What small businesses should know about video marketing in 2021 and beyond
In 2021, small businesses determined to bounce back from the pandemic will have the opportunity to capitalize on a powerful tool: Video marketing.
Savvy businesses have been weaving video into their marketing strategies since online video marketing started to become really popular around 2015, but video is positioned to have an even bigger impact with customers heading in to 2021 and beyond. As people stick close to home during the pandemic, they’re glued to their computers and mobile devices for work and for entertainment more than ever before.
They’re spending more and more of that screen time online, watching an endless supply of video content. YouTube alone recently reported that more than 500 hours of video content is uploaded to its site every minute, with 2 billion logged-in users on the site every month.
In fact, video is expected to make up 82% of all internet traffic by 2022, according to data from Cisco. Most of that streaming is happening on mobile devices through popular social media apps as well as YouTube, according to statistics compiled by Influencer Marketing Hub.
Social media sites including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok have undergone huge efforts to tweak their platforms to be more video and consumer friendly - making it easier to create and share video content across their platforms. This means that video marketers have never had a wider reach for their content.
Brands have been quick to jump on the latest video trends, but the demand for new video content continues to rise. According to a survey conducted by Wyzowl of 656 respondents, 85% said their businesses used video as a marketing tool in 2019. The same survey found that 86% of people wanted to see more video content from brands in the coming year.
And the investment in video marketing seems to be paying off, with 84% of people saying they’ve been convinced to purchase a product or service after watching a video about it, statistics show.
But what does the future, after a year of so much change and uncertainty, really hold? Here’s what experts say you should know about video marketing as we head in to 2021 and beyond:
• Analysis of COVID-19 internet habits show people gravitated to content that delighted and enlightened them - giving brands lots of inspiration to create impactful video content.
• People turned to videos on the internet more than ever last year, mostly to learn something new or to feel connected with each other during stay-at-home orders.
• A report published by Google said some of the year’s most popular content were “how-to” videos as people tried to learn new skills, noting a 50% spike in searches for videos with “beginner” in the title. A consumer survey revealed 72% of customers preferred learning about a product or service through video, giving brands an easy opportunity to produce content that explains how to use their products.
• Content focused on social movements also took off in 2020, with more people seeking out content to make sense of social movements and understand the history around them. Google found that more people consumed content from brands that expressed allyship around advocacy topics.
• There was also a huge rise in video content that boosted feelings of connection. YouTube’s “With me” genre grew 600% since March, a Google analysis found. People also turned to video to visit places that were shut down, like museums, through virtual tours.
• Videos that incorporate some of these elements will resonate with viewers, like our promotional video that follows a local craft brewer behind the scenes at his brewery as he explains the process of securing a loan to open his small business. (Embed video of bank)
• Investment in advertising and video marketing campaigns is expected to explode as businesses rebound from the pandemic, according to an article in AdWeek.
• Ad spending dropped in 2020, but that’s expected to change in 2021, with experts predicting brands to increase ad spending 6% in the coming year, according to AdWeek.
• Marketers are planning to invest big on video in the coming year, with 62% of marketers reporting they plan to increase their content marketing budgets in the next fiscal year, according to tech company G2.
• Live video will be an exciting new frontier for brands to explore.
• Near the end of 2020, YouTube reported its most streamed content of the year came from live video gaming as people looked for unique ways to feel connected.
• Facebook Live video is also expected to continue its huge growth in 2021 after reporting a 26.9% year-over-year increase of live video usage in 2020, according to Oberlo.
• Live video streaming as a marketing tool is being tried out in China, where live shopping videos have become an increasingly successful tool used to boost sales through shoppable videos, according to TechCrunch.
• A recent study found that 53% of businesses were streaming live video at lease once per week, with 29% of those businesses streaming live video daily, according to statistics compiled by Influencer Marketing Hub.
• Statistics also show that 67% of viewers say quality is the most important factor they consider when watching a live video, meaning it’s important for brands who want to capitalize on the trend to invest the proper time and resources into producing quality video.
• As Facebook remains the preferred method for marketers distributing video content, there will be good opportunities for small businesses to jump on more trendy social media platforms before their competitors. The booming social video platform TikTok, is expanding its services for businesses as the company explores ways to cater to more brands and the booming online shopping community.
• In 2020, TikTok was the fastest-growing social media platform, and more than 1 billion videos were viewed on the app every day, according to G2.
• In October, TikTok announced it was partnering with Shopify, an e-commerce platform, according to TechCrunch. Shopify merchants will have access to TikTok’s growing audience of 800 million users off of the Shopify dashboard. Both companies plan to introduce more in-app shopping features as the service gets more popular.
• According to TikTok, a recent study found 88% of its users discover new content they enjoy on the app, and about half of its users discover new products through brand-posted advertisements.
• Instagram is poised to ramp up video streaming and online shopping across its already-successful platform as Instagram competes with TikTok.
• In the coming year, 69% of social media marketers said they plan to use Instagram more, according to G2.
• Instagram stories will likely continue to be a highly effective way for brands and influencers to market themselves, according to Oberlo.
• 70% of online shoppers turn to Instagram to discover new products, according to Facebook. Consumers are expected continue this trend into 2021 as the platform expands its in-app shopping services, according to Oberlo.
• In October, the platform expanded its shopping service into Instagram TV, giving brands the opportunity to attract buyers from those viewers as well. Instagram also announced plans to soon expand shopping within Reels, its newest video feature developed to compete with TikTok, according to TechCrunch.
Sources
https://learn.g2.com/digital-marketing-statistics
https://influencermarketinghub.com/video-marketing-statistics/
https://wyzowl.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/pdfs/Wyzowl-Video-Survey-2020.pdf
https://www.adweek.com/performance-marketing/3-digital-marketing-trends-to-come-in-2021/
https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/consumer-insights/consumer-trends/2020-youtube-trends/
https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/consumer-insights/consumer-trends/video-streaming-wars/
https://www.oberlo.com/blog/social-media-trends
https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/09/alibaba-aliexpress-influencer-recruitment/
https://techcrunch.com/2020/10/27/tiktok-invests-in-social-commerce-via-new-shopify-partnership/
https://www.oberlo.com/blog/tiktok-trends
https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/connecting-shopify-merchants-with-the-tiktok-community
https://influencermarketinghub.com/live-streaming-stats/