Video is becoming one of the most sought after commodities in the digital space. A truly engaging medium, video marries motion picture and sound into one irresistible package that viewers worldwide are consuming in great big doses.
Times are changing though, and while I would have been unimaginable a few years ago, video consumption is moving away from the more traditional television and onto online channels in modern times. In the Asia-Pacific region for example, Mumbrella reports that “viewers consume an average of two hours of traditional TV daily.” However, the digital space is fast catching up with “1.6 hours spent consuming online video in any form, which includes free platforms like YouTube and Vimeo, and paid subscription sites such as Hooq, Netflix and Iflix.”
Marketers the world over have been taking cognizance of the growing popularity of digital video and setting aside a portion of their marketing budgets on this very medium based on its ever growing popularity.
What does the future hold for video though, is 2017 going to see a greater shift in video marketing? Is digital the way to go? We take a look at this and more with our nine hottest trends of video marketing in 2017.
1. Smartphone video consumption is booming
In this mobile-driven, smartphone-dependent generation, video is the single biggest consumed media online today. A report by Cisco says that “Mobile video traffic accounted for 55 percent of total mobile data traffic in 2015. Mobile video traffic now accounts for more than half of all mobile data traffic.” The same report goes on to state that “three-fourths of the world’s mobile data traffic will be video by 2020. Mobile video will increase 11-fold between 2015 and 2020, accounting for 75 percent of total mobile data traffic by the end of the forecast period.”
2. Infotaiment is the new wave
Infotainment marries information and entertainment and is expected to be a big deal in 2017. Consumers no longer want to watch videos that only inform. The video should be presented in an entertaining, easy to digest package to retain their interest and attention, and how to achieve this mix will be a big challenge for marketers in 2017.
3. Ad budgets are increasingly leaning towards the digital space
CMO an Adobe venture reports on the changing trends in ad spend for the digital space. Here is an interesting excerpt on mobile video ad spend – “Mobile and video are converging. In fact, according to the study, mobile video is proving to be a key area for increased investment, with budgets up 18% year over year.” An 18% year on year increase clocked back in 2015, this trend has continued to grow, and even more investment is expected in 2017 for mobile video ads.
4. Programmatic video is on the up
Programmatic video or taking the aid of software to invest in digital video ad space is huge these days. The same article says that “programmatic video has reached critical mass among 91% of buyers and 88% of publishers. The report estimated that by the end of 2015, 32% of all digital video ad spend will be bought programmatically, making up nearly $2.91 billion in ad spend. That number is projected to grow to 38% in 2016, totalling $5.37 billion—nearly 86% growth in dollars directed toward programmatic digital video advertising—all in the span of one year.” With the advantage of having real-time data guide the process to ensure that the video reaches target consumers with greater accuracy, it should come as no surprise that programmatic video spend is expected to increase in 2017 as well.
5. Reach of over a billion on YouTube alone
YouTube is the big daddy of digital video consumption. The numbers are staggering, and as per YouTube’s own admission – “YouTube has over a billion users–almost a third of all people on the Internet–and every day, people watch hundreds of millions of hours of YouTube videos and generate billions of views.” The enormous reach of YouTube will play a big factor in advertising spend decisions in 2017.
6. Facebook video consumption is on the rise
Another avenue for marketers to explore in 2017 is Facebook video. This article shows just how big Facebook is in terms of video. The article says that “users watch 100 million hours of video per day on Facebook,” a number they quote from CEO Mark Zuckerberg. It goes on to add that he also said, “500 million people watch Facebook video every day.” The article also points out that “the first number is new and apparently replaced the “total video views” metric Facebook has shared in the past.”
7. The consumer is depending on video for information
This Wyzowl study says that only 4% of consumer chose to gain information regarding new products and services through the manual, 5% speak to customer care via the phone for further information, and a staggering 44% chose to watch a video regarding the product or service to learn more about it.
8. Video apps are the next big thing
Techcrunch reports that Snapchat is becoming the new big thing in video consumption. According to the article “Daily video views on Snapchat have spiked to 10 billion. That’s up from 8 billion video views on Snapchat in February this year, 6 billion daily video views in November 2015, and 4 billion in May 2015. The new numbers represent a 150 percent increase in video consumption on Snapchat in just under a year.” Apps with video components such as Snapchat and Instagram are expected to continue to blossom in 2017 as well.
9. Multichannel is the new approach
In 2017, marketers won’t be able to restrict their activities to just Twitter and Facebook or YouTube. Getting the word out will require an attack on many fronts including a whole gamut of social media portals that are constantly cropping up. Being aware of trends and the new big thing in social media and constantly updating the marketing mix to match these channels will prove to be the big challenge.
If you are looking to expand your video portfolio and develop promotional videos for digital consumption, then look no further than Toolbox Studio. A digital video production company with a state-of-the-art 5,000 sq. ft. facility and experience gained from years of video production for clients across three continents and numerous verticals, we can deliver exactly what you need and when you need it.
