In 2021 the average person is expected to spend 100 minutes every day watching online videos.
According to Marketing Charts, that’s a 19% increase compared to daily viewing minutes in 2019.
Video has become a here-to-stay essential in the business marketing tool kit, so what as a business are you doing to keep front of mind with your clients or customers? And what are you doing to stay ahead – or at least with – the pack when it comes to innovation?
We’ve nattered with colleagues, clients and other video pros as well as taken a peek into our crystal ball, to bring you the video trends to watch in 2021.
1 Live will thrive
A pandemic-forced immersion of digital interaction – think meetings, presentations and socialising on Zoom, Google Meets and others – made in-the-moment video conversations a part of the zeitgeist.
Without the opportunity for the video norm of re-takes ’til perfection, a one off and low fi necessity actually enabled businesses and brands to generate genuine authenticity and high engagement.
Expect live to dominate across all platforms as brands experiment to find new ways to entertain and connect with users, with content rather than quality more important than ever.
A study by 99 Films reveals 80% of consumers would rather watch a live video than read a blog, and video streaming is expected to account for 82% of all Internet traffic in 2021.
Live is like Zoom – but more. Check out what we have to say about getting ready to Zoom.
2 Learn content
What emerged as a way to fill the boredom of lockdown, educational and learning video will boom bigger than ever in 2020.
As an expert in your business and industry, your knowledge has worth.
And more than ever people are prepared to pay for a front row seat in what you have to say on video.
However with increased demand comes increased competition for eyeballs. And if you expect your audience to pay, they will expect quality both in the content and in the delivery: professional trumps DIY every time.
See what others have done in the educational video space.
3 Personal video
One to one video will continue to be the new face to face, lockdown or otherwise. But in 2021 it will reach a new level of sophistication and a larger take up.
Expect to see one to one video become more common in prospecting, relationship building and logistics
Whether you’re a brand who uses high end tech to customise video frames (say with names from a mailing list for instance) or low-fi DIY phone video that speaks to one person only, personal video is powerful and generates higher CTR and Open rates in emails.
Building personal video into your business processes may seem like an effort, but with an easy and repeatable production and publishing process in place, the benefits will greatly outweigh the initial inconvenience and effort.
4 Shop-able Videos
Get ready to use video not as a brand or store awareness tool but as a direct pathway to purchase.
2021 will see greater opportunity for brand creators to use interactive elements within their videos – areas on screen where viewers can click, tap and interact in more detail.
This year give video showcases a go and offer up your viewers / customers the opportunity to tap to buy or interact with links that direct them straight to a product page.
5 Optimise for different platforms
One video for all platforms is so 2019.
In 2021 it’s about delivering a video that suits each platform and the iterations within each to win engagement.
Sound vs. no sound, horizontal vs. vertical orientation, click-to-buy link or not; the list goes on.
Your video can still be – approximately – the same content, but making each version platform specific will be down to editing – cropping, editing, exporting and uploading in different formats.
6 Video SEO
Getting the size and shape is half the battle, 2021 is also the year of video SEO.
This year more than ever using video keywords, tags, titles and descriptions will enable algorithms to use their smarts to deliver your customers the videos they want – eg yours.
Video SE like all SEO is about opening your brand, your content, your products and services to a totally new audience.
6 Video, value and visuals
At IFD we’ve been harking on for years about value for customers, not the “me me me” that we have traditionally seen in brand video. In other words give viewers something in return for their eyeballs.
Value can be a laugh, it can be an amazing piece of information or tip and this year – more than ever – entertainment. And visual storytelling is more important than ever to distinguish you from the pack.
As life reverts to more-like-the-old normal, expect a return to old sound-off viewing habits. Visuals will become key once more to getting your message across so welcome back infographics, motion text and eye-goggling footage.
7 Go Pro (fessional).
In 2020 92% of marketers said video was an integral part of their marketing strategy, up from 78% in 2015 (Hubspot) But with this increased trend in brand video, comes more competition for eyeballs.
Whilst 2020 saw a burst of low-fi covid-induced video, this year will see the opposite.
The shine of low-fi, low cost and low effort video has dulled
And to deliver the much-needed better viewing experience, businesses will need to use considered planning, strategy, idea, production and SEO.
Time-stretched and under resourced marketers are realising the worth and value in outsourcing to video professionals.
So whatever direction you’re taking in video – jump on board the trends for better results. And if all this is too much – then reach out and see how we can help you with your video marketing in 2021.