That’s a wrap on 2023! Many marketers are now looking ahead to pinpoint what trends to focus on in 2024. Video consumption continues to soar year upon year as consumers scroll endlessly through TikTok and watch online video content for an average of 17 hours per week. So, there’s no doubt that video marketing will continue to soar in 2024 as the #1 strategy when it comes to engaging your target audience.
Keeping on top of the trends is imperative when it comes to choosing what video content to put out, when and where, to help your video marketing strategy succeed this year.
So, what are our predictions for the year ahead in video that should feature in your marketing strategy?
In 2023, short-form video surged as the reigning champion of video formats, delivering the highest ROI and being embraced by 62% of businesses. The ascent of platforms like TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels has demonstrated the popularity of short-form video on social media. TikTok’s audience grew to 1.5 billion users, which is an increase of 16% on last year – who knew the platform’s engagement still had space to grow! And this growth isn’t expected to end any time soon, with TikTok expecting to reach an impressive milestone of 2 billion users by the end of 2024. That’s one-quarter of the global population!
And how did the platform drive results for the brands we know and love?
In 2023, PureGym won the Greatest Performance category at the UK TikTok Ad Awards, showcasing the effectiveness of short-form video for brands. As a result of their 12-month campaign with the TikTok creative exchange team, PureGym reached almost 11 million people through the platform, which resulted in a 77% reduction to their cost-per-acquisition.
So, if your business has not yet delved into short-form video content, with such an exceptional growth in customer base being possible, it’s time to take on this video format in 2024.
Whilst there is no doubt that short-form video will continue to thrive this year, Hootsuite are also expecting the comeback of more long-form videos (defined as between 2-5 minutes long) taking over our feeds.
Hootsuite based this prediction on multiple factors, one of which being the latest updates in video lengths available to creators on TikTok and Instagram.
During its initial launch, TikTok users were restricted to a maximum video length of just 15-seconds. The platform’s video length limit has gradually increased over time, now allowing videos with a maximum length of 10 minutes. Instagram Reels permits even longer video content to be uploaded, with a limit of up to 15 minutes!
Another reason to expect the return of long(er) form videos, is the shift in user behaviour in 2023 where we began treating social media platforms like search engines. This change in behaviour means that video content should offer higher levels of detail to enable creators to answer the questions users are searching for on social media in more depth, which requires more time.
Will the return of long-form video catch brands off guard in 2024? It seems that striking the right balance of short and long-form video will be the key to success, but creating long-form video content that is engaging throughout can be a challenge for even the most experienced creators
Another trend that has been on the rise and will continue to thrive in 2024 is user-generated video content.
User-generated content (UGC) emerged as a dominant force in the 2023 social media landscape; transforming how brands utilise video to establish trust with their audience. In fact, UGC has surpassed the more widely recognised format of influencer content that marketers began employing as a go-to marketing tool in recent years in terms of effectiveness and potential ROI. As research shows that users find UGC to be 10x more powerful in influencing their purchasing decisions.
Brands are beginning to recognise the power of the authenticity in the voices of their customers, with video testimonials and informal product demos serving as a low-cost and highly effective advertising tool. This shift has prompted experts to predict a decline in influencer marketing strategies in favour of UGC, fostering more genuine connections between brands and their audiences.
GoPro are a great example of a company using user generated video content to their benefit. In their ‘Million Dollar Highlight Challenge’, GoPro incentivised top creators with a $1 million prize for filming content to feature in their #GoProHero7 Black Highlight Video using the camera. The resulting video went on to rack up over 3 million views on YouTube!
By involving their community of daring GoPro users, the brand showcased their product in the way it’s meant to be used - in action!
As the popularity of short-form videos has skyrocketed in recent years, it’s fair to say that many of us have felt our attention spans shrink by result. With so much exciting content being just a swipe away, it’s harder than ever to engage your audience and stop them from losing focus or scrolling on.
Interactive video helps your viewer feel fully immersed in your content by involving them in the narrative. More and more brands are starting to see interactivity’s impact on the effectiveness of their content; from interactive movies and TV shows on Netflix where viewers can follow their own journey, to gathering data from customers using in-video polls and quizzes.
In 2023, skincare brand Ava Estell discovered the power of interactivity when they created interactive, shoppable product videos on their Shopify store. As a result, their conversion rate rose to 21% and engagement on their website increased by 16%.
Personalised video continued to take home the gold for big businesses in 2023. In fact, Royal London, XPS Pensions Group, and TPT Retirement Solutions won major awards in their respective industries for their personalised video campaigns with VideoSmart in 2023.
As well as proving to be an award-winning video solution, personalised video helped brands to drive impressive results, including 98% video end rates, a 328% uplift in industry average email click rates, and a 53% uplift on industry average email open rates.
By combining both video and data, personalised video provides a more meaningful experience by speaking to your target audience at a personal level. Did you know that personalised videos are 35% more likely to retain viewers than videos that aren’t personalised? If you want your videos to be absorbed as much as possible, then making them personalised to your audience is the way to go. It also seems that the more customers get used to receiving personalised communications from brands, the more they expect it on a regular basis, as 71% of consumers expect personalisation from the brands and businesses they choose.
