Trends in online marketing change with each new channel and method of delivery. Every year brings with it new technology and opportunities as well as social channels that catch user fancy.
When it comes to the battle for customer attention, the big winners in this arena are always the early adopters who stick with specific channels and build massive followings.
Video marketing may not be new, but as the market evolves, it has certainly emerged as the clear winner. YouTube is already dominating the field, with over a billion users who watch a hundred million hours of video every day.
To further sweeten its marketing appeal, this video sharing site reaches more viewers in the 18 – 49year-old categories than any of the major cable networks in the country.
While YouTube’s traffic expanded almost 50% in the last year alone, video viewing options have also opened up.
For instance, Facebook and other social platforms offer in-live streaming and embedded videos, and there are some services like Periscope that are designed for the brave no-do-over pioneers who do their video marketing in real time.
If you still doubt the importance of video marketing today, take a look at the video ads in the search results.
The launch of in-SERP video ads by Google, Bing, and other search engines is yet another indicator of how popular this type of digital marketing is.
Now that more and more video is being incorporated into the rich search results, marketers can no longer ignore the fact that video has become one of the most important digital marketing trends today.
Why is Video Marketing So Effective?
The big retailers are already on board, together with billions of eager viewers.
The SERPs and social media platforms are ramping up the opportunities for viewing, and video marketing looks set to explode in a spectacular way.
But what exactly is it that makes video marketing so effective?
Social media and content marketing transformed the marketing game in a big way. Then brand storytelling was center stage, driven by the benefits of humanizing brands and allowing the businesses to connect with their customer base in a way that is more meaningful.
For the majority of small businesses, video offers a relatively easy and inexpensive way of leveling the playing field.
This is where smaller online businesses hold the advantage over the massive businesses and expensive advertising spots.
Here are a few ways in which you can use video to stand out from your competition:
- To answer customer FAQs
- To showcase products or services in action
- To show user-generated contributions that feature real-life customers
- To introduce yourself or your staff
- To show your customers an intimate look behind the scenes
- To demonstrate product use
- To feature video testimonials
- And so on…
Studies show that the impact of video on sales continues to grow, particularly for small businesses.
You can also use simple, straightforward videos in your own business’s marketing to build an audience and boost your credibility.
New Technologies in the Future
Most of the aspects of digital marketing have moved toward personalization in the past few years.
We’ve seen more interactive content and targeting. New technology for creating videos now allows marketers to take this concept to a whole new level.
You can now create engaging videos that go beyond viewing to response.
We’re even going to see a massive increase in videos that include data collection forms, polls, and videos that allow you to choose your adventure!
Some big businesses have already been using this technology, but now it’s becoming more popular with small Internet businesses as well.
This is particularly thanks to the innovative video production programs which make that type of fancy interaction easy and inexpensive for anyone to use.
Now that you have a clear idea of why video marketing is important and why you should be using it in your own business, it’s time to take a look at the different video marketing trends that are gaining steam right now so you can choose the best one to jump on board with.
5 Video Marketing Trends to Boost Your Marketing Strategy
1. Business ‘Vlogging’
We all know how vital having a blog is for your online business, but a ‘vlog’ or video blog can be just as effective for driving traffic to your site. Depending on the niche you’re in, video content can significantly boost your lead generation efforts.
Vloggers usually film various aspects of their lives (whether they be exciting or mundane…) As a business vlogger or entrepreneur, however, you would need to give your viewers a little peek into the life you lead so that you can build a better connection with your audience.
This doesn’t mean that you have to share all the details of your personal life, but rather that you have to show your audience that you’re human.
So this could be showing them your daily life, or showing yourself working on your business, advising clients, and so on.
This is an amazing and extremely affordable way of growing your audience.
All you really need is your smartphone, some free or paid editing software, a YouTube channel, and you’re ready to go.
2. Live video
Live video makes your viewers feel that you’re speaking directly to them.
It also increases engagement because your audience is typically going to want to chime in on that particular conversation by asking questions or commenting in real time.
In addition to increasing engagement, that added personalization offered by live videos also encourages viewers to stay a lot longer.
There are many ways you can use live video in your own business, such as:
- Showing off new products
- Offering tutorials
- Product demonstrations
- Webinars
- Q & A sessions
- Interviews
- Live tours
- And a whole lot more
This is a simple and inexpensive way to boost awareness for your brand, and it’s one that more and more small businesses are taking advantage of.
3. 360-degree Videos
Since their introduction to the market, 360-degree videos have proven to be an experience that is truly unique, interactive, and effective.
