Video has become a huge player in the online marketing industry ever since Google started prioritizing it in search.
Ever since brands started to realize that they could rank in search more quickly with video than they could with a blog post covering the same information, they have started to put out more video content.
Now that the market is a little more crowded, it’s important that you do more than just create a video to get notice. Here are some of the top video marketing trends for 2017 that you might want to try:
Branded Content
Branded content is pretty self-explanatory – it’s a video that promotes the brand and its values.
Think of branded video content like a commercial except its purpose isn’t always to make a direct sale and its tone is a bit more sophisticated.
According to a study conducted by Forbes, there has been a 25 percent increase of branded content since January. That video content has result in 37 percent more views on social media.
A specific example includes branded video content for the Superbowl, which reached 2.8 billion people.
Imagine if your content could get the same reach. What would change for your brand?
Video Landing Pages
The right landing page can yield a significant number of sales and leads.
But instead of written content, more brands are now using video for their landing pages. Their ads link directly to these video landing pages, which make have the same goal of the written pages but are in a shorter and more easy-to-digest format.
The Forbes study found that video landing pages increase conversions as much as 80 percent over written landing pages and that 88 percent of visitors stay longer when the site has a prominent video being displayed.
Retail sites benefitted more than others from video landing pages. Users stayed on these sites 120 seconds longer when there was a video, and they were 64 percent more likely to make a purchase.
People on any site were found to be 52 percent more confident when making a purchase from a site with video.
If you are making video for your own site, be sure to include your company leaders or employees. Doing so will improve the trust your visitors have in your brand.
Live Video
Facebook has added the ability to stream live video, and the live streaming app Periscope has become more popular.
Brands are taking notice, and more of them are using live video specifically on social media.
Periscope alone has had 200 million broadcasts already, which translated to 110 years’ worth of video. Approximately 350,000 hours of video are streamed on the site daily.
Forbes estimates that 15 percent of the top brands are using Periscope right now, but no numbers were reported for how many brands are using Facebook’s Live feature.
The majority of the streaming content consists of sneak previews of products or promotions, presentations about current products, question and answer sessions, and celebrity takeovers.
Email Marketing Video
Email marketing has traditionally consisted of written content — after all, it’s an email.
However, more brands are using video in their email marketing, and they are finding great success with it.
Forbes found that brands who used video in their email marketing campaigns saw a 50 percent increased click-through rate, 50 percent more sharing and forwarding, and a 50 percent increase in time users spent reading the email. Video also helped them attain a better brand image and more customer loyalty.
Just using the word “video” in the subject of your email can improve your open rates and click-through rates. Brands who use “video” in the subject line also saw a reduction in the number of their unsubscribers.
Forbes found that the most effective types of video content for email marketing were training courses, product demonstrations, product promotions, customer testimonials, and brand messaging.
GIFs
GIFs aren’t technically videos, but they are similar. They are snippets of action that last a couple of seconds long, though they have no sound.
With the average person’s attention span being just over eight seconds, GIFs are ideal for online content. Brands have started using them more often on social media, where they can express feelings or reactions. They communicate much more than the limited space for short text provides.
GIFs are also great for engaging in trends since they are often taken from popular shows, movies and videos.
Finding ways to include more videos in all of your marketing efforts can help you reach more of your audience and increase your sales and conversions.
Read more: 2017 Marketing Trends to Keep An Eye On