byVIDEO-FIRST CONTENT MARKETING

Video Trendsof 20166

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@_videod

The “play video” button is rapidly becoming the most compelling call-to-action on the web. This presents brands with an amazing opportunity to tell a compelling story that emotionally engages their audience and drives customer action.

This report sums up our predictions for the key trends in 2016 for #video and #contentmarketing. (And yes, we did just hashtag those words, like the cool kids we are.)

VIDEO ISGONNAKILL IT,Y’ALL!

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1. Video Marketing Grows UpWe’re kicking this off with more of a hope than a trend. A hope that like all great Coming-of-Age movies, Video Marketing reaches a turning point and leaves its old life behind.

The Video Marketing of 2016 will be all grown up, and done with making excuses.

No more vanity metrics, or living with FOMO and saying things like “Let’s just try experimenting with Snapchat content for our B2B marketing”. No more video-first-strategy-later. And no more jibber-jabber about “viral” and engagement and ROI without backing that talk up with results.

With maturity comes responsibility. That means being a little more strategic - with planning, frameworks, systems and metrics in place.

Watch out 2016, ‘cuz Video Marketing ain’t playing no more.

KEY TAKEAWAY: The brands that embrace “grown up Video (and Content) Marketing”with all that it has to offer will be the ones that win, and in a big way. (Cliché we know, but seriously.)

Inspired by: http://www.annhandley.com/2015/12/10/content-marketing-grows-up-my-2016-prediction/

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2. An Upshift In Mobile-Centric Video2016 is prime for brands that are ready to embrace mobile video marketing. Mobile video views are continually rising at breakneck speeds, and soon mobile devices will deliver the majority of all video views, according to video advertising platform, Ooyala.

What this means for brands and companies is that mobile video as an afterthought is no longer acceptable.

Yes, that means that you maybe, perhaps, definitely should stop trying to refactor TV campaign assets as mobile content. It just does crap-all for campaign performance and sinks money.

KEY TAKEAWAY: With mobile views making up 45% of all video views globally, it’s time to include mobile-centric video in your content strategy, if you haven’t already.

You can find Ooyala’s reports here: http://bit.ly/1Yc5V07

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3. Platform Royal RumbleEven though YouTube dominates the world of online video (with the support of big daddy Google), it is showing no signs of letting up. With the recent launch of their paid subscription service YouTube Red, as well as Google coming to the table with in-SERP video advertising, we can expect to see more types of video ads showing up in all new places. How will native video fit into all this? Now that will be real interesting to watch.

Meanwhile, Facebook is coming in at a very close second place, readying itself to take over. With the near-future rollout of Suggested Videos and perhaps even a dedicated video feed, there’s no doubt that Facebook is going to give YouTube a serious run for its money. And we’re talking, like, big money, yo. Sorry Vimeo, we’ve always had high hopes, but you’ve really let the ball drop on this one.

KEY TAKEAWAY: While YouTube used to be the only focus for most brands, the time has come to syndicate your content on both Facebook and YouTube. Just make sure you have the right metrics and funnels in place to capture audiences throughout their customer journey.

More on video campaigns in Google Adwords: http://bit.ly/1Yc65Vl

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3. Platform Royal Rumble (con’t)Besides the Big Two, let’s not forget all the other players too. There’s Twitter pushing their own native video, Vine (owned by Twitter) and Instagram (owned by Facebook) killing it in the short form video space and live stream video on Meerkat and Periscope (yes that’s Twitter too). Then there’s Snapchat, the ephemeral messaging app that’s recently reported 6 billion daily views on its platform.

KEY TAKEAWAY: While the choices may be confusing at first, clarity will come for brands that approach their video marketing with an audience-first focus.

Note from the Video D: Stay tuned on our blog for a post about Canonical vs Syndicated Content - How to ensure your video views link to the right places. Coming in Jan 2016.

More on video campaigns in Google Adwords: http://bit.ly/1Yc65Vl

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4. The Rise of B2B Video Marketing70% of companies say that video is the most effective tool for their content marketing, as revealed in a report by Web Marketing 123 that features insights from over 600 marketers.

Video presents brands big and small with an amazing opportunity to tell a compelling story and engage with their audiences.