Here’s just a few ways personalised video can help you overcome your business’ challenges in 2024:
Build trust and loyalty: Personalised video fosters loyalty by utilising customer’s important data in a way that benefits them. Get in contact using personalised video at key points in the customer journey like renewals or anniversaries to show that you care and that their continued custom is top of your mind.
Convey important information in a way that’s engaging: Lengthy policy agreements and jargon-heavy documents such as contracts can be hard to communicate and can often simply be glossed over because of this. Research shows that email campaigns that use personalised video have an 8x higher click-through rate than standard emails.
Create one-of-a-kind shopping experiences for each customer: Take visual product demonstrations a step further by tailoring content to match customer shopping behaviours and preferences. In fact, personalised shopping cart recommendations influence 92% of shoppers online to buy products.
Stay top-of-mind: Leave a lasting impact with your customers by standing out amongst the thousands of ads they see each day. 78% of consumers are more likely to repurchase from a brand who use personalised content! Break through the noise with personalised video.
Are you aware of the potential of personalised video but aren’t sure how to put it to use in 2024? Contact us at hello@videosmart.com to learn more about combining data with video to serve unique and engaging personalised content throughout the customer lifecycle.
As more and more video marketing trends take the spotlight in 2024, the importance of video accessibility shines brighter than ever. In 2023, the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) released the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2. These latest guidelines have a particular focus on accessibility in video – raising the standard in the UK. Ensuring video content is accessible is crucial, and when looking to guarantee that your video content can be understood no matter the accessibility requirements of your audience, personalised and interactive videos are the perfect fit.
Simply using video as part of your marketing strategy is a great start, as video is widely recognised as a more accessible media type for people with learning difficulties like dyslexia, compared to written content. This is due to the multisensory combination of audio and visual cues that video provides.
Subtitles and video descriptions have transitioned from being optional to absolute necessities in video marketing. And by recognising the diverse audience spectrum, such as individuals with learning difficulties or hearing or visual impairments, brands are realising that accessibility goes far beyond merely providing subtitles.
Video accessibility extends to various other features, like audio descriptions, careful consideration of fonts and colours, balanced audio levels, and appropriate contrast ratios – as per the WCAG 2.2 Guidelines.
As brands dive deeper into video marketing, it’s important not to neglect implementing accessibility features to create inclusive and engaging content experiences for all viewers.
Whilst the power of video is widely recognised as the best way to engage your audience, its potential to boost SEO can go under the radar.
Marketers, however, are increasingly recognising video’s impact on SEO, with a staggering 87% acknowledging that video has extended the dwell time on their website. SEO has long been recognised as a proven method for expanding reach, but with video now increasingly on the scene, where does it fit in with Search Engine Optimisation?
In 2023, Google reported that videos are 50% more likely to rank higher on search engines than other forms of content on your webpages, so marketers are likely to be considering a shift in their SEO strategy in 2024, making video a top priority.
Businesses that are using video strategically and aligning their video content with relevant keywords are set to reach a wider audience than businesses that neglect video, whilst gaining an increase in clicks and conversions on their website.
Last year, faux, or ‘fake’ out-of-home (FOOH) video adverts created using CGI and Augmented Reality created a lot of buzz within the video marketing landscape. The FOOH trend took off in summer when Maybelline launched an impressive CGI mascara stunt by adding lashes onto underground tubes and buses which brushed through a giant Maybelline Lash Sensational Sky High Mascara wand. The campaign went viral on social media, with many gullible Londoners even rushing to find the stunt in London Underground Stations.
Were you fooled by these other top FOOH ads in 2023?
JD Sports released a video of the iconic London landmark, Big Ben, sporting a yellow North Face puffer jacket, whilst crowds of people stood mesmerised.
With a reported marketing budget of $150 million, it’s no surprise that Barbie released a video of a giant Barbie doll stepping out of its box next to the Burj Khalifa, during the lead up to the launch of the movie.
Jacquemus put their Designer Handbags on wheels with their FOOH campaign in April 2023. Their first video featured giant handbags cruising the streets of Paris, but it didn’t end there. The luxury brand has posted multiple FOOH videos ever since, and their latest post featured a giant handbag made of snow sitting on top of a house.
Vapiano celebrated World Pasta Day with a CGI video where giant spaghetti hung from the side of their building and waiters opened its doors to giant fusilli and penne spilling out onto the street
What makes FOOH ads so successful? By featuring a hard-to-believe and attention-grabbing representation of a product, these videos are successful because of their creativity and implausibility, making it impossible for users not to share the outlandish videos on social media. These posts quickly go viral, sparking talk and attention about the brands that dare to think out of the box with these FOOH ads.
Keep an eye out for more brands embracing the trend of wow-factor FOOH ads in 2024. With endless creative possibilities, they’re bound to be popular for years to come.
With multiple video trends continuing and emerging in 2024, we’re excited to see how brands will adapt their marketing strategies to drive results and take on these game-changer opportunities in video.
To kick off your 2024 in video marketing, contact us at hello@videosmart.com.