Written by Michael Del Gigante
Although it’s been around for years, online video has finally been accepted as a mainstream marketing tool. Today, an estimated 81 percent of businesses incorporate digital video campaigns into their marketing strategies, and nearly all of those businesses plan to continue doing so.
Despite its popularity, video marketing continues to develop at a rapid pace thanks to the introduction of new platforms and advertising options, as well as changes in consumer preferences.
How is video marketing expected to evolve in 2019 and beyond? What potential changes could impact marketers’ strategies in the months ahead? MDG Advertising has identified the nine top trends it believes are worth watching in 2019.
1. Social Media Loves Good Stories
The big online story of 2018 was Stories. Pioneered by Snapchat, this unique social media content format soon found its way to Instagram and Facebook. Stories are social media posts that use a combination of images and/or videos that are only accessible for a short time.
The popularity of the Stories format has grown quickly since its introduction, and its popularity is expected to grow throughout 2019. More than 400 million people view Instagram Stories daily, which makes it increasingly popular among advertisers as well as consumers. In fact, video spending on Instagram is expected to double thanks to the Stories product.
2. New Video Formats Will Continue to Emerge
The increasing popularity of Stories with consumers and marketers alike underscores the fact that the video options available are more diverse than ever before.
The widening array of video formats also can be seen in the number of length and picture-quality options available to those wanting to post video content online. Some of the best evidence of the diversity of video formats can be seen in the aspect ratios used to optimize video for viewing vertically or on smaller screens. Facebook now has at least four size options for in-feed videos, and other online platforms are expected to follow suit by expanding their display options.
3. Video Isn’t Always Meant to Be Heard
Mobile devices and social media have not only changed how video is consumed, but they’ve also changed the way we listen to—or don’t listen to—video content.
Since people often view videos on mobile devices in public settings and in social media feeds, developers have begun to create content with “sound off” as the default setting. Since it’s highly likely that your audience won’t be hearing the audio portion of your video, it’s essential that the visuals are compelling and able to tell the complete story without sound.
4. Marketers Will Have Access to Diverse and More Effective Ad Options
In the past, the video ad options available to marketers were being able to choose between a 15- or 30-second pre-roll spot. That’s no longer the case.
Online platforms now offer a dizzying array of video ad options. YouTube has its skippable TrueView ads, while Instagram offers immersive Stories ads. The number of ad options is expected to increase significantly during 2019. Twitter recently launched an in-stream video ad option and Facebook has announced its own initiative to roll out new video advertising products—which will no doubt force other online platforms to do the same.
5. The Bond Between Video and Social Media Will Continue to Grow
The increased focus on video advertising by social media companies is evidence of a larger move by the platforms toward more video-oriented content.
This shift toward video content has been occurring gradually for some time now but is becoming increasingly clear. CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced at the end of 2018 that Facebook will intensify its spending on video-oriented initiatives, such as developing more Facebook Watch content. Zuckerberg also said he believes that the future of Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms lies in video. This means that for brands to succeed on social media in the years ahead, they’ll need to succeed with their video content.
6. Video Content Will Help Determine Search Result Rankings
The integration of video content extends beyond social media. The relationship between video and search engines is also expected to strengthen in the coming year.
In recent years, video content has been ranking closer to the top of search result pages on both desktop and mobile devices. Last fall, Google announced changes that will give video content even more prominence. The company is going to start using artificial intelligence to identify relevant video content based on search queries and play snippets of the videos at the top of the search results page. This means that creating video content will become an important aspect of search engine optimization.
7. Video Content Will Become More Platform Specific
New avenues for offering online video content also mean new challenges for marketers. The emergence of new online video opportunities means that it’s no longer enough to use a single piece of video content over all of your web and social media platforms.
To be effective, video content must be optimized for the platform, as well as the delivery format. For example, a brand may have to create different videos based on whether the content will be used as an organic video post, a paid placement, or a Story.
8. The Growing Acceptance of Educational and Informational Pieces
There’s a common perception in the marketing world that educational and informational video pieces are too boring to be effective. It turns out that this perception is incorrect. In fact, 72 percent of consumers say they want informational video content related to products and services. Today, more and more brands are devoting money and creative resources to developing educational and informational content, such as product tutorials or showcases and customer testimonials.
9. Creating Video Content Is Becoming More Affordable
Although video has long been acknowledged as an effective marketing tool, it’s also been viewed as too expensive, too complicated, and too time-consuming to create. Today, it’s possible to create high-quality video content with nothing more than a smartphone and a laptop.
The evolution of video marketing in recent years—and the speed at which new and better video options are becoming available—bodes well for its importance as a marketing strategy in 2019 and beyond.
Author Bio: In 1999, CEO Michael Del Gigante founded MDG Advertising, a full-service advertising agency with offices in Boca Raton, Florida and Brooklyn, New York. With his unique insight and decades of industry experience, he turned what was once a traditional ad agency into an integrated branding firm based on an innovative 360-degree marketing philosophy that provides a full spectrum of traditional and digital advertising services.
