Regardless of the medium or the age of the audience, telling a story is one of the fastest ways to intrigue, inform and influence people. And, as has been proven time and again, video content is the best way to capture and retain the attention of today’s audiences. Digital video is already ubiquitous across the Web and is easily consumers’ favorite form of online content, which makes it a powerful storytelling tool for marketers. What comes next?
From the explosive growth of social media platforms that rely on short, user-generated videos to a boom in AI-assisted scriptwriting, the future looks bright for video. Below, members of Forbes Agency Council share 14 ways marketers can prepare to make the most of trends in video in the coming year.
Forbes Agency Council members share ways to prepare for the future of video marketing.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.1. Double Down On Video Content
Social media platforms are doubling down on video content, which in turn means creators and brands must do the same. Consumers are also heavily consuming video content, so it is pivotal to your brand’s growth to get used to creating quality, engaging video content for social media. Consumers enjoy video because they get a feel for the person they’re watching before ever meeting them. - Tony Pec, Y Not You Media
2. Develop A Creator Strategy
“Video marketing” is actually just another way to say “working with creators.” Video is just a medium; the rise of video is a story about the rise of creators. It’s creators who produce video content on YouTube, TikTok and now on Instagram Reels. As Google starts to index this content and these platforms continue to eat up time spent online, brands need a creator strategy. Start experimenting now. - Faique Moqeet, Hamster Garage
3. See What Competitors Are Doing
Take notes on what competitors are doing with their ads on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram Reels. Get ready to generate a lot of short-form and long-form video content in various formats while keeping production snappy, professional and on-brand. While you’re at it, get well-versed in the bountiful tools out there for editing (and even scheduling) dynamic content. Canva is one of our faves! - Samantha Reynolds, ECHO Storytelling Agency
4. Nail Down Your Branding And Key Messaging
Video content is king right now, and I would expect it to continue to be a priority, given the changes social media platforms are making that are tailored to video content. Video content provides a unique way to show rather than tell the value of your product. Marketers can prepare by first nailing down their branding and key messaging to showcase via video content in creative and relevant ways. - Bryanne DeGoede, BLND Public Relations
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5. Measure Progress Toward Your Goals With Video
The video marketing space has seen a lot of progress of late, and the numbers for video-first channels such as TikTok continue to grow. We are also seeing the rise of direct video buying through partners such as Mountain, where a digital video buy can start as low as $20,000 for testing. Fundamentally, digital and video are merging more and more, and video’s goals are going to continue to be more measurable. - Chris Toy, MarketerHire
6. Encourage Your Whole Team To Create Video Content
Video content is paramount, and this market will only continue to grow. Encourage your entire team to learn how to do video content well. Do test videos and make sure everyone knows how to capture truly amazing video content. Make sure they know simple basics as well, such as how to edit an iPhone video. Soon, it will become second nature. - Leeza Hoyt, The Hoyt Organization, Inc.
7. Start Curating Video Content Fit For Each Major Platform
Video consumption will continue to increase in 2022 and beyond, and video marketing will remain an integral part of any successful business marketing strategy. Marketers should start getting accustomed to creating engaging video content to prepare and benefit from this. Users are consuming more video each year, and it would be wise to start curating video content fit for each major platform. - Jonathan Durante, Expandify Marketing Inc
8. Invest In Recyclable Video Content For Your Business
People (and thus social platforms) are rapidly becoming more video-centric, so tapping into video creation will still be a valuable investment. One video can provide a bank of recyclable content for your business—TikToks, Instagram Reels, sound bites, blog content—the list goes on. Making something your audience wants to watch and using strategic targeting to put it right in front of them will be key. - Gavin Baker, Baker Labs
9. Optimize Video Descriptions And Enable Captions
All SEO trends point toward increased accessibility playing an integral role in Google’s search ranking. Keep in mind that Google owns YouTube, so it will be vital to promote machine readability and consumer accessibility moving forward. Optimize video descriptions and enable captions or provide transcripts. Put your keywords in multiple formats—in the title and description, auditorily, and visually in the thumbnail. - Evan Nison, NisonCo
10. Lean Into Creator-Generated Content
Brands will lean into creator-generated content to create short-form, one-to-one marketing that can be repurposed across all video platforms. Creator-generated content (unscripted but professionally storyboarded content) combines elements of trust, entertainment and information to create full-funnel ad spots. - Justin Buckley, ATTN Agency
11. Build A Video Strategy Across Your Content Ecosystem
SEO will play a larger role in video marketing. Search engines are getting smarter about interpreting video content and the questions it is answering. Build a video strategy across your content ecosystem. Use short-form video to incentivize traffic and long-form video on your site to showcase your brand’s expertise and provide key information. Then, leverage schema markup to ensure top search positioning. - Donna Robinson, Collective Measures
12. Give Customers A ‘Raw,’ Snappy, Low-Budget Sneak Peek
Generally, video marketing will continue to adopt a more “raw” style rather than a perfectly polished and “commercial-ready” style. (Think phone versus studio camera.) Giving customers a sneak peek at your fashions, service or technology in a snappy, low-budget way (with screen-shares or snapshots and the option to learn more) grounds your brand a bit and is far more cost-effective to produce. - Bernard May, National Positions
13. Turn Existing Content Into Videos And Vice Versa
As video content continues to gain traction, marketers will need to increase their budgets. An audit of your existing content can help you determine what can be turned into videos and which existing videos can be turned into derivative assets. Think 6-second reels and animations, audio clips, and webinar cuts. - Beth Newton, alpha | BRAVO
14. Focus On Stopping The Scroll
With the huge amount of content going out each day, audiences become slightly desensitized to ads. I predict there will be a huge focus on a “stop the scroll” approach in video marketing to capture attention in the first few seconds. I would advise marketers to facilitate scroll-stopping by doing something wild, creative and unique or by introducing a character your target audience loves, such as an influencer. - Anastasia Cecchetto, Ace Influencers
