Video is one of the most popular marketing mediums today, and like the stray cat your neighbor has been feeding, it looks like it’s going to be around for a while. We’ve seen some trends come and go already – good riddance shaky, Blair Witch selfie videos – while others are just coming into their own. From Story-based video within Instagram and Snapchat to the increasing popularity of live video, to the advent of video-specific search engine optimization, today’s marketers are experimenting with a completely new set of tools to create and share videos with their audiences. Here are 5 of the most promising for 2019.
Video is Going Live
Ready for your close-up? With platforms like Instagram Live, Facebook Live, YouTube, and Twitch, the stage is set for real-time video to make its appearance more than ever in 2019. With real-time video, users feel more like you’re speaking directly to them, which results in more engagement and interaction time with your content.
The proof is in the pudding: according to a recent Facebook study, live video watch time increased four-fold over the course of the past year. Make no mistake: real-time video represents a real opportunity for businesses today.
Vertical Video is on the Rise
A recent Statista report shows that over 50% of all online videos are now viewed in a vertical format in mobile, meaning you need to be thinking about how you can create video that is optimized for mobile.
Forget sprawling, horizontal wide-screen footage; creating vertical videos allows you to present an optimal foot forward in channels like Instagram Stories and Snapchat. Plus, with Instagram having launched IGTV and other companies likely to follow suit, vertical video is a format you can’t afford to ignore.
Video is Becoming Searchable
Channels like Facebook and YouTube allow you to embed captions in your videos. As AI gets smarter, its ever-improving ability to analyze and classify videos in search results means that video-focused search engine optimization is on the rise.
AI can even analyze the audio track of a video to transcribe it for search purposes. While this can feel a little “Big Brother,” it means that the verbiage you use in your videos is about to matter more than it ever has.
360 Video is a Reality
With virtual reality growing in popularity, it’s no surprise that 360-degree video is becoming a thing. 360-degree video allows viewers to change the perspective of what they’re watching, creating a more immersive and engaging experience. Do you want to feel like you’re right there on the red carpet with Lady Gaga? Now you can do that… well, almost.
The most in-demand categories for 360-degree video are sports and travel, live entertainment, movies, news, and TV shows, so look for more coverage in those areas in the near future.
Shopping Spree? Yes Please!
This one is dangerous. New advances in technical capabilities allow brands to highlight products within a video, with swipe-to-buy opportunities not far behind. It’s only a matter of time before you’re able to immediately purchase those stylish shoes the video host was wearing or that bag they were raving about.
Conclusion
While your grandma is still trying to figure out where to look when her phone is recording, the rest of the world is moving ahead with new video formats at break-neck speed. Video has the potential to radically change the marketing game in 2019, and it’s going to be exciting to see how companies are able to put all of the new formats and tools to good use over the coming year.
Whether you are just dipping your toe in the water with video or feel like you could give Spielberg a run for his money (um really??), Six Degrees Digital Media is here to help. From content ideation, to script consult, producing, editing, and actually getting your video seen, wherever you are in the video process, we’re ready to give you a hand.
