I recently read an article from Business2Community on 10 video marketing trends to look out for in 2017. Since we’ve been known to share or our opinion on future trends in the past, we thought it might be interesting to compare the trends they picked with our own predictions. As a growing video production company in the Greater Toronto Area, we foresee many major brands and even local establishments taking steps to produce their own videos within the next 12 months.
Without further ado, here are the 10 video marketing trends to look out for, from the perspective of a video production company:
Great start. Although Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg denies it, Facebook is truly a gigantic media company and the amount of videos surfacing on the platform every day is insanely powerful in the hands of brands and marketers alike. The reality is, consumers don’t just watch videos on Facebook for convenience, they actively seek them out as a form of entertainment.
In June, we shared 10 things Facebook has taught marketers without them even knowing it. The amount of video on the platform has increased by 360% in the last year and is showing no signs of slowing down.
Needless to say, I think we might’ve hit the nail on the head with both of these predictions. At the beginning of June, we wrote about how businesses can use Facebook continuous live video in their PR strategy. With Twitter embedding Periscope into Tweets, it appears other social platforms will follow suit as they realize the advantages of live video.
In a way, we almost view the concept of live video being like a TV show, before the age of recorders or PVRs. Having to tune in at a particular time to catch a one-time broadcast of an event, interview or special message sounds a lot like a TV special to me, and yet we all seem to be amazed by it. We will certainly be on the lookout to see what other features online platforms will ‘borrow’ from traditional television broadcasts in 2017.
While not something we’ve touched on directly, we spoke about how video has allowed marketers to focus more on consumer experiences and less on the product to help boost sales.
In retrospect, videos that speak towards a customer’s experience become resources. Yes, consumers like to learn about a product’s features through a video, but they love seeing how a product makes the life of a user better even more.
Not only just that, but I personally have been the subject of trust issues when it comes to buying products online. When the product is accompanied by a well-produced video, I’m more likely to trust that product and its brand, as opposed to a product without a video.
While I agree that companies are certainly focusing more of their efforts on social media marketing in comparison to other forms of traditional advertising, I don’t think they’ve completely prioritized one over the other. One thing brands have figured out, though, is that their decisions to focus on either social media marketing or traditional advertising entirely depends on the product they sell and their target audience.
Not only that, but they’re more selective on which channels they use. For example, statistics show that the primary user groups for both Twitter and Instagram skew younger than Facebook. Facebook, is the primary avenue of communication for brands who target older consumers. Higher end furniture brands, retirement investment companies and other mature products and services have elected to pick and choose their battles, recognizing the return isn’t always worth the investment when it comes to social media.
Honestly, I’m not entirely sure this one counts. I didn’t even think it was possible to have more video apps than we already have. It seems like every single day there’s a new app rolling out that produces video content just a little differently than its predecessors. What else can they change? What new thing can they add that hasn’t already been done before?
If I had to guess, I’d say that if anything, video apps in 2017 will be better suited for live streaming. Twitch has a big responsibility here, and they could potentially even set the bar for other dedicated live streaming apps. Periscope will take a big step in the right direction, but as an app for the sole purpose of live streaming, it could take another year. With that said, I wouldn’t be surprised if both Snapchat and Instagram introduced “go live” features (very similar to that of Facebook), which allows users to actually broadcast in real time as opposed to saving content via stories.
Okay, maybe we didn’t use the same name, but I wrote a post on ‘audioless’ video earlier in the year, and the amount of similar-style videos has exploded. They’re fun, short, and usually fairly light hearted which makes them an easy watch for consumers.
The best part, is that I’m not entirely sure consumers have figured these out yet, in the sense that they don’t exactly realize they’re watching a marketing video. Most (if not all) of these videos are branded, and consumers are generally far too interested listening to what the video is teaching them to realize where it came from, until it’s too late.
All I can say, is we haven’t seen the last of these. In fact, I’d go far as to say that we haven’t seen the tip of the iceberg. The potential for these ‘audioless’ videos is endless, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see brands utilizing them in new creative ways in 2017.
Perhaps the first point on this list that I disagree with. Not even full-on disagree with, but more so with the timing. Yes, VR is coming, but it’s nowhere close to being the norm. We have at least another 5-10 years before it becomes the industry standard for every piece of content we consume, and here’s why.
VR took great strides this year, but it’s not there yet. Still, it’s exciting to see where the technology could end up in the next 12 months.
This scares me for one major reason. Memes. The worst, and best thing that the Internet has ever created. When they’re great, they’re really great. But when they’re bad, they’re downright terrible. Nothing will ruin the business world faster than unprofessional memes in day-to-day emails. Using them in Slack and other chat-based apps is fine but integrating any form of video into emails could be a downright no-no.
If we truly need video to explain something via email, perhaps we should revert back to the good old fashioned telephone.
Agreed, almost entirely because this is already happening. Search engines are growing stronger and sites like Facebook are learning every time we sign on. They know what content we like, dislike and want to see in our feeds every day, and micro-targeting is to thank for that.
This technology combined with more powerful “sponsored” posts on social media could be one of the best digital strategies in 2017.
A lot of brands/agencies have already started doing this, as it is well on its way to becoming an industry standard for brands that produce regular video content.
With that said, it’s worth mentioning that those who decide on this approach must be careful not to overload their front page. Smaller brands need to be even more careful, as they need to ensure that their website host can support the amount of bandwidth being transferred every time they get a hit. If it works out, brands will see a huge increase in SEO in 2017.
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