We’ve all been watching the steady growth in the amount of video streamed on the web. This year, video will account for 69% of all Internet traffic. It’s already immense and will continue to grow in 2017 and beyond. What are the video trends my fellow video aficionados should be looking to capitalize on in 2017? Gear up for the transformation of video. Social video, interactivity, and connected TV apps will all mature in 2017, making this the year your video can really stand out and create an impact.
Prediction 1: Social Video Participation Won’t Be Optional
2016 was the year that social video took off. Facebook had previously been a place where you could watch video, but last year Facebook became the place people went to watch video. After all, how many of you anticipated your “Year in Review”? And, as Facebook video viewership grew, so too did YouTube, Twitter, Snapchat and others. Social video is what people want, and businesses would be wise to create excellent social video experiences. Here’s why: nearly three quarters of all consumers who watch social video make a purchasing decision based on that social video. They are also more likely to recommend a company when they have a positive social video experience and more likely to discourage interacting with a company when they have a negative social video experience. A business’ social video impacts brand perception, so it’s important to get it right.
Prediction 2: Richer Video Experiences Will Be Built Through Interactive Layers
The days of differentiating yourself by putting a video on a homepage are over. How will thought leaders differentiate their brand and customer experience in 2017? Adding interactive elements to video content provides the next level of engagement brands seek. Furthermore, interactivity provides more touch points for analysis. Your video analytics can be used to reveal even deeper insights about your relationships with your audience by seeing who clicked what and at what time in the video. Interactivity can be used for embedding links to relevant content, adding calls-to action to convert leads, or creating shoppable video with ecommerce experiences. Interactivity provides relevant, engaging experiences for your target audience. It is the future of how people will interact with video -- just like how links on a webpage allow us to go deeper and deeper within a brand’s digital experience.
Prediction 3: Brands Will Gain (and Want) Access to the Living Room Again
Video is already mobile, typically consumed on mobile apps for social networks or media publishers. For the past 60 years, the television has been the dominant video medium. But now with the rise of new TV products from Apple, Amazon, Android, and Roku brands have the opportunity to extend their reach with video, providing the unique, engrossing experiences that larger screens are uniquely suited for. Ten years ago we said every brand would be a media publisher. Gaining access to the living room and spurring engagement with interesting branded content distributed via TV apps sees this prediction becoming a reality. Lowe's innovative episodic series 'The Weekender' and Sotheby's new app that explores the international art market are some excellent examples of brands doing this. We expect to see a continued rise in the importance and popularity of extending the video experience in new ways on the television.
Prediction 4: Businesses Will Now Produce like Studios
Interested in getting the best return on your video investment? Hire and build out an internal video production team to partner with you in a holistic video strategy in 2017. Agency fees rack up real fast and still require oversight. With all the ways in which we anticipate companies will use video in 2017, these highly skilled individuals will become an increasingly common in-house resource. They will represent your business, brand, and voice in a way that only employees can do. As a core member of your marketing and business development team, these creative professionals will have insights and opportunity to expand video initiatives in never imagined ways.
Prediction 5: Video Communications Will Become Commonplace
Video can communicate on a deeper, more personal level than newsletters and emails, and its deep analytics convey the effectiveness of each message. Companies are always looking for new, more engaging ways to communicate to their target audience. Here are some ways this will happen in 2017:
-
Internal Communications: Live streaming internal CEO addresses, casual weekly updates and training videos
-
Sales Optimization: Video voicemails from sales, personalized videos in prospecting emails and video RFP responses
-
Customer Support: Sending personalized explainer/how-to videos from customer support
These video strategies for internal communications as well as prospects and customers help make a personal connection while gathering important data insights. With this actionable data, you can answer questions like “Do people like these videos?” “Who is watching these videos?” “What did they do next?” “Was I successful?” and respond appropriately.
2016 was a year of video innovation and 2017 brings the opportunity make a real impact with these advancements. This year will be transformative: social networks will be video channels, video experiences will encourage participation, and the TV will renew its importance, while video continues its journey across the enterprise. Needless to say, 2017 will be full of opportunity and we are excited to see the ways the market will make these opportunities a reality.
Fresh Insights for Social Video