Here's some 2020 vision for you: in four year's time video will make up 82% of all consumer internet traffic. No doubt most of that data will be a mix of people binge-watching another hit TV show and cats chasing lasers, but there remains an important lesson for marketers. Video is now a critical part of how you promote your brand.
Increasing access to faster broadband has grown over the past couple of years, causing the demand for video to accelerate dramatically. Businesses that have successfully jumped onboard this content express train have experienced astonishing results. 52% of marketers say video gives the best ROI, while 80% said that video campaigns on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube have had a direct impact on their business.
No wonder, the Content Marketing Institute's recent report on industry trends showed that video was one of the top four tactics used by content marketers. Video is in vogue and it's only getting hotter: 60% of marketers say they will increase spending on video in the next 12 months.
If your marketing organization isn't investing in video content, it's not just that you're missing out on an opportunity or that your competitors are moving ahead of you. You're also putting your existing audience at risk - 1 in 4 consumers said they lose interest in a company if it doesn't use video.
Social media is the premiere outlet for video content - just think of how many auto-playing clips you scroll by every day - and some brands, like MTV News produce up to 12 social videos a week.
You may not be quite ready for that level of output yet, but if you do want to ensure your business is reaping the rewards of social video, here are five tips for creating great video content.
Source: http://syndacast.com/video-marketing-statistics-trends-2015/
1. Create templates for telling your story
The video production team at collaboration service Polycom developed a successful format for introducing new products using video. "First we make a short teaser", explains Polycom's Senior Video Production Manager. "If you watch that and want more information, we have an in-depth demo video. Next you get how-to videos and customer stories. It takes you on a journey."
2. Don't worry about length
Though you may see statistics that suggest 30 seconds or two minutes is the optimum length for a video, Rob Finch, Creative Director at video agency Blue Chalk, believes that the rules are out the window. "Produce whatever works for the story", he advises. After all, a typical TED talk is 18 minutes long and those videos have been viewed billions of times.
3. Pay attention to pre-production
As excited as you may be to grab a camera and hit record, Executive Producer, Scott Lyman recommends putting enough work into scripts, storyboards and preparation to ensure you get the best results. "The last thing I want is to spend my client's post-production budget fixing things we didn't get right when we were on set."
4. Cut down on creative admin
Like any creative project, the review stage is critical for developing engaging video content. But for Erik Arheden, Executive Producer at production studio UPPERFIRST, "getting feedback used to involve a lot of administration." Switching to a video collaboration service like Hightail helped UPPERFIRST and their clients stop wasting time discussing timecodes, describing scenes and collecting comments from multiple reviewers. "Hightail was a hallelujah moment for us."
5. Get to yes faster
The entire process of creating a video - from pre-production and the shoot to editing and the feedback loop - is time consuming. The last thing you need is lack of approval from a key stakeholder preventing an audience from seeing your video. Elite Daily does away with this bottleneck altogether by having a retrospective review process. You don't need to go to such extremes but you could use Hightail to make it faster for managers and execs to access, review and approve your videos.
For a better way to share, review and improve videos without writing down endless timecodes, try collaborating on your video content at www.hightail.com.