It may not be surprising to learn that, video is playing an increasingly important role in the way businesses tell their stories to customers. After all, 86% of marketing professionals already use video as a marketing tool, and 92% of video marketers report that they’ve gotten good ROI from their investment in sharing video content.
Video’s been an important part of businesses digital marketing strategies for some time now, but how video content is presented and on what platforms is changing impacting how businesses curate content and use video to educate potential customers on their products and services is changing. Let’s dive into the top five video trends we’re watching at Marketing.com.
1. Vertical, Short-Form Video Takes Over
In 2023, four social media platforms will drive the way audiences view and engage with video. That way will be without a doubt short-form, vertical video. To be relevant on TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and Snapchat, it’s becoming more and more imperative that businesses focus on creating and multi-purposing authentic, short video content that can be watched the way video is presented on those platforms.
It just makes sense. TikTok and SnapChat are only built for vertical video and Instagram displays every video in vertical format on Reels. If you want to control the way your content is seen, think vertical. Plus, chances are your customers will prefer watching your content when holding their phones upright. Snapchat recently told advertisers that users were nine times as likely to watch through entire vertical video ads as they were to complete horizontal ones.
You can also leverage the impact of vertical videos by making them brief. People are mobile and busy. Attention spans are short. The goal should be to tell your story quickly and with an entertaining hook that viewers will want to watch again and share on their social media platforms.
2. Silent Videos Make Noise
Did you know that for 85% of videos watched on Facebook, viewers turned off the volume and enjoyed the video without sound? That’s why in 2023, businesses will be optimizing their videos to be watched without silently.
It’s another case of audience driving content. People are watching videos everywhere – on crowded public transportation, in waiting rooms, standing in line while shopping, and in classrooms and during meetings – and they want to enjoy what they see without disturbing people around them. Also, businesses want to attract a global audience, and finding ways to communicate without sound saves post-production costs to overcome language barriers. Finally, people prefer a soundless experience, and Facebook reports that 80% of consumer react negatively when an ad is unexpectedly loud.
There are several steps you can take to make your videos work for silent viewing, even with existing content. First, include subtitles or captions. They should be easy to read, taking into account the small viewing screens on smart phones, and short and to the point. Also, this is video, so develop content that grabs visually and captures the viewer’s attention from the get-go. This might entail including animation or sharply edited scenes.
3. Video SEO Drives Search
It will become as, if not more, important for your business to optimize video for SEO just as you’ve been doing on your web pages and other content. A recent Forrester study revealed that videos with SEO are 53 times more likely to generate higher high page rankings than traditional SEO. Additionally, they reported that video search results make up an average of 15% of all first page results.
Social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube are poised to become potent social commerce sites as video SEO grows more important. Innovating through search engine algorithms and introducing payment features, they’ll be able to create new ways to incorporate video SEO into their sites and generate revenue.
What are the best practices for optimizing video content? Follow the same process you have in place to make your traditional SEO work. Start by making sure the video content you’re creating is relevant to your audience and, because it’s video, satisfies their search in an entertaining, attention-grabbing way. Then get the video content out on a regular and consistent basis onto the platforms where your audience goes. Finally, just as you do with other SEO, pay attention to title tags, keywords, and alt tags that increase the potential for better results.
4. User-Generated Content Takes the Stage
With the need for an extensive library of video content to keep up with the pace of social media in 2023, businesses will turn to advocates and influencers for user-generated video.
The advantages are many. Brand advocates connect communities with products and services and their content is trusted. They fill gaps in product information and share news and reviews. Followers value their opinions when making purchasing decisions in fact, 60% of consumers think user-generated content is more trustworthy than brand content.
This content may not have the polished look of professionally created videos, but that’s often just the point. Content that may appear raw and have poor video quality will seem more real to your audience. According to Stackla, consumers are more than twice as likely to say user-generated content is authentic compared to brand-created content. Even that’s changing, however. Smartphone camera technology and intuitive video editing platforms are giving your fans innovative tools to share stories that help you look great.
Businesses can capitalize on the growth of this content with customer referral programs, by offering incentives and swag, or creating forums where customers can share their experiences through videos. Influencers can play a large role in video marketing campaigns for products by spreading brand awareness through user-generated content. They can bring refreshing creativity while increasing your brand’s awareness through their video content.
5. Live Ecommerce Video Gets Real
If you have an e-commerce business and you’re not including live video shopping opportunities for your customers, 2023 is the year to jump in. According to a 2021 McKinsey report, livestream shopping generated conversion rates approaching 30% — up to 10 times higher than conventional e-commerce.
Shopping patterns are changing, and as is the case with many things, the pandemic opened the door for customers to turn to the internet to buy things. Social media platforms are innovating to meet them through new ways to connect and sell through video. Live video streaming is available on practically every platform and Statista reports that 63% of consumers ages 18 to 34 watch live streaming on a regular basis.
Live video gives customers the opportunity to make purchases directly through the live-stream video and fill their shopping carts without interrupting their experience with the video. Obviously, influencers will play a large role in the expansion of e-commerce video with their ability to bring their groups and followers to their live-streaming occasion.
Live-video productions do not have to be elaborate and, as in the case with user-generated content, the more authentic the experience for viewers the higher the likelihood they’ll be engaged. Examples of live-video streaming for ecommerce marketing include live-streaming events, behind the scenes looks at design and production, interviews, demonstrations, and Q&A sessions.
Conclusion
In 2023, businesses will be faced with the task of staying relevant through engaging, educational, and entertaining video because that is how their customers will expect to hear from them.
For some businesses, it may be a matter of adapting existing content to match platforms and viewing styles. For others, newer to the game, it’s an opportunity to grow video strategies from the ground up. Both will have to up their video game to stay competitive this year.
