ROAS, video views, or whatever.
The antidote is 15 and 60 second vertical videos (to look like what a friend would post, not an “advertisement” a business would run) and running chatbots (like MobileMonkey, where we can promote within a consumer’s inbox, which marketers haven’t ruined yet).” – Dennis Yu, BlitzMetrics
Image Source: Spotx.tv
The continual rise in the cost of ad-based traffic is making it hard to traverse the line between profitability and attractability, i.e. the ability attract an audience. On the one hand, you need to grow your audience and increase sales to grow your own business. On the other, doing so costs money that you may not have, and even if you do, its worth is diminishing by the day. Like Dennis points out, a solution to this dilemma comes in the form of vertical videos that mimic your Facebook friend’s videos and bypass the “ad barrier” most consumers have when browsing content online.
2. Multiple Video Formats Will be the Go-To
“While the last several years have been about short-form video across many platforms, I think the future will find content more segmented: Short-form, vertically-oriented video for Instagram, live video for Twitter. For longer form content, my team and I prefer YouTube, where viewers are more accepting of 5+ minute videos. Across all platforms though, the major trend will continue to be producing franchises that resonate with socially active audiences.” – Osman Noor, ESPN
Similar to first of the video content trends for 2019 we’re going to cover today, marketers are finding that using multiple video formats on alternate platforms works much better than using the same one everywhere. For example, while landscape videos are still the go-to for YouTube, square videos work better on Instagram, vertical videos on Facebook, and so on. The key here is figuring out where your users are consuming video content and then tailoring yours accordingly.
Here is an example of a case study video optimized for narrow mobile screens (i.e: Instagram)
While on the other hand, this About Callbox video is formatted for landscape (i.e: Youtube)
3. Storytelling Will Include Virtual Reality
“More will use VR storytelling. Virtual reality is really an underused tool and partially that is because not all consumers have the headset. But given that you can watch virtual reality videos as 360 versions on a phone or app, and not very many events are using them yet, it’s the perfect time to jump right in and make this strategy a big differentiation for your company.” – Christoph Trappe – Stamats Business Media
Whether it’s actual virtual reality (VR) in which you’re transported to a different world you can interact with, or a 360° video that places you in the middle of all the action, the reality is that storytelling is getting much more virtual. More and more brands are realizing that injecting a VR element into their videos makes them much more entertaining, which leads to a big jump in engagement.
4. The Rise of Augmented Reality
“There’s a reason every single mobile company and tech giant is investing millions, if not billions, of dollars in augmented reality (AR) as part of their corporate roadmap. AR is a big part of the future of social media marketing.” – Cathy Hackl – You Are Here Immersive Labs
Like VR, the rise of augmented reality (AR) content is another video marketing prediction for 2019 we’re seeing everywhere. Spurred on by the popularity of applications like Snapchat and Pokémon Go that use AR technology, AR in video marketing creates engagement and intrigue by allowing users to interact with real-world environments AND digital elements.
5. More In-House Videographers
“In 2019, more and more companies will realize that, whether we like it or not, we’re all media companies. In other words, these companies will accept the undeniable influence that video is having on the B2B and B2C sales, marketing, and customer service process– and the fact that if they don’t start to do something about it (show, not just tell), they’ll be left behind by their competitors. Furthermore, more and more companies will hire in-house videographers as a full-time position, due to the fact that in order to truly create a “culture” of video within an organization, you must become, for the most part, self reliant.” – Marcus Sheridan – Marcus Sheridan
Finally, one of the biggest video production trends for 2019 is that an increasing amount of brands are investing money on themselves to create in-house video production teams that eliminate the need to go to a third party. Instead of relying on someone else’s vision, these brands are finding that they can get more when they jump into the fray from beginning to end.
Final Thoughts
There’s no question that content marketing should be part of every business’ strategy, no matter their size or industry. From the smallest eCommerce run from an entrepreneur’s living room to the biggest enterprise with branches across continents, content marketing is a must. And then there’s video marketing, a tried and true tool at your disposal that’s only getting stronger.
As you create your strategy and begin production, keep in mind that YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram are the top 3 platforms for marketers posting social marketing videos and video ads:
- 87% of marketers have published video content on YouTube. Out of these, 90% found it to be an effective strategy
- 68% of marketers have published video content on Facebook. Out of these, 87% found it to be an effective strategy
- 41% of marketers have published video content on Instagram. Out of these, 78% found it to be an effective strategy
You should also know that longer videos come with diminishing returns (95% of consumers believe a video should be less than 2 minutes long), and that consumer-focused videos that benefit them perform better (the top three most effective branded video types are how-to videos, videos about sales and promos, and top 5 lists). In other words, make sure not to bore your viewers, and most importantly, that you’re providing something they can actually use.
