If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth a million. The fact that video-based content sites like YouTube and TikTok are raking in billions more in revenue than text or image-based platforms like Pinterest and Blogger is proof that video is king. And this does not only apply in regards to entertainment but also in the business world.
A 2015 article by the Harvard Business Review indicated that about half of all businesses had integrated videos into their marketing strategies. In the coming years, more than two-thirds of brand marketing content will be based on video, which further underscores the importance and effectiveness of video as a customer engagement tool.
What makes video such a popular and powerful medium of corporate communication is the fact that it turns what would otherwise be dull and monotonous static content into simplified, captivating, and easy to digest content. With that in mind, keeping up to date with the modern video marketing trends will greatly improve your engagements with your audience and improve your sales margins. Here are 4 of the best video marketing tips in 2020.
Shoppertainment
Shoppertainment, or shoppable video content is one of the most groundbreaking innovations in e-commerce, and in digital marketing in general. The trend, which involves the integration of links to a shopping cart below or at the end of a marketing video, has been used to great effect by businesses like Walmart and NBCUniversal.
The main idea behind shoppable videos is to use the ad to get the audience’s attention and then make the buying process as fast and straightforward as possible so they get to make purchases before they are further distracted. And even when the orders don’t come through, opening the link to the product’s website leaves them better informed about what your business has to offer, which bodes in well for future campaigns.
Vlogging
Another trend that is taking the digital marketing world by storm is the use of vlogging to covertly build the brand’s reputation and captivate consumer attention. Vlogs differ from normal promotional videos, in that they are less scripted and contain little marketing innuendo. Depending on your industry, you can build a great rapport with your audience and consequently make them more loyal by posting regular vlogs based on things like behind-the-scenes-tours, interviews with staff members, and sneak peeks of soon-to-launch products.
Personalized Content
Let’s face it – you can’t appeal to everyone at once, no matter what industry you’re in. Thus, it is advisable to determine the demographic that drives most of your sales and target them with content that appeals to their needs and preferences.
For instance, if you are in the fashion industry, your target audience will most likely be younger women. So, build your video marketing strategy with them in mind, which you can do by focusing on things like makeup tutorials, relationship advice, and so on.
Interactive Content
Faced with a constant barrage of marketing material, most people have become somewhat numb to ads, which has forced top marketing firms to think outside the box in order to maintain high conversion rates. The rise of interactive videos, which keep the viewers engaged throughout their durations, has been a game-changer for businesses.
Interactive videos, apart from containing marketing content, often include features like 360° View, where users can optimize their viewing experience by scrolling the video. There are also businesses that incorporate Branching algorithms into their videos. This basically lets viewers choose a path from several options, which takes them to the content they want to see.
Apart from capturing and locking the viewers’ attention, interactive videos are also easy to track in terms of viewing times, the paths most users choose, and the number of rewatches. All this is valuable information that can be used in designing future marketing materials.
