Video is a unique, versatile tool in the arsenal of any business’s marketing strategy, and one that’s only growing in importance year on year.
- 86% of businesses use video as a marketing tool — a 25% increase from 61% over the past five years.
- 71% of people consume more video content than they did in 2019.
- By 2022, online videos will make up more than 82% of all consumer internet traffic — 15 times higher than in 2017.
- Viewers retain a staggering 95% of a message when it’s conveyed by video.
In the continually evolving video marketing landscape, it can be challenging to stay on top of the latest goings-on. Keep reading to discover five video marketing trends to consider implementing in 2021 to help your business achieve its goals.
1. Optimize your video for no sound
To ensure maximum reach for your video, it’s crucial that you make it as accessible as possible to all potential consumers. Optimizing your marketing video to be understood without sound is a useful strategy to reel in consumers that may otherwise keep scrolling.
- 83% of viewers watch online videos with the sound off, with a further 92% of viewers watch mobile videos without sound.
- Implementing closed captions is a surefire way of increasing dwell time on your videos, with 80% of consumers being more likely to watch a video to the end if closed captions are available.
In the absence of sound, it’s important to ensure that your video is visually interesting right off the bat. The first three seconds of a video are the prime moment to capture your viewer’s attention, so opening with a dazzling visual will be a major boost to getting eyes on your content and help to bolster your video marketing strategy.
2. Keep it human
Viewers are more likely to identify with a video if they feel that it’s relatable. Promoting the authenticity of your brand can be a challenge, but the payoff can be huge.
- 90% of consumers say authenticity is an important factor in deciding which brands they support.
- Though 92% of marketers believe most of the content that they create is authentic, as few as 51% of consumers agree.
So, how can you ensure that the video content you produce is relatable? The use of stories on social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook provides the opportunity for your brand to appear laid back and approachable. Try out our video editor to uncover the authentic voice that stories have to offer.
3. The return of webinars
It’s impossible to understate the effect that the global pandemic has had on consumers, not least because it’s meant that most of your potential audience now find themselves working from home. This has contributed to the reemergence of webinars as a viable bottom of funnel marketing strategy.
- In 2020, 62% of video marketers used webinars, rising from just 46% in 2019. Of marketers that made use of webinars in 2020, a mammoth 91% considered them to be a success.
Being in the audience of a live webinar can provide your audience with a more personal video experience. You can record and distribute as needed for those unable to attend, giving your audience another opportunity to engage with your brand.
4. Video will have an even bigger impact on Google
Video is a significant player in determining your business’s SEO performance. Videos drastically increase dwell time on your page, which significantly affects your organic search performance. Dwell time is especially important in boosting your search performance because when Google’s algorithm notices that people are staying on your site for extended periods following a specific query, it’ll recommend your site to other users with the same query.
- 80% of marketers say video has increased dwell time on their site.
As well as maximizing your video’s accessibility, closed captioning also has a positive impact on your video marketing SEO. Closed captions make it easier for search bots to crawl your videos and determine their search value. Additionally, including keywords in your captions will increase the likelihood of your video appearing on SERPs.
5. User-generated content
User-generated content, or UGC, can be a goldmine when positioning your brand as an authentic voice on social media.
- Consumers are 2.4 times as likely to see UGC as authentic compared to content created by brands.
- As many as 79% of people say that UGC has a significant impact on their purchasing decisions.
Sharing outstanding UGC through your business’s social media channels can be a key component in prompting brand desire and is a great way to inspire brand loyalty.
Now that you’re clued up on some of the best video marketing trends to follow this year, sign up to Lumen5 and start creating authentic, professional video content.
