If video isn’t part of your content marketing strategy in 2017, it needs to be. A massive 300 hours of video are being uploaded every minute on Youtube and Snapchat and Facebook account for 14 billion video views every day1. If those numbers don’t seem crazy enough, it’s predicted that by 2019, 80 percent of all internet traffic will be video2. The following insights will help you stay ahead of the next incarnation of online video as its popularity with consumers soars.
1. Live Streaming
Real-time video was a highlight recently at SXSW in Austin, Texas and is expected to make waves in Australia into 2017. Live streaming app Meerkat is gaining interest and Twitter recently launched its newly acquired live video app, Periscope. While some marketers are using video in their campaigns, they’ve traditionally been pre-recorded and available on-demand. With real-time streaming comes a whole new opportunity to engage with audiences in a more human way. As Facebook, Youtube and Instagram continue to develop their live steaming offerings in 2017, content marketers who leverage these opportunities will have richer communication experiences with their target markets. Not only are brands able to use live streaming to communicate directly with their audience, their followers will be able to communicate back in real-time. Brands also stand to benefit from the increase in user generated content across Facebook and Instagram as fans start to broadcast their experiences through video.
2. Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and 360 Video
At the start of 2016, virtual reality remained in its infancy, but things are heating up now. Putting your content into the third dimension is a sure way to reach more people as the price of 3D headsets drops this Christmas and the format becomes more standardised online. Like other new formats, however, there is a risk of creating content that seems gimmicky. Content marketers are starting to better understand how to use this technology to tell meaningful stories. Entering the virtual reality world will create a new level of engagement with customers. In 2017, we will see this trend hit Australian ecommerce as online stores begin to invest in replacing photographs of products available with video demonstrations and 360 product views.
3. High-definition video
With the rise in smartphones able to shoot in 4K (high definition) along with steady cam gimbals, lenses and shooting rigs becoming even more affordable, marketers can shoot their own content with ease and much higher production quality. With the rise of the gig economy, we expect more people will earn income from the use of their mobile devices. Content shot on smartphones can be expertly edited with animations, voice overs and sub-titles through the 90 Seconds platform to create a professional looking and sounding video.
4. Fragmented media channels
With increased use of technology and a wave of exciting start-ups sweeping the globe, we will see the media landscape continue to fragment creating more channels than ever before. These channels will be content driven and appeal to specific target audiences. Marketers will need to adapt and create specific video content for these channels which will mean budgets will be increasingly squeezed to spread across the increasing list of channels. Traditional publishers will also feel the pressure to create video rather than written word in way to compete for an engaged audience.
Marketing teams investing in quality video content as a core element of their customer and social approach are leaving those without it in their wake. With Facebook’s recent announcement that it will evolve into a “video-first” company, its predicted that within five years, most of what people consume online will be video. It’s time to ensure your brand won’t be left behind.
By 90 Seconds MD Daniel Littlepage