Lights, Camera, Action: Exploring the Future of Video Marketing – Predictions and Trends

According to Sandvine’s 2023 Global Internet Phenomena Report, video usage grew by 24% in 2022, now accounting for 65% of all internet traffic.

For marketing, videos can improve dwell time, traffic, leads, and sales, while reducing support queries. So it’s no wonder why 91% of businesses use it as a marketing tool and report that it provides positive ROI.

But why is video so impactful? And what does the future hold for video marketing?

Types of Video Marketing

Video marketing has become an invaluable tool for brands and marketing teams.

By 2023, it’s estimated that video content will make up 80% of all consumer internet traffic.

And there are dozens of ways to leverage this tech, including:

• Vlogs

  Vlogs are often the first type of video a brand or marketer will put out, as they’re relatively easy to make and can be used to showcase products and services. Vlogs are also a great way to build relationships with customers, as they feature real people talking in an informal manner.

• Explainer Videos

Explainer videos are an effective marketing tool that utilizes visual storytelling and concise narration to educate and engage potential customers about a product or service, effectively communicating its value proposition. By condensing complex information into an easily digestible format, explainer videos grab the attention of viewers, increase brand awareness, and drive conversions, making them a powerful asset in modern marketing strategies.

• Tutorials

Tutorials are an effective way to engage with customers in the video marketing space. As more and more people turn to online platforms for their shopping, instructional videos have become an increasingly popular way to learn about products, services, and brands. The use of tutorials can be especially powerful when it comes to complex or technical topics as they allow users to gain a better understanding of the product before making a buying decision.

• Webinars

  Webinars have become increasingly popular over the past few years, and they are an essential tool in video marketing. Webinars are a type of live streaming that allows companies to host a virtual meeting with their audience. It is an effective way to connect with customers and prospects in real-time.

• Ads

  Video advertising is one of the most powerful and flexible video marketing tools in the modern age. From short-form ads to long-form content, video has become an invaluable asset for businesses looking to reach their target audiences. In the coming years, we can expect to see more innovative and impactful ways that businesses use video advertising to engage customers.

• Product Tutorials

  When it comes to video marketing, product tutorials are a great way for businesses to demonstrate the features, benefits, and uses of their products. Through these videos, businesses can provide customers with an in-depth look at how their products work and what makes them stand out compared to similar products available on the market.

• Presentations

  The future of video marketing is looking brighter all the time, and one key growth area is in presentations. Presentations are an important tool for businesses to communicate their message to potential customers, partners, or investors. As such, the growth in video presentations has been significant and will continue to increase as companies seek out new ways to engage their audiences.

• Customer Testimonials

  In the future of video marketing, customer testimonials are likely to become increasingly important. Testimonials provide an independent, third-party endorsement that is often more meaningful than a company’s own advertising. They serve as social proof and can help convert prospects into customers by providing reassurance that your product or service is up to their standards.

• Social Media Content

  Social media content is one of the most powerful tools for video marketing in 2020 and beyond. In the past decade, social media platforms have become an integral part of everyday life and are among the top sources of news, entertainment, and communication. As a result, marketers have been able to tap into this powerful platform to reach their target audience with video campaigns.

Video Marketing Benefits

Better engagement

Video is by far the most engaging type of media content as evidenced by all consumer metrics and surveys. When asked what kind of content they want to see from a brand or business, the overwhelming majority (66%) of respondents said they’d prefer to watch a video.Video is one of the most powerful tools for driving engagement and conversions. It has become a critical part of any successful marketing strategy, with businesses allocating an increasing percentage of their budgets toward video content.

As we move into the future, video will be increasingly used to engage consumers. Brands will tap into the power of video to create more memorable experiences for their target audience.

Video marketing improves SEO and boosts conversion rate

31% of marketers add videos to improve SEO. Websites see a search engine boost when they add video because it increases page quality and the time visitors spend on the page.

Search engine optimization has become such an invaluable tool for marketers; 64 percent of users use search in their I-want-to-buy moments, and 71 percent visit a retailer website or app when they’re in the decision-making stage.

More than 60% of marketers say their customer acquisition cost has gone up. At the same time, 83% of video marketers say that video helps them generate leads.

That’s because video hasn’t only transformed how businesses market and consumers shop; it’s also revolutionized how salespeople connect with and convert prospects and how service teams support and delight customers. In short, video is incredibly useful throughout the entire flywheel — not just to heighten brand awareness.

Video can be a versatile tool for salespeople throughout the entire customer buying journey, and it can do much more than increase engagement. Backend analytics also help salespeople qualify and prioritize cold or unresponsive leads.

Because consumers favor video, search engines like Google have increasingly prioritized high-quality video content in their rankings.

Builds trust with your Customers

Video helps build trust and credibility, which can lead the target audience closer to the point of conversion on their buying journey.