And the proof, as they say, is in the pudding. According to Forbes, 59% of senior executives prefer to watch video instead of reading text, if both are available on the same page.

Furthermore, 65% of executives have visited a vendor’s site after watching a video, with 39% of them actually picking up the phone to call a vendor after watching their video.

KEY TAKEAWAY: Instead of trying to make one-hit-wonder videos, build a sustainable strategy that harnesses video as a powerful lead generation tool, taking your audiences from prospect to brand advocate.

You can get Web Marketing 123’s Report here: http://bit.ly/1Yc9pQi

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4. The Rise of B2B Video Marketing (con’t)Despite all of these statistics around the awesomeness of video marketing, many companies are still hesitant to jump onboard, usually because of the one reason: “The cost of professionally filmed video is expensive”.

While we do not deny that great videos cost a fair bit of money, the great news is that in this day and age, the costs are a fraction of what they used to be. And with a solid content marketing strategy underlying these video campaigns, ROI is potentially huge!

For those that are new to the game, short form, lo-res video is a great way to enter the arena. From 6 second videos on Vine and 15 second Instagram videos, to live streaming videos on Meerkat and Periscope, all you need to kick start your video marketing is a smartphone. (Ok we’re oversimplifying, but still we hope you get the gist).

Meanwhile, crowdsourcing services are helping bring video production costs down in a big way. Film and video equipment marketplace, hire-hive.com allows producers to rent high quality gear directly from freelancers, while crowdsourced video campaign platforms like mofilm.com and genero.tv give brands access to filmmakers all over the world, eager to make exciting video content.

KEY TAKEAWAY: It’s never been easier to create video content. Start small and scale up. And when you do finally scale up, understand that any money spent on high quality video is an investment, one which pays off in a big way when executed well (see: bottom line ROI).

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5. More #BrandedEntertainmentMake no mistake about it, traditional advertising is falling out of favor. The modern consumer sees through all of it. However, when the message is timely, relevant and comes from someone they like, brands see great boosts in engagement, trust and “sharing”.

Expect to see a lot more branded entertainment coming in 2016, either from brands as content creators themselves (see: Dylan Diaries from RealEstate.com.au) or from content creators making videos for brands (see: influencer marketing, the smarter version of product placement, in our humble opinion).

KEY TAKEAWAY: Consider loosening up on the corporate angle and let engaging, authentic stories help your brand shine. And if engaging in influencer marketing, look for win-win opportunities to collaborate. We’ll stress that again… collaborate.

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6. Get Immersive with 3D, VR and #360VideoWith YouTube launching its 360º video feature this year, brands and storytellers alike have already begun embracing this new tech to deliver a more immersive and interactive experience. They’ve very conveniently created a dedicated channel, just for you to check out: just search for 360Video.

Meanwhile, dozens of virtual reality devices are set to be released in the next few years, with the Oculus Rift (owned by Facebook) set to be released as early as the first quarter of 2016. From off-site virtual tours to “attending” live events, the possibilities are endless. Furthermore, these devices are predicted to introduce an entirely new medium of online advertising, with integrations to video platforms, social media and even instant messaging.

While some would argue that this whole 3D, VR, 360 thing could fizzle out in the same way 3D did for movies and home entertainment (heh, remember that year when it was 3D-everything?), we believe that the key difference here is that with personal devices, audiences are presented with the power of opting-in and conversely, the choice of opting-out.

The very nature of personal device viewing is very much a sit-forward experience, pair it with the interactive nature of this immersive tech and an opportunity arises to captivate consumers in a new novel way. Who knows, maybe the good ol’ “Smell-O-Rama” might make a comeback too.

KEY TAKEAWAY: We’re pretty excited about VR. No kidding, we are totally living in the future. How totally cool is that?

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So there you have it, our predictions for 2016. A very exciting 2016 for video, from the look of things.

Around the world, online video is fundamentally changing the way companies reach and interact with customers, offer their products and services, and essentially, do business.

The best part of it all is, this wave hasn’t even begun to crest, so come grab a board!

ANDTHAT’SA WRAP,PEOPLE!

Want to discover how video content marketing can help your brand?

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