The ROI on this type of video marketing is unbelievable and their use will only continue to grow in the coming months and years.
A 360-degree video is a great way of immersing the members of your audience in the feeling that you want to convey. It gives them a more ‘real’ taste of that particular experience.
These videos are obviously perfect for those in the travel industry, but they can also be used by many other industry segments such as real estate, retail, museums and galleries, events and promotions, car dealerships, etc.
To create a three hundred and sixty-degree video for your business, all you need is a good quality camera and editing software that will allow you to stitch your video together into a 360-degree video.
Thanks to the new, easy to use technology that is available today, creating this type of video is a lot easier than you’d think.
4. Youtube Ads
Even big companies that used to advertise mostly on TV are now turning to YouTube ads to reach more customers.
YouTube ads not only cost a lot less than TV ads, but they also reach a lot more people. This is a great way for small business owners to connect with and grow their audiences.
It’s a simple, affordable, and extremely effective method.
As previously mentioned, on an average day YouTube reaches more adults than any of the cable networks do – and the good news is that the majority of their users don’t mind seeing advertisements ahead of their video content.
5. Virtual Reality
This trend is still in its infancy, but we’re going to start to see heavier use of virtual reality or VR in the coming year.
You can expect this type of video marketing to become more mainstream and more accessible for small online businesses.
With experts at Statista predicting that by 2020 virtual reality and augmented reality will have an economic impact of over $30 billion, this is not a video marketing trend that online marketers shouldn’t ignore.
Some businesses use virtual reality to teach their customers how to go about remodeling their homes while others can show DIYers how to tile a roof, paint a wall, or unclog a pipe.
It has been proven that people who go through virtual reality lessons have a recall that is 36 percent more improved than those who just watch video tutorials.
No matter what niche you’re in, there’s probably some way to incorporate the use of VR in your marketing to maximize the results you get from your efforts.
By now you have a rough idea of which of these hot video marketing trends would work best in your particular business. Once you’ve made your choice, you can then use the steps listed below to help you implement this in your marketing.
You’ll be able to create useful, entertaining videos that capture your audience’s attention so you can stay one step ahead of your competition now and in the future.
5 Steps to Using Video Content as Part of Your Marketing Strategy
1. Target your Audience
Prior to implementing video content into the overall marketing strategy, it’s important to target your audience. If you already have this information, that’s great.
But if you don’t, don’t take the next step until you’ve determined who exactly you’re going to be creating videos for.
For instance, you don’t want to be presenting cartoon videos to serious business people, do you?
2. Choose the right type of video
Once you’ve clearly determined who your ideal viewers are, it’s time to choose the type of video you’re going to create.
Remember, different types of videos will have varying levels of impact on different audiences. This means that you have to give this part some serious thought.
‘How-to’ and product description videos generally correlate best with all types of audiences.
You can create videos aimed at showing the specifics of your product or services to your customers. Or you can have videos that showcase your product and what makes it unique and different or superior to your competitors’ products.
3. Experiment with Different Formats
There’s no one way of doing this that will work for all online businesses out there.
So while video content is an absolutely awesome way of connecting with your audience, you should still try to experiment using new, and even provocative styles of content.
Do your best to use every possibility of video creation so you can offer the most out of your brand’s story.
For instance, you can combine text, animation, and live action to make your videos more impactful. Videos that look like this are unusual, which means that your viewers won’t soon forget your video.
You’ll likely even attract new followers and fans. So never be afraid to try new things, as this is what often brings superb results in marketing.
4. Keep Video Content Aligned With Your Previous Strategy
Video content doesn’t always stay the same compared to how it was produced originally. In order to maintain a consistent look and feel, always create videos following a set of brand guidelines.
For instance, use the same logo in all your videos, or make sure the colors and fonts stay the same.
The video content may be on a totally different level than your text, but it’s still vital that your audience is able to recognize your brand immediately whenever they’re watching your videos.
5. Don’t Shy Away From Creativity
As a marketer, you should always think outside the box, so don’t be afraid to step out of it when creating videos.
The more creative and unexpected you can get, the higher the odds that your video will go viral.
Of course, this also depends on your industry, but it’s something you can effectively use in the vast majority of niches.
When your videos go viral, it could mean thousands of new customers – and that’s the goal, right?
Over to You
No matter how big or small your business is, if you haven’t done it already, it’s time to consider including video content as part of your overall strategy.
Use the steps listed above to help you get started right now so you can begin to see better results from your marketing efforts.
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PlanetBizOp.com
->Steven
Updated: Originally published April 7th 2019
