I can’t speak for all marketers, of course, but for those that I personally know (yes, the hundreds of them) and myself, video marketing is a big step forward. On some platforms it’s cheaper to reach people with video, it helps you explain better how products work, it builds trust faster between yourself and the buyer, and it’s just more effective than simple sales copy.

Having said that, I do know that some of you are afraid to invest in video, and it’s not even about the money. You’re afraid that you’ll get your hopes up and invest a lot of time in figuring out how to write scripts and film and edit videos and they won’t deliver.

Well, listen, I don’t know what you’re selling but I’m confident that you’re a great marketer with a lot of potential, and I’d hate to see you getting in the game super late because you were afraid to try out something new.

And video marketing isn’t even all that new anymore. How could we consider it a novelty when every single day there are at least 500 million people watching videos on Facebook?

People watch videos all the time now, usually on their smartphones. They do it during lunch, during the evening, before going to bed, and during the night when they can’t sleep.

Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram are the top 3 social platforms on which people watch videos and those videos can be about anything – 1-minute recipes, funny cats, new automation software, news, growth hacking, succulent garden designs, because people have various interests – interests that you can easily target with you social video campaigns.

Video marketing is so awesome that it makes every other thing better. Include a video link in your newsletter and boom! you increase your conversions. Turn your old blog content into videos and upload them to YouTube and boom! you’re ranking higher than ever before in the Google search results page.

Video is here to stay and it’s better to see where it can take you than hope it will go away.

What the (Almost Here) Future Holds

Now that I’m sure that we’re on the same page relating to the importance of video marketing in our lives from now on, assuming all of us will still want to be affiliate marketers (why would we ever give this up?) in a few months’ time or longer, let’s talk about what tomorrow will bring:

Video-First Brand/Marketing Campaigns

You’ve seen the stats. The video genie is out of the bottle. I have no idea what on Earth could possibly make people stop watching, sharing, and making videos. And it’s not like the big social media platforms are discouraging them. In fact, Facebook’s algorithm favours videos over photos, so it’s no wonder brands and marketers are taking video content creation opportunities into account when pitching new campaigns.

You, too, need to think how you can implement a video-first approach for your marketing content and what that will mean for your budget and resources.

Live Video Goes Mainstream

So far, you’re probably having a few friends who go live on Facebook from time to time. That’s the case for most people, myself included, but things will probably change very soon. Just like it happened with the selfie, people will laugh about the idea of a live video, then they’ll try it out, and they’ll like it, and soon everybody from tweens to grandmas will go live on Facebook or Instagram or YouTube.

Cisco, that little American company making $48 billion in revenue per year, estimates that in 2021, 13% of all internet video traffic will be live videos. It’s less than 1% currently, which is still worth taking into consideration. Can you just imagine how difficult it’s going to be to survive as a marketer without using video, in general, in just a couple of years?

Look, Cisco is already amping up its live video games.

More Square Videos

I know this sounds a bit crazy, but hear me out. Animoto, the video editing web service, found something quite interesting – square videos have better engagement rates than horizontal ones, and they get with 78% more space in Facebook’s Newsfeed than the horizontal ones. It does sound like a chicken and egg type of a situation, I agree. They’re getting more space because Facebook thinks people will like them more because of their better engagement rates or do they get better engagement rates because people see them more often in their Newsfeed?

Personally, I think we’ll see more and more square videos on Facebook because it makes financial sense. Instagram is getting hotter by the day, it’s becoming one of the top social media networks in the world and their default video format is also square. You just save money if you create a video that works great both on Facebook and Instagram, especially (!) when it’s also a great format for mobile viewing.

Social Video Marketing Gets Its Own Experts

The number of entrepreneurs who will rely solely on their website and social videos to sell their products will increase, especially now when it’s easier than ever before to source the products you want to sell directly from China.

We’ll hear a lot more stories involving products promoted only through videos on social networks which successfully compete against big brands who rely on TV ads and celebrity endorsements.

Betting on Vloggers and Influencer Marketing

It’s easy to see what the appeal of video bloggers is – it’s a more intimate relationship than you’d have with a… conventional blogger. Actually seeing the expression on one’s face while they reviews a product you’re interested in is way more engaging than reading their 2,400 word review. That intimate connection vloggers have with their audience is something special. I have no doubt that whatever product the fast-rising YouTube stars like Safiya Nygaard or (YouTube regular) Anthony Padilla, who know how to charm their audience and how to negotiate a deal with a brand, will recommend will sell like crazy.

That’s why it would be smart to figure out who your target audience is following on YouTube or Instagram so you could work on your relationship with a future influencer from an early start.

Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality

They’re not concepts from a new science fiction series on Netflix, they’re already part of our lives and it won’t be long before they’ll be a big part of our video consumption habits. At least that is where companies like Oculus and Samsung think we’re heading and why they’re on a mission to make VR goggles comfortable and practical accessories everyone will want.

Probably you won’t afford to integrate AR and VR in your video marketing campaigns too soon (although I hope you’ll prove me wrong, LOL) because the costs are still high for everyone who’s not a huge billion dollar company, but you need to watch this space and think of ways you could use these new technologies to improve your videos and their effectiveness in selling products and services.

360° Video Consumer Experiences

Did you know that there’s a video camera that can take 360° videos and auto-stitch them to create an immersive 360° viewing experience? It’s called the YI 360 VR Camera, produced by YI Technology, and it’s affordable. That means that soon you won’t have to be one of the most successful comedy shows in the history of television or Coca-Cola to be able to offer consumers and fans a 360° experience on YouTube or Facebook.

This is the best time to build your audience and influence through video content, and if you’re paying attention to what’s going on in this space, you can be amongst the first people to take advantage of these new developments.

I’m super curious to know what you think about video marketing and where do you see yourself taking it for your business. I’d also love to know who are the video marketing gurus you have discovered lately and what have you learned from them. Please leave your comments down below and use the contact page if you have something to share but you’re too shy to say it in public.