It’s pretty safe to say that Ervin & Smith loves video. As creatives, we enjoy the satisfaction that comes from seeing a visual idea come to life on-screen. And as marketers, we know that video continues to be an effective way to not just tell a story, but to create real ROI for a brand. In fact, embedding video on your site can increase conversion rates by up to 80 percent, and companies that use video grow their revenue 49 percent faster than organizations without them. So, we consider it a pretty important part of any campaign strategy.
With video (as with everything else), we’re always looking to stay on top of the trends so we can offer the very best ideas to our clients. Here are four things we’re considering right now:
1. Ephemeral content is growing.
Brands are starting to see the effectiveness of serving audiences short-term, daily content. It all began with Snapchat and then quickly found its way into Instagram and Facebook.
More than 400 million people now view Instagram Stories daily.
So now that we’re through some of the adoption growing pains, marketers have more opportunities than ever before to take advantage of this kind of content and capitalize on its growing popularity. We like that the ticking clock involved creates a sense of urgency for consumers to watch it now before it’s gone.
2. It’s easier to be cost-effective.
The cost of creating high-quality video has always been one of the biggest hurdles for brands. And as video has changed and the media landscape evolves, brands have been less and less confident to invest in it.
But today, there’s a wider variety of content types and ways to distribute video online. Brands can not only create more cost-effective videos; they can get more mileage and value out of them. Ultimately, this opens the door for brands to take more risks with video, create more of it, and experiment until they know what works.
3. Micro-video is now the norm.
In the past, the idea of telling a brand story in a six-second video wouldn’t have made any sense. But with more and more people streaming their content online, it couldn’t make much more sense today. Viewers are ready to hit the “skip” button as soon as the timer counts to zero on their YouTube video.
The window to get someone’s attention and make an impression on them has shrunk to 6-15 seconds, in most cases. For brands and content creators, it’s opened up an opportunity to create content that can solve this problem in the most creative ways.
4. Interactive video is the future.
Some trends seem to show up every year but never really find their way into the mainstream. One of those is interactive video. Over the years, there have been lots of great examples of what this type of video can do, but, for whatever reason, it just hasn’t taken off.
In 2019, we’re starting to see more ways brands are successfully exploring interactive video—and seeing results. Here’s a great example from NIKE of a brand handing the storytelling control over to the audience.
Video marketing is always evolving, and today, the possibilities extend far beyond the 30-second TV spot and one-minute explainer video. At E&S, we’re always looking for new ways to tell your brand’s unique story and for new channels to help connect you with your audience. Take a look at how we did just that for Do Space last year, and get in touch if we can help you tell your story.