We live in amazing modern times, and the proliferation of online video (and the bandwidth to make it a reality) is one of the biggest changes affecting mass communication today.
Over 80% of all Internet traffic will be video-related by 2020. On every platform, video is on the rise, in a big way. Here are some of the top video trends to keep in mind.
Live Video
According to a 2018 survey run by IBM and Brandlive, the future of live video is bright. 94.8% of the survey respondents identified that live video will be an important part of their 2018 marketing mix. 25% even stated that live content will be a top priority, edging out pre-recorded video.
Video Homepages
Parallax design has made full-page images a wildly popular homepage design trend, and video is increasingly becoming the star of the show. Full-page video loading screens or scrollers are present especially on design-forward sites.
The large file sizes associated with videos aren’t a concern for most broadband users—a fact that the most cutting-edge web designers count on—and while mobile surfers are notoriously impatient, even on handheld platforms, the trend is on the rise.
Branded Video Content
Branded video is one of the biggest video trends to rocket through the social media world.
The idea is for companies with viral content expertise to partner with advertisers to create intelligent campaigns—“native advertising”—in lieu of traditional ads. Buzzfeed has jumped into the branded content game, producing co-branded videos with companies like GE, Geico and Proctor & Gamble. Their “Dear Kitten” campaign with Friskies has gotten more than 16 million views on YouTube. Vice—arguably a pioneer in the video world, having spun their content into a standalone show on HBO—has worked with a huge number of brands, including Garnier, Samsung, Intel and Heineken.
The challenge is to create a corporate video production with audience appeal without it seeming like a blatant advertisement. Vice, for one, insists that while the content is sponsored, their internal team calls all the shots. Upworthy is another huge player in the branded content game. Their branded videos are doing three times better than the rest of their content as a result of their savvy with viral campaigns and smart use of paid media to help boost views.
Video News Remixing
Video news summaries are another new trend becoming popular online. Newsy, founded in 2008, has grown by leaps and bounds in the last few years with a model based on compiling other outlets’ news coverage. Their videos incorporate footage from a variety of sources, recapped by Newsy’s anchors—they’re repackaged, placed on their site, and syndicated to other news outlets online. Newsy has won numerous awards for its service, and imitators are sure to follow as this becomes one of the news industry’s biggest video trends.
Experiential Marketing
Experiential marketing is one of the most exciting trends in video advertising to emerge in the past several years. Brands interested in merging the power of actual product interaction with the viral pass-around of social media are willing to spend big bucks to create live brand-focused events that they hope will gain the attention of their brand followers.
Chevy got into the experiential marketing game with a series of campaigns for the Chevy Sonic—including one where users could click to drive up a counter and launch one of the cars from a bungee jumping platform, all streamed via live video.
WestJet is an influential player in the experiential market—their “Christmas Miracle” campaign, an emotional tear-jerker, has garnered millions of views on YouTube. The company interviewed passengers on a cross-Canada flight about what they wanted for Christmas—then delivered the gifts when they deplaned at their destination.
Heineken’s “Departure Roulette” campaign challenged passengers at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport to exchange their tickets for a chance at an exotic mystery destination—with free lodging and $2,000 spending money waiting for them on the other end of the flight.
Video Valets
Video valets are one of the video trends to watch in the customer service industry. For users frustrated with inadequate phone or email support, this service will allow face-to-face interaction with a company representative via webcam.
Amazon has already implemented the service with the Mayday button on its Kindle Fire HDX—and 75% of the tablet’s customer service interactions now happen via this channel. Amazon’s Fire Phone also incorporates the service.
Esurance has a slightly different take on the trend, implementing video appraisals via cell phone—customers can either video chat with an appraiser via smartphone and then set up a live assessment appointment or they can speed things along with an actual estimate recorded with their phone’s camera. The company even claims that customers can get an estimate and payment on the spot.
Many corporations both big and small have turned to video production as a marketing tool for building brand awareness. When your site hosts its own videos or uses YouTube, having a video on the homepage to explain your business has proven to be helpful. Videos are easier to absorb than books, and they bring a human touch to your marketing.
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