Video content is marketer's best friend. It's no longer the case of including it in a company's marketing strategy, it's now a matter of building the strategy around video. So what are the top 10 video marketing trends in 2020 you should be aware of?
1. Being Easily Accessible
One of the major video marketing trends 2020 is making sure your videos are accessible across channels and people can watch them in different places. Post your video natively on different social media - YouTube, Facebook, IGTV, Twitter. Also, embed it on your website. Different people prefer to use different digital platforms. You need to adapt, in order to be able to send your message to as many of your ideal customers as possible.
In 2019, marketers reported that video distribution on YouTube and Facebook was almost equally effective for the brand they represent. 78% of them confirmed they will continue to use both platforms to distribute their video campaigns to reach maximum potential customers.
2. Video Formatting is Essential
Because you need to be present on more than one channel, you will need to customise your videos for each of these channels. For examples, videos on IGTV and Pinterest will have to be vertical to fit a mobile screen better. Facebook prefers square videos and YouTube requires landscape orientation and formatting.
360º videos is also a hot trend, which has been incorporated by a growing number of brands. One great example is KitKat.
3. Uniformity
Your brand identity must be protected at all times. And if you are serious about your business you know that branding is a vital part of the development. The lack of consistency in your marketing/branding materials will lead to weakened brand recognition. To keep your brand image consistent you should create video templates to use for different campaigns.
It's not only big companies that are following this video marketing trend, but also social media influencers. They know that without uniformity, their content could easily lose the brand identity and stall their popularity growth.
4. Interactive Videos on the Rise
There has been a growing demand for interactive videos. 43% of consumers say they would like to watch videos that ask for their opinion (polls) or give them an option to choose what information is fed to them. Today's consumer loves to be in control not only of the data they share with you, but also of the way you use it to supply them with content.
5. Personalised Videos Will Soon Take Over
I just mentioned the data consumers share with you. That will play a pivotal role in most video marketing strategies in 2020 and beyond. If you are wondering what kind of personalisation we are talking about, a good example would be the short videos Facebook makes us for friendaversaries, for our birthdays and more.
In 2014, Cadbury created a personalised video ad that used the name and images of consumers who consensually shared that type of personal data with the brand. The results - 85% success rate!
But let's come back to the present times. What type of personalisation are consumers looking for now?
Videos that reflect on specific products or services the consumer has or wants (pretty much like retargeting ads)
Interactive options (allow them to be fully in control of the decision making process)
Recommendations of what the consumer should or should not do next (expert advice and evidence)
Automatic adjustment to the type of device that's used (see Trend 2 above)
Current location taken into consideration
6. Pay Attention to Your Data
A big video marketing trend in 2020 number 6 is data-driven videos. This means content that is created based on consumer data rather than creativity alone.
Data-driven videos will not replace creative teams. Actually data analysts and creative marketers will have to work together to create a piece of content which truly captures the attention of the intended audience. Data pointers will channel brainstorming and fresh ideas in the right direction, making videos highly targeted.
Having said that, I feel I won't be telling you the whole truth if I just stop here. Data-driven videos are statistically proven to massively increase brand recognition as opposed to traditional TV ads, for example. But when it comes to purchase intent and consideration, the figures are quite similar.
7. The Return of Long-form Videos
If you remember, video marketing in the past few years, was all about short videos. Anything less than a minute. Last year, the hottest videos were even under 30 seconds. And that's because marketers were convinced people's attention span is getting shorter by the day.
While this is true, we seem to have missed one extremely important detail. Yes, the longer your video is, the less people are likely to watch it to the end. But the people who will indeed watch your 5 minute-long video to the end are much more likely to engage with it.
Not only the engagement rate for long-form videos is higher, but also the conversion! You have a consumer who is happy to spend more than a couple of minutes viewing your content and engaging with it. This shows clear interest in your brand and perhaps your product or service.
Think of long-form videos as short movies you make to fuel your storytelling. And in the present days successful marketing is all about storytelling - through words, images or videos.
5 to 10 minute-long videos would probably be the best recipe for higher engagement in 2020.
To produce such a piece you will most likely have to invest in video production, filming and editing. If you choose to outsource, it probably would require quite a hefty budget, but you have the option to do some of the work yourself. Learn to use some of the best video editing softwares and have a look at stock videos to help you tell that story you want your audience to hear.
8. Triggering Emotions through Video Content
Emotional marketing is the only way forward. We are simply tired of plain ads and overly-promotional content.
What we really want is valuable information, to learn how to do something. So, naturally, educational / explainer videos are gaining huge popularity and become a really effective tool to grow your own brand community. This is because receiving that valuable information evokes certain emotions of satisfaction, confidence and trust in your audience.
Other types of video that triggers emotion in consumers are:
Entertaining (laughter)
Product demo (confidence, trust)
Vlog (personal connection, ability to relate)
Interactive (excitement, sense of importance and belonging)
9. Video SEO
If you haven't considered optimising your videos for the search engines you should definitely start doing it now.
Videos are the preferred form of content for the majority of consumers who search for information online. So, it is crucial for your video to appear in the top 3 spots shown on the first page of Google.
To optimise your videos, you need to include keywords and phrases in the:
video file
video title
video description
video tags
subtitles
closed captions
original thumbnail
10. Short-lived Content
Video in stories is another massive video marketing trend in 2020.
First, stories have proven to reach much more people than regular posts on social media.
Second, stories are perfect for short, punchy, creative messages.
And third... the FOMO factor.
What's FOMO?! Fear Of Missing Out.
It's a condition that most millennials are "suffering" from. We are used to checking social media too frequently and constantly wanting new information. We want to know what's happening in the world every second of every day, because that makes us feel more secure and present.
Ironically, FOMO is a form of anxiety and it is also why this exact emotion is one of the 5 most powerful feelings you can evoke in people through emotional marketing.
Bonus Trend: Videos without Sound
Remember the iconic Charlie Chaplin silent movies? Well, this may now be a returning trend but for video marketing. We've all heard that cliche "A pictures tells a thousand words". It seems, it's true after all. Even though we are talking about moving pictures.
Video marketing is essential part of your strategy and should be incorporated on all levels of your marketing and sales funnel. It's no longer a simple creative game. It's a powerful combination of research, data, analysis and creative thinking.
Let's see your best video marketing campaign yet!
