Videos have become one of the most important and prominent trends in marketing. To be quite honest, they are everywhere and touch every possible topic. Despite the traditional advertising videos during our day as a consumer, we might experience hundreds of touchpoints — there are videos on Instagram, automatically playing sponsored videos on Facebook, video content on online horizontal services as well as banners including promotional videos. Let alone Instastories that some of us produce daily. Some even say that video is the king — but why do we like it so much, both as marketers and as consumers?
Those of you, who have a longer career path in the marketing industry, surely remember the times when videos were not as popular as now, let alone being rather expensive. Not many brands were able to afford to have videos — and most importantly, even if they were, they were not as frequent as nowadays. So what happened over the years that has changed the landscape so much?
The answer might seem a bit cliché but as with many things that are trending right now it is almost the same: social media. The dynamic growth of social media channels powered by the fast pace of development of technologies gave the fertile ground for the growth of the video content. Some sources say that even 86% of marketers are using that kind of content — not only to sell and advertise but also to educate and bring entertainment.
A perfect mix
Video is a very engaging medium, and many point the fact that it joins picture, sound, and text in one as its main advantage. For sure there is a lot of truth in that. This is an excellent format for any educational purposes. It can incorporate both audio and visual elements that help to explain even the most complicated topics. An example? For sure most of you have encountered a B2B video explaining the perks of using a very complex tool or an animatic explaining what exactly does a certain company. Video is also better in telling some stories. It can move people more than a photograph could and have more emotional impact than written material. A video can give an impression of establishing a personal connection between the viewer and a cause and it is one of the greatest ways for storytelling.
More showing, less explaining
Motion pictures and videos for years served as one of the most popular ways of getting a message to the masses. As sad as it might sound to some, videos are very popular cause often they require no action. They do not require the audience to read nor to do anything else. They give us the information quickly — and in times when people get easily distracted, it is a win. But at the same time, it makes it easier sometimes to share the information because at times some things are easier done than said or explained or written about.
What the future holds?
For sure the number of videos that we will encounter daily will not drop. We can expect even more videos and not only from brands but also from people who surround us. It is almost safe to say that due to such fast development of technologies and easy access to video making tools, everyone can create their materials, and in the nearest future, that trend for sure will remain stable. And what’s in it for marketers? The abundance of video content creates extremely big competition among advertisers. The customers are being flooded with content and that is why they want to see what is relevant, valuable and what grabs their attention. There are only a few seconds during which we can tell a story to captivate the viewer and induce any sort of emotional response. And since the number of video materials will keep rising the video makers will have to look for even more creative ways for their materials not to be ignored. And adding to that the fact that most of the viewers watch videos without any sound? We cannot wait to see how the video industry will develop!