Video marketing is becoming an increasingly popular tool for businesses to use in order to build trust with their customers. People are more likely to take action when they have seen a video that has convinced them of your company’s trustworthiness. With the rising popularity of video marketing, companies need to pay attention to how they can use it effectively to build customer trust.

Better storytelling

Video is the ultimate storytelling medium, empowering creative brands to share a compelling message without even saying a word.

As technology continues to evolve, video marketing has become a powerful tool for businesses of all sizes. With the power to reach customers on a personal level, video is transforming how companies tell their stories and engage with audiences.

The future of video marketing lies in better storytelling and more emotionally resonant content. Video-driven campaigns will focus on creating meaningful connections with viewers through engaging visuals and thoughtful messaging.

Brand awareness 

Videos are designed to be watched and then shared. A well-made video can go viral, allowing brands to reach a much wider audience.

Some 51% of consumers want to see brands highlighting their products or service.

As digital marketing continues to evolve, video has become an increasingly important tool for brands looking to boost their visibility. Videos have the power to increase brand awareness and help companies reach a larger audience in a cost-effective way.

Brand awareness can be achieved through various types of videos, such as educational tutorials, product reviews, customer testimonials and promotional ads.

Put simply, consumers prefer video content and want more of it.

Trends for Video Marketing

What does 2023 and beyond hold for video marketing? Three of the major trends we see emerging include:

#1 The Rise of Live Stream

Live streaming—broadcasting real-time video content—was a novel feature on platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok that quickly gained steam much in part to the Pandemic. According to Business Insider: “Instagram Live usage grew 70% in April 2020, Twitch generated an 83% rise in viewership year over year and YouTube saw watch time on gaming live streams exceed 10 billion hours in 2020.”

Live streaming video content allows brands to establish a direct and authentic connection with their audience, without the need for rehearsed pre-made videos.

Benefits of this may include:

• Improved audience engagement on Social Media: As video marketing becomes increasingly popular and accessible, businesses are looking for ways to capitalize on its potential and engage with their audience more effectively. Improved engagement is a key trend that is set to shape the future of video marketing over the next few years.One way brands can improve engagement with their videos is by creating interactive content. This type of content encourages viewers to interact with the video in different ways.
• Greater reach: The world of video marketing is ever-evolving, and one trend that shows no signs of letting up is the push for greater reach. Many businesses are now using multiple channels to advertise their products and services, including social media, email campaigns, webinars, and streaming services. As technology improves and more people gain access to high-speed internet, this trend will only become more powerful.
• Cost-effective: Video marketing is one of the most cost-effective ways to reach a large audience. It can be used to increase brand awareness and engagement, boost sales, and drive website traffic. In the future, video marketing will become even more cost-effective due to advances in technology that allow for easier production and distribution of videos. With advancements such as AI-generated video content and tools for creating automated videos.
• Improved transparency: Video marketing has become a powerful tool for reaching consumers and increasing brand visibility. As technology advances, the use of video will continue to grow and evolve. One trend that is likely to shape the future of video marketing is improved transparency. With the increased use of social media platforms, brands have the ability to become more transparent with their customers.
• Better data analytics: The future of video marketing is heavily reliant on better data analytics. The ability to track and analyze the performance of videos across multiple platforms and channels, as well as understanding how audiences interact with video content, will be critical in helping marketers optimize their campaigns for maximum impact.Data analytics tools are becoming increasingly sophisticated, offering real-time insights into audience behavior and preferences that can be used to tailor strategies.

As the technology continues to evolve, it’s likely that even more businesses will incorporate live streaming into their future video marketing strategy.

#2 AI In Video Marketing

AI has taken the content-creating world by storm. ChatGPT is just one of many emerging AI projects that can create significant efficiencies for brands and marketers alike.

For instance, the right AI tools can assist with:

• Algorithmic personalization that can analyze consumer data to cater video content to the specific user’s needs and interests.The future of video marketing lies in algorithmic personalization, a process wherein data analysis is used to create content that caters specifically to the needs and interests of individual users. This kind of personalization technology can analyze consumer data such as search history, purchase history, and demographic information to generate videos tailored to each person’s unique preferences.
• AI can help with content creation by generating video scripts or concepts.Video marketing is becoming an increasingly popular tool for businesses and brands to engage with their customers and reach new audiences. As technology advances, the possibilities of video marketing are expanding rapidly, and artificial intelligence (AI) is one innovation that can help marketers take their video content to the next level. AI can be used to generate video scripts or concepts based on data about a brand’s target audience.
• AI algorithms can analyze viewer behavior and engagement metrics, empowering brands to tailor their content to their consumer demos.As technology advances, so too does the potential of video marketing. AI algorithms are being used to analyze viewer behavior and engagement metrics, giving brands a powerful tool to tailor their content to specific consumer demos. This sort of data-driven targeting allows marketers to focus on the best content for the right audience, resulting in a higher return on investment (ROI) and better overall results.
• Filmmakers are using AI to enhance videos, facilitate editing, or even incorporate unique technologies like 360-degree video.The world of digital marketing is constantly evolving and video marketing is no exception. As technology advances, filmmakers are leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to create ever more impressive videos and facilitate editing processes. AI can also be used to enhance videos with a range of techniques like facial recognition and object detection, making them more engaging for viewers.

