Video marketing has really been taking off as one component of content marketing and social media marketing over the last few years. But recently it’s been making serious strides to develop into something much more than mere internet commercials. And the five emerging video marketing trends discussed below are significant parts of how this is happening.
Take a look at these video marketing trends and consider their potential for your brand. There’s really no idustry, company, nonprofit, or personal brand that can’t take advantage of at least a few of them. And, as the technology and the capabilities of websites quickly evolves to incorporate these tools, they’re getting more user-friendly and affordable.
Current Video Marketing Trends
- Personalized video – Video created for and addressed specifically to one viewer is an emerging spin on phone calls, personalized emails, and other direct messaging. Personalization is highly effective in sales and marketing, and combining it with the popularity of video is shaping up to be a powerful strategy. And this combo is especially well suited for marketing to Millennials. One-on-one video can be a great way to establish or nurture a lead, introduce new products or services, say thank you, or otherwise build relationships with consumers.
- Live video – Live streaming is one of the hottest new ways to showcase special events and promotions, company culture, and other aspects of a brand in action. But it definitely doesn’t look like some passing fad. Done well, it’s engaging, shareable, and great for generating excitement and building trust. Shooting live video and sharing it over social media is a savvy, modern method of combining content and social media marketing that will help grow a following and drive new leads and sales.
- Integrated e-commerce – Online videos offer excellent opportunities to highlight the features and—more importantly—illustrate the benefits of products or services. It’s like making a compelling commercial, but with one huge difference: the ability to link right to a purchase, rather than hoping the audience remembers the content and takes some action from it at some point down the line. New approaches to “shoppable video” are developing quickly, making it ever easier for users to see a video ad and make a purchase directly from it.
- Virtual reality – This rapidly evolving field has so much potential, thanks largely to the immersive, memorable experiences it can create. Real estate agents are putting potential buyers right inside the homes they have listed, for example. This lets buyers get a better sense of whether to go see a property, and is even facilitating entirely remote purchases when needed. Letting consumers experience a new reality that features a product or service, virtual reality will certainly be a big part of the future of marketing.
- Vlogging – That’s the silly mash-up term for video blogging. Questionable name aside, this is one of the most important video marketing trends today. Content marketing takes many shapes, and this one can be particularly engaging and good for building trust. Creating authoritative, personable video content for your brand’s website is a powerful way to move viewers along on their buyer’s journey and through your sales funnel. Plus, if it offers useful information or entertainment value, it’s highly shareable on social media. And as video content is currently becoming more searchable, it’s getting more helpful for SEO and attracting targeted traffic, too.
