Marketing of the Future: Video Technologies Brands Can't Ignore

Today’s consumers are very different from the generations before them. Most modern-day online users are looking for fast and effective answers to their questions and want and need their purchases to be smarter ones.

This is why video marketing has been such an effective strategy over the years. In fact, by 2025, it’s expected that videos will account 82% of all consumer web traffic. This statistic only proves why it’s important for brands to make effective use of video in all of their branding initiatives.

The great thing is that there are now new emerging video technologies that are making it easier for brands to not only bring in more leads for their business but also help close them successfully.

Why Video Marketing Has Become So Effective

There has been a fundamental shift in how we now consume information online. Because of this, brands that are working toward adopting more visual elements in their marketing initiatives are quickly seeing success. Below are some of the reasons why video marketing has become so effective.

The Science Behind Video Consumption

When we watch videos, our brains actively work toward decoding images and facial expressions. This is very different than just staring at a long page of text and actually engages the learning centers of our brain more effectively.

Because our brains are more engaged with the information we’re taking in, it often will lead to better memory retention. Video consumption also releases dopamine in our brains, which makes the information we’re taking in a more enjoyable experience overall.

Better Shareability

If you think about the last thing you shared online with friends or family, it’s almost certain that it contained some type of video. We all know we’re busy and have little time to spare outside of our own busy lives. Videos are less of an investment of our time since important information can be shared in short video clips.

For brands, this means it is much more likely that one of your brand videos will be shared with others instead of specific landing pages, emails, or blog posts. It’s important to capitalize on this and make the content you distribute to potential and current customers much more shareable.

Better Educational Tools

When you’re marketing products or services to an audience of users, it’s important to clearly convey the value they bring. This can be difficult in certain niches depending on the complexity of the product category or when explaining certain types of industry jargon.

Rather than trying to lock down hours of someone’s time reading through blocks of texts or graphs explaining how something works or the value it brings, video can achieve the same thing in less than half the time. Videos are great educational tools, especially when used to support branding initiatives.

Emerging Video Technologies You Can Leverage

As newer video technologies and formats are released and used, brands now have a variety of options to choose from when it comes to how they leverage video in their marketing. Below are five emerging video technologies that brands can start to use:

Interactive Videos

Although standard videos can be great on their own, newer technologies now make it possible to make videos much more interactive. If you’ve ever explored Netflix’s catalog of interactive videos, you’ve probably already seen this technology in action, primarily for kids' shows or other educational series.

In interactive videos, the person watching the video is able to use clickable elements of the video - such as additional quizzes or branching narratives - that will change the video output depending on what’s selected. This adds a new level of engagement for users and keeps them attentive during the entire video.

While these types of videos are great for overall engagement, they can also be great for collecting important data regarding the users themselves. Being able to track specific elements in a video, especially how it relates to a user’s decision while they’re watching the video, can greatly support the efforts of marketing teams when looking for effective ways to improve user engagement.

Another example of an interactive video can be found on YouTube channels, where users are often encouraged by brands to “click the subscribe link” embedded in the video. This can be used in a variety of ways - whether it’s gaining subscribers on social media channels or even having viewers subscribe to a company mailing list.

360-degree Video and Virtual Reality (VR)

While there is no shortage of different devices you can record a video on, most of them are designed for producing standard video formats. However, there are also specialized 360-degree videos that can be used to capture full panoramic view images and can be used for creating immersive video experiences for users.

360-degree video technology is what is seen in many Virtual Reality (VR) headsets or in online virtual walkthrough presentations that let you interact with a realistic rendering of a specific location. This type of technology has been a game changer for the travel and tourism industries, as it allows users to step directly into various locations as if they’re there while interacting with different elements.

With VR becoming more and more popular with various generations, this presents unique opportunities to leverage this new technology to help create new levels of brand awareness. Whether creating unique, interactive experiences that feature your brand or simply making your current marketing videos compatible with VR headsets, you can start to add new life and interactability to your brand messaging.

Shoppable Videos

Traditional videos are made up of a video presentation of a branded product or service that eventually has some form of CTA (Call To Action) at the end that points the viewer to visiting a website or finding out more information. Although these are tried and true methods of gaining more leads, there are other marketing formats you can now use that help users make purchases directly through the videos they’re watching.

Shoppable videos are a form of interactive video that allows users to interact with certain elements shown on various video frames. For example, you might be displaying someone wearing a new outfit or a cool gadget that you’re promoting. Shoppable videos can be formatted to add an interactive price tag or popup image when users hover over and click the element. This can then redirect the user directly to a linked e-commerce page where they can purchase that exact same product.

Influencers and content creators are a great way for brands to leverage these videos to improve their awareness and expand visibility. As influencers market their own videos, they can advertise products that can be directly linked for their users to interact with. This can create a large surge of web traffic in a very short period of time and help brands get the word out about their products to a wider audience.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Video Production

Although many brands already place a high amount of value in producing videos for their marketing campaigns, the logistics around it can be hard to justify. Needing to hire staff and invest resources in graphic designers, video developers, and editing teams can be quite costly. However, new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) are making video development a considerably easier and much more affordable process for businesses. 

Today, there are a number of AI-powered tools that can help brands offload tasks like video editing and text-to-video generation. This frees up human creators to spend more time focusing on more of the creative elements in each video.

While AI tools on their own aren’t necessarily designed to completely offload all video production tasks to machines, they can help automate many of the supporting elements when creating and distributing branded content.

The Rise of Short-Form Video

Short-form videos have become immensely popular over the last few years. Platforms like TikTok and Instagram have made creating and sharing videos easier than ever and offer an easy way to consume new information. These small video clips, typically no more than 15-30 seconds in length, are also a great opportunity for brands to advertise their products and services. 

With each new generation, it’s being reported that attention spans are continuing to shorten. This is partially due to the sensory overload from having immediate access to information and media online. This is why short-form can be so effective when used in marketing.

Catchy advertisements and funny, shareable videos are a great way to personalize your brand while still getting your brand awareness out to the masses. Short-form videos can also lead to viral attention and create an easy-to-share format that can quickly start to generate new leads.

Email Autoplay Videos

Email autoplay videos are a powerful new marketing tool that allows businesses to connect with their customers more effectively. These videos play automatically when the customer opens the email, which increases the chances that they will see and remember them.

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Advantages of email autoplay videos:

• Higher click-through rate: Email autoplay videos have a much higher click-through rate than static images or text.
• Increased engagement: Videos are more engaging than text or images, which means that customers will be more engaged with the content of your email.
• Better brand recall: Videos are more memorable than text or images, which means that customers will be more likely to remember your brand.
• Higher ROI: Email autoplay videos can generate a much higher return on investment (ROI) than other email marketing campaigns.

Ecommerce businesses are using email autoplay videos in a variety of ways to improve their digital marketing strategies. Some examples include:

• Product demo videos: Showcase new products or services in an engaging way and highlight their features and benefits.
• Demonstration videos: Show customers how to use a product or service step by step.
• Testimonial videos: Show feedback from satisfied customers to build trust and credibility.
• Special offer videos: Promote exclusive offers and discounts to email subscribers.
• Thank you videos: Express gratitude to customers for their purchase or loyalty.

Start Leveraging New Video Technology for Your Business

Every year that goes by brings newer technologies that businesses can leverage to improve their visibility and grow their reach. By using new video technology to add more relevance and exposure to your brand, you’ll be able to keep your audience engaged while seeing better returns on your marketing initiatives.