The Greatest Video Marketing Trends to Look Forward to in 2018
It’s been coming since the dawn of the television age and the advent of YouTube…
Video marketing is a major frontier and marketers who know what’s what keep one eye fixed on video marketing trends. The truth is, consumers want video. 53% of people want to see more video content, and 73% of B2B marketers say that video marketing is good for ROI.
So what’s holding you back? Here are the up and coming video marketing trends you should keep an eye on – and put in rotation with your forward-thinking marketing squad.
Projection Mapping
Picture this: it’s video, but 3D.
Here’s how it works. Picture a normal projector putting a 2D picture on a wall. Now, instead of the wall, you’re projecting onto the three-dimensional object.
The world just got a lot more animated.
Part of the appeal of projection mapping is the dramatic effect—imagine a car launch using projection mapping.
Quality Over Quantity
Let’s be perfectly honest: everyone is in video, and everyone’s up on video marketing trends.
So cranking out another video just isn’t going to cut it anymore.
Video marketing will be so widespread – and the competition so stiff – that consumers just won’t waste their time on low-quality video anymore. And that means you need to up your video to meet their expectations.
It’s not just about stronger engagement numbers either. Good quality videos – well shot, well produced, with quality content – are more likely to be evergreen. So investing in a good video is doing future you a favor.
Live Video Streaming
Give your customers the content they want on the platform they want it.
People want to feel involved in your content, product, and events, even if they can’t be there personally. They also want to feel like they’re seeing real people behind all the marketing hoopla.
Live video streaming gives you the benefit of both.
You’ve seen the evidence on Facebook Live and other live stream apps. The common choice for live streams is Q&As, live events, and behind-the-scenes video, but that doesn’t mean you should keep your imagination in that box.
Remember: the goal of a live video is to make the viewer feel engaged in real time. This is the perfect time to do an event capitalizing on it.
Personalized Video in Sales
Can you see where these video marketing trends are going? It’s all about personal connection.
For salespeople, this is a boon – you can form a personal connection with someone from their inbox. They can see your face and feel like they’re engaging with a real human.
Even better? It’s ridiculously easy.
Your salesperson will sit down with their webcam and record a short video for a prospective customer. That video will then get sent as part of an email to greet the customer in their inbox. They can do this as an introduction to make themselves the main point of contact, or as a friendly follow-up.
Virtual Reality
Who knew it would exist outside of video games? Video marketing trends, apparently.
To be fair, this is kind of uncharted territory, and it requires a pretty deep marketing budget. Plus, your marketing power is limited by the fact that you need to get to your customers, convince them to put on a pair of glasses or a headset, and take the time to go on whatever adventure you set them.
Nonetheless, virtual reality offers intriguing marketing abilities. Ever wondered what it would be like to get your customer to associate skydiving or riding a motorcycle with your product? Virtual reality is the ticket to get you there.
Video Retargeting
It’s not just video targeting that’s taking off in video marketing trends. It’s also video retargeting.
Here’s the sad truth of the matter: 80% of your website visitors will never return again. And that is exactly why you need video retargeting.
Using evergreen video content to draw back those long-lost customers has a much lower cost per impression, and it’s been shown to work on people who have already expressed interest in the past.
Pinterest Is a Hot Market for Women
But then again, it’s always been a hot market for women. And it’s not going away anytime soon.
Women make up 82% of Pinterest users. So if you want to target them, one word: Pinterest.
The app introduced an easy way to do it with auto-played video promotion. Essentially, an advertiser can get their video to show up and automatically play on a user’s home feed. Plus, it will autoplay in their search results.
It’s a quick and effective way to make sure you’re getting right in your customer’s line of sight – and Pinterest incentivizes you to make a video that performs by making it cost less the more your video is consumed.
Mobile Optimized Video
You knew video marketing trends were heading this way. Come on now.
Young adults spend up to a third of their waking hours on their phone. And as of 2017, people spend an average of 135 minutes per day on social media.
SEO specialists are saying it. Digital advertisers are saying it. If you really want to engage your customers in the years to come, you’re going to have to create a video that’s designed with mobile in mind first.
After all, with the stiff competition, people aren’t going to waste their time with you when your competitors are making videos they can watch on their phones.
360 Videos
Immersive technology is on the rise – we saw it with virtual reality and projection mapping. 360 videos are another one of those forward-thinking video marketing trends.
360 videos are a lot like projection mapping, except the other way around. Instead of projecting the video onto a three-dimensional surface, 360 videos allow the viewer to control their perspective on the video instead of viewing from a single camera angle provided.
There are a few ways to do this – virtual reality headsets are the obvious choice, though it can also be done with a smartphone’s browser control (with a bit of creative shooting on the part of the marketer).
Just, don’t bank on using it for all of your content quite yet. Google ran tests and found it isn’t as readily viewed as other content (for obvious reasons) but it also has higher click-through rates for your trouble.
Customized Videos for Different Platforms
YouTube isn’t the same as Facebook, and Facebook isn’t the same as Snapchat, which is distinct from Instagram and Pinterest.
So why would you create a video for all platforms as though they’re exactly the same?
It’s a matter of knowing how your communities prefer to consume content. True, it’s a bit more work for your marketing team, but trust us: it’s always going to pay off to give your customers the content they want on the platform they want it.
Facebook Puts Video First
Facebook is up on the video marketing trends. You should be too.
Facebook Live is the obvious center of the show, but the marketing potential doesn’t end with live video, and you shouldn’t limit your inventiveness with the obvious choices.
In short: get familiar with Facebook Live, and keep tinkering with smarter ways to use it for your video marketing.
Videos Designed without Sound
Oh, you mean you were designing your videos with a strong audio focus? Whoops. Time to rethink that strategy.
No, we’re not going back to the silent film era, but the fact is that 85% of videos on Facebook are viewed without sound. So it’s time to let the video images start speaking for themselves.
It’s not just people scrolling through their feed who aren’t willing to turn on the sound. It’s also viewers in the doctor’s office, or public transportation, or waiting in line for lunch.
So when you think of video marketing trends, you should be turning your attention to how your videos can speak without needing sound – captions, subtitles, and on-screen graphics are your new BFF.
More How-to Videos
Content is king. And there’s a reason the listicle of Buzzfeed lore is wildly popular – it’s a consumer-friendly way to take in information.
The same basic principle applies to your video marketing. An evergreen video is a video that will provide valuable information that your customers want.
Maybe it’s an answer to a question. Or a step-by-step guide on how to make really awesome tacos.
People are turning to the world wide web to answer their pressing questions. And if video marketing is part of your digital strategy, you should be creating videos that answer those questions.
Use Video Marketing Trends to Your Advantage
Is your head spinning? Not entirely sure which video marketing trends you should turn to first?
That’s what we’re here for.
Postcreatives is an award-winning video production company that has worked with clients in almost every business vertical. You know your business, and we know video.
For a look at our video production packages, including digital ads, commercials and how-to videos, head on over to our pricing page.
But if you’re ready to get started, we’ve got your back. Head over to our contact page and we’ll be sure to get in touch regarding your project promptly.
