At Slow Clap HQ, we’re (obviously) always trying to deliver the best content for our clients so that more audiences clap…more…slowly. But it’s deeper than that— we want to inspire viewers to act, whether that be sharing, subscribing, or signing up. In order to do that, we need to pay attention to more than just beauty shots and captivating storylines. We need to think strategy, we need to think trends— we need to be ahead of the curve.
And it’s quite a big curve to get ahead of. Video is, quite simply, exploding:
In 2022, 82% of all internet traffic was video downloads and streams.
Nearly 700,000 hours of video are streamed on Youtube each minute.
According to Vimeo, video is preferred by 80% of people over written text.
And despite the global economy taking a hit, 64% of marketers expect their video budgets to increase in 2023.
So here’s our two cents on what’s coming up in the industry and what to look out for:
BE A SHORT KING – Now this isn’t necessarily groundbreaking news that short videos can be more successful than longer ones. Maintaining audience engagement is one of the hardest things to do when making a video, so keeping a piece of content short and sweet can be instrumental in achieving it. As a video production company in San Francisco, we’ve known this for a long time and there are ever-more data to prove it:
- More than half of marketers say that videos between one and three minutes long are the most successful.
- 64% of marketers surveyed claim to say the optimal length of a short-form marketing video is 20-60 seconds.
Leveraging the power of short-form content is essential to any video marketing strategy. As long as it stays true to your brand, there’s no reason to shy away from it. It doesn’t have to be all about TikTok, but keeping your videos succinct and to the point will increase messaging and access to your audience.
It’s important to note, however, that this is not a blanket rule, and the length of a video should also be discussed in the context of the platform it’s going out on.
BE HUMAN – In a nutshell, successful videos are informative but also relatable. A recent study conducted by the Content Marketing Institute found that half of the respondents create videos to raise brand awareness and nearly 40% said one of their primary goals was also to create a human connection. There are multiple ways to do this— you can use real employees or customers over hired talent or delve into the world of UGC (user-generated content):
- More than 86% of businesses are utilizing UGC as part of their marketing strategy.
- 75% of brands feel that adding UGC to their marketing mix makes their brand content more authentic.
Not only do user-generated videos provide more value in terms of authenticity, but they also drive higher engagement and are often a good way to save time and money.
STRATEGIZE THIS – Creating content is all well and good, but if you don’t have a strategy to lead it out into the stratosphere and support it while it’s there, then you might as well stand on a hill and watch it roll down.
- Setting a video strategy is essential to provide direction and focus for your videos. If you publish a video without a strategy, and it doesn’t get seen, that’s not the fault of the video— it’s the fault of your strategy.
- Put your money behind the videos.
And that’s it! Good luck with all your video marketing dreams for 2023.