Put simply, AI makes it easier to create, customize, and optimize videos that are more engaging.

#3 Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality

AR and VR are two emerging technologies that have gained prominence within marketing in the last few years. AR superimposes digital images onto the real world, whereas VR creates an immersive digital environment.

Both AR and VR enable brands to create experiences, drive conversations, and engage consumers in novel ways. Recently, marketers have leveraged these types of tech for several purposes, including:

• Virtual events

  The events industry has been drastically impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, as large gatherings have become unsafe and organizers have had to get creative with solutions. One of the most popular alternatives in 2020 has been virtual events, which enable people to gather without having to be physically present. Virtual events are expected to remain popular in 2021 and beyond due to their ability to reach a broader audience.

• Property and product showcases

  The use of video marketing to showcase property and products has seen a massive increase over recent years, with the technology to create high-quality videos becoming more accessible than ever before. It’s no surprise that this trend is set to continue into the future, with new innovations in this field emerging every day.

• Product demonstrations

  Video product demonstrations are an incredibly powerful tool for marketing products and services. This type of video content can help to highlight the advantages of a product or service over its competitors, as well as showing customers how to use it. Product demonstration videos have become increasingly popular in recent years, with many businesses creating tutorial videos and other content to show off the features of their products in action.

• Brand experiences

  As video marketing continues to become a more popular form of content for businesses, brand experiences will continue to be an important factor in the future of video marketing. Brand experiences are opportunities for customers to have interactive and engaging experiences with brands that go beyond traditional media such as television and print.

  For example, brands can create virtual reality (VR) experiences or augmented reality (AR) experiences that offer a brand experience.

• Brand Storytelling

  In the digital age, storytelling is becoming increasingly important to successful video marketing. Telling a story with a compelling narrative is the key to capturing the attention of viewers and standing out among other videos. As technology and trends continue to evolve, marketers must find creative ways to use storytelling in their video content.

  One trend that will become more popular in the future is interactive video stories.

• Personalizing ad experiences

  As video marketing continues to be one of the most effective ways to reach consumers and increase sales, many companies have started to focus on personalizing ad experiences. By leveraging data analysis and artificial intelligence (AI), businesses are able to create personalized video content that is targeted directly at their customers’ interests.

  Personalized ads can help brands connect with customers in meaningful ways by understanding their goals.

• Enhancing shopping experiences

  As technology continues to advance, video content is becoming an increasingly powerful tool for enhancing shopping experiences. With the help of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), companies are able to provide customers with a unique, immersive experience that can’t be replicated in a physical store. Through VR and AR, businesses can create 3D simulations of products that allow shoppers to view items from any angle.

As this technology finds its footing in real-world applications and as adoption grows, brands and marketing teams will need to video AR and VR as must-haves rather than novel gimmicks.

#4 Influencer Video Marketing

Video content has become an increasingly popular way to reach potential customers online. Influencer video marketing is one of the latest trends in video marketing, and it’s quickly becoming a go-to strategy for companies looking to expand their reach. In influencer video marketing, brands partner with influencers to create branded content that helps them engage with their target audience in a more authentic way.

As the world continues to evolve, so too will video marketing strategies. With the rise of new technologies and platforms, influencer video marketing is set to become even more popular in the years ahead. This is due in part to the fact that brands can now quickly identify potential influencers and target them with their campaigns. Additionally, social media algorithms are becoming more sophisticated, allowing brands to better target their audience.

Integrating Your Affiliate and Influencer Programs

The future of video marketing is bright, and one trend that’s becoming increasingly popular is integrating affiliate and influencer programs into your video campaigns. Affiliate and influencer programs are designed to help you reach potential customers through the influence of third-party partners, such as bloggers, vloggers, or other media personalities.

When it comes to integrating affiliate and influencer programs into video marketing, there are a few key trends to look out for in the future.

First of all, video content creators are becoming more creative with their promotions. Instead of relying on traditional product placement and banners, they’re finding new ways to incorporate affiliate and influencer programs into their videos.

Harnessing the Power of Video Marketing

Video marketing has become an indispensable tool for marketers, that will likely only grow more important as the technology continues to evolve. The rise of live streaming, AI in video marketing, and AR and VR technologies are three of the major trends that we expect will shape the future of video marketing in 2023 and beyond.

At Semgeeks, we’re an SEM agency with our finger on the pulse. We understand how to interweave video content into every phase of a brand’s digital marketing campaigns.

Erin McDonald

Business Development Strategist

Erin McDonald is a Business Development Strategist with a degree in Communications from Rutgers University. Fostering effective teamwork to drive results, she is able to solve tough problems and implement solutions that require strong intellectual abilities and rigor. In her free time, you can find her spending time with friends and family or at the gym.