When you think “video marketing” what’s the first thing you think of? Probably YouTube. Since its launch in 2005, YouTube has dominated the online video arena. And in the past year, Facebook videos have become more popular for brands looking to engage their audiences. Paying attention to the top innovations in online video can help you understand how you can incorporate video into your marketing efforts and better engage your audience. We’ll review the top trends in online video in 2015 and then dive into 3 ways you can incorporate video into your 2016 marketing efforts.
Top 3 Trends for Video Marketing in 2015
#1. Live Streaming
At the start of this 2015, social media users were buzzing about a new online video experience – live video streaming from smartphones. If you were paying attention to the social media sphere at all in March, all anyone could talk about was Meerkat. Then, within a month of Meerkat’s launch, came Periscope.
Skiing Down the Mountain on Periscope
Periscope and Meerkat are both smartphone apps that can be used to create and view live video feeds. Their exponential adoption rates (within four months, Periscope had over 10 million user accounts!) reflect a viewer preference for interaction. Live streams are refreshing. They give you an inside view into a potentially unfamiliar world. Ever wondered what it would be like to spend a day at racing school? Check out a live stream by Skip Barber Racing School some time.
While it’s fun to read posts and see pictures posted by your role models, favourite athletes, celebrities, etc. – seeing what’s happening in their world as they experience it makes you feel like you’re involved. This involvement is an exciting new way for companies and individuals to interact with their audiences across the Internet.
#2. Video Audience Segmenting
When it comes to content marketing, we talk about audience segmenting all the time but things haven’t been as clear-cut with video. Vine, YouTube, and Facebook all developed targeted offerings in 2015. Both Vine and YouTube rolled out kid-focused apps this past year as well. While the obvious convenience for parental controls is appealing to parents, it also means advertisers have a more refined audience channel to target.
YouTube also launched YouTube Gaming and YouTube Red in 2015, attempting to optimize user experiences for unique audiences – gamers and high-octane video consumers. Facebook even rolled out a new Video Playlist feature in 2015 that’s quite similar to YouTube’s. How does this relate to audience segmentation? It’s simple: brands now have more control over the way their audiences browse through their Facebook videos. You can create playlists of videos for each of your unique audiences!
#3. Enhancing Interactivity
If you consider the popularity of live streams in 2015, both YouTube and Facebook have taken note and updated their capabilities. In August, Facebook launched live streaming for celebrities, Live for Facebook Mentions. Then, in early December, they announced that they’re testing the ability for any Facebook user to share live video on Facebook too!
Photo Courtesy of: YouTube.com
YouTube updated their interactive capabilities with YouTube Cards. In addition to annotations, you can use YouTube cards to call viewers’ attention to other videos, merchandise, playlists, websites, and more. YouTube cards offer a variety of new, visually enticing ways to prompt viewer interactions.
3 Easy Ways to Incorporate Video Marketing In Your 2016 Efforts
No matter what kind of video you plan to offer your audiences in 2016, focus on making it interactive to capture attention and increase engagement!
#1. Live Stream
New to video? Tight on budget? Worried you don’t have what it takes to create a full-blown video? Keep things simple and use the best that 2015 had to offer you! Hop on Periscope and live stream to your social media audiences. While your world might seem boring to you, that could just be because you’re so used to living it every day. Your audience might think otherwise! All you need is a smartphone and a catchy stream description, and then you can invite your followers to interact with you. Worried no one will be watching? You can record your live video streams for your audiences to view later!
#2. Create Short, Personalized Videos
Live streaming make you a little anxious? Not ready to engage your customers on the spot? Pretend you’re Facetiming or Skyping a customer or prospect and record away. (And don’t forget to share these videos on social media!). You can record your answer to popular questions or reflect on the ways your customers have inspired you. Heck, go ahead and create a video for a specific customer or prospect, the personal touch will make them feel special because you’ve taken the time to answer them specifically. It’ll be as if you’ve handwritten a note but in a modern way. Looking for some examples? Dell and Warby Parker use personalized videos to interact with their customers!
#3. Produce Interactive Videos
If you’re comfortable publishing videos to YouTube, make sure you check out the new YouTube cards and understand how they work so you can seamlessly incorporate them. If you’re looking for more control over an interactive video journey, you can use a free web app called Treehouse by Interlude to create a number of different journeys from one set of video clips. You can share videos directly from Interlude to Facebook, Twitter, and Google+!
Try Some Video Marketing in 2016
We live in a screen-focused world, so video isn’t going anywhere any time soon. But you don’t have to create award-winning films to captivate your audiences. Be honest, listen, and invite your followers to interact with you via video!
