If you thought that long-form content like blog posts is the only way to reach your target audience fast, think again. While “Content is king and blogs are the king of content”, the audiences are veering towards video big-time and the people are lapping it up.

The recent stats show that YouTube has gone up by almost 30% and the engagement rate has never been higher. 56% of buyers are watching videos on social media portals and buying online. There is proven data that reveals that four out of ten people are loyal to the brands they follow and purchase only from those brands, once hooked. And 35% watch all their videos.

E-commerce sites are advised to increase their budgets for better results and greater ROIs. The trends this year and beyond do lean a lot more on digital video marketing among others.

• Social media video advertising

Video marketing on social media should be factored in for every small and medium sized business, and budgets need to be allocated accordingly. Paid or organically, the video format is bringing results and will continue to do so in 2022.

Apparently, videos in the vertical format are trending more than the horizontal ones but it is advisable to make both for enhanced viewership. Creativity has to be at its peak as the competition is fierce. 

Vlogs, social media stories, AR/VR video content, silent videos are some of the examples that we can delve into to understand impacts.

•  Vlogs: As the word suggests, vlogs are short-form video blogs. Much like blogs in terms of content, informational and lengthy, except it is in video format. Vlogs are the best for brand storytelling.
• Social media stories: The main objective of stories on social media is for the user to be able to relate their experience in their own unique way in the given format. May it be a story, informational video clip or status message.
• AR/VR Videos: While this content has been around for a long time now, it is getting more attention this year due to the sudden surge of interest in interactive video content by users. They will be an important ploy to use by marketers and that is because “Try before you buy” is becoming the lure.
• Silent videos: Who would have thought that the silent video will gain such momentum? But it has. A colossal 85% of Facebook video content is viewed silently. Soundless videos which are optimised for enhanced viewing and with some captions are a rage right now.
• User-activated content: A brand advocated by the user is the most believable and trustworthy, right? Credibility is appealing and a person who has used and appreciated a brand is the best bet to tell its story. This leverages the buying opinion and everyone is satisfied, end of the day.

• Shoppable videos

Do you have enough engagement or do you need to drive more traffic to your site? Nowadays, just browsing through the internet to find something you are looking for is not enough. People look at different social media channels and look for endorsements from influencers and brand advocates. 

The e-commerce industry has caught on and they are everywhere in disguise. Sometimes in the form of a video, a story or just a plain carousel, which when browsed through has a pop-up button that makes the shopping decisions quick and painless. That’s because these sites have thought of everything and have worked hard on giving the best user-experience. It’s a one-stop shop experience right where the user is at the time.

Apparently, 40% of marketers are using shoppable videos. Using a similar accessible type of content that is used otherwise. Interactive, concise videos that deliver the brand message and get the buyer to purchase should be promoted by the marketer.

• Short-form videos.

 In the busiest of times that the world has seen, there is no leisure of taking time off and watching videos endlessly. Whatever has to be consumed is quick, and the best way is short, informative and interesting videos on social media. 

TikTok and Instagram reels are the best examples of short videos that gained mainstream popularity in a very small period of time. Effectively, TikTok is by far the most liked social media platform with 800 million users in 2022. The TikTok craze swept the world with its very entertaining, easy-going format that lets users make short videos and offer fun and information along the way. 

Similarly, Instagram reels were introduced and became hot property in a matter of days, proving yet again that short videos are the ones the consumers have time for. A video that is 20 to 29 seconds long has been found to be the most watched, according to insights.

• Streaming Live videos

People are eager to network, have familiarity and credibility especially with the brand they are willing to put their faith in. Translated loosely, cut out the mumbo-jumbo and bring out the simple, authentic verse; relatable video content is here to stay. While it is humanly not possible to interact with everyone one-on-one, it is possible to connect with a big margin of users through live videos. 

Live videos are flourishing at a rapid pace. Every portal is streaming live videos, Facebook leading the pack, followed by Snapchat, Twitter and Instagram. 

So what changed between pre and post pandemic and subsequent lockdown?

• Facebook Live went up by 20%
• Twitter Live saw an elevation of 14% unique visitors
• 69% of LinkedIn users logged in for live events
• Instagram had an astonishing boost of 70% interactive users

This has become a perfect opportunity for brands back then and now to make themselves more relatable and approachable; increasing viewership instantly. 

Here are a whole lot of things that you can start with:

• Live Q&As
• Behind the scenes
• Webinars
• Brand stories
• Product demonstrations

Use these strategies to increase brand trust and loyalty and benefit from that. 

• Interactive videos

Who wants to read it if you can watch it instead? While the readers can argue with it and also have a fair point there, the truth is that the people have become very impatient and want a part of the action. That’s where the interactive video steps up. 

Social media is full of such videos where questions are popped up and users answer them, making the whole exercise engaging and friendly. That stays fresh in the user’s mind and they keep coming back for more. 

When the audience is given a chance to decide and choose, they feel more receptive to the brand message. This is not just interactive, it is known as a branching video. A branching video gives the viewer many options and the chosen ones each have different outcomes. 

A few ways that you can make your video interactive are:

• Email forms
• Newsletters
• Chatbots

These have already gained momentum and it’s time for everyone to dive right in.

• Optimised videos for search

Both B2B and B2C use the internet for any information, primarily. So, it is crucial that your optimised video content shows up regularly and has the correct reach.

While SEO does its job of keyword research and keyword stuffing in the meta-titles and meta descriptions to ensure the right reach, it’s not enough. Market studies indicate that likes, shares, follows, views, subscribers and comments show higher rankings especially with YouTube. Keywords are chosen strategically and enhanced videos are your best bet.

What about Google, the biggest search engine? How do the SERPs find your video content? A perfect strategy, optimised video content and SEO done right and you can rank right on top of all the posts.

YouTube has a strong research and analysis system in place, with well-defined goals. 

• To make the site easy to search by the users.
• To increase long-term user engagement and fulfillment.

SEO plays a major role in discovering a video but optimization and other tactics make it discoverable as soon as it is uploaded, because it is important that it be seen soon and not fall through the cracks. 

• TV-connected hosting portals

Due to the easy accessibility of videos through mobile streaming, more people are veering towards it. Though that’s not the only screen being used, people are consuming content through their smartphones connected to their smart TVs.

This clearly states the mindset of the consumers and the marketers have to adopt it strategically. The audience wants online videos, you give it to them. 

Find a video hosting channel that has an in-built stream to television facility like YouTube. If done right, can you imagine how many people will be able to watch your videos on the big screens? As well as how beneficial it can be when millions of people search for the said videos on the same platform?

And so….

Now you know what the biggest digital video marketing trends of 2022 are. With the constant competition, you need to be on your toes to be one step ahead of them. 

Any marketing campaign needs to add all or most of these trends as the viewership is enormous. This also comes with the responsibility to create good content for consistency, as well as succeed at it. 

One has to be in the know of everything; how the industry is operating right now where it is headed in the future and what trends to watch out for. 
“Content is the atomic particle of all digital marketing.” – Rebecca Lieb, author, strategic advisor, columnist, keynote speaker