Short Form Video Trends 2022

1.     UGC. Consumers LOVE it! It influences their purchasing choices. UGC offers very high ROI of 40% according to HubSpot. It’s trusted more by consumers than traditional advertising.

2.     Influencer Ads. We’ve written about this trend already. Working with influencers can increase your brand awareness for new audiences and build trust with the one you already have.

3.     Product Teasers. This one kind of speaks for itself.

4.     Challenges. #Waterbottle challenge anyone? This trend became popular with TikTok and they are ranked highly among marketers for effective social media.

5.     BTS. Behind the scenes videos give people a sneak peek into the process for your brand.

These are our top 5. There are more out there that are expected to be trending this year. All of these video styles are easy to throw together. Be creative and focus on the audience instead of the product. Plan your strategy and make sure editing looks professional. We recommend utilizing Instagram and Facebook for your short form video content.

Video Content Consumption Trends

What’s the main reason you watch video content? Is it to be entertained? To escape from your daily life? To learn about a new brand or product?  If you said any of the above, you’re not alone. The answers from most people are all of the above. Turns out that 32.8% of consumers watch videos to help them relax and unwind followed by 26.3% who want to be entertained or laugh, according to HubSpot. Video content has changed so drastically since the creation of the internet. It’s really hard to believe that it’s only been around for 30 years or so. Wrap your mind around that for a second! Video content now rules the web, so how is it changing today? First, it has become the most dominant form of entertainment and people have become reliant on it. 26% of consumers rely on social video platforms to find out about products according to Channel Factory. Another thing that has changed recently is that production value matters more and famous people matter less. According to HubSpot, 36% of consumers say production value is somewhat important and 28% say it’s very important. A Google survey showed that production value ranked #10 in terms of importance and famous actors ranked all the way at the bottom as #20 to consumers. Lastly, short-form video! Screaming it for those in the back. Between 1-3minutes is the optimal time for videos to catch your audiences’ attention and keep it. Any longer and you risk losing them. In the advertising world, we all know that video content is king. Keeping up with trends will keep you brand successful in its marketing and advertising strategies.

The Future of Video Content Creation

Social media has been growing and evolving over the past 15 years, so what’s in store for the future of content creation? We don’t have a crystal ball but we do have some ideas. This is what we predict for the future of video content.

1.     Tailored content. Video content will be tailored to fit each platform. For example, Instagram is big for reels right now, where TikTok is short form video. These trends will constantly change and will have to be adapted to on each.

2.     Livestream increase. This has been growing and we think it will only continue for content creation.

3.     Silent video content. Look at Khaby Lame. He’s made this trend blow up. However, it won’t be totally silent. Voice over is a new and growing trend so expect to see this over the silent video.

4.     Vlogs. This is just a glorified way of saying story telling. This is a great way for brands to tell their story and connect with consumers.

5.     Individuals. Not everyone has to be an influencer to create great content and the more people do it, the better they get. We source many of our user generated content videos from people who would be considered the average joe. We truly believe that the future of video content creation will be for the individual users. Real people, doing real things, in their everyday lives.

6.     Short form video. We all know attention spans are getting shorter and shorter. Content creation will follow suit. Short form video will take the lead.

Though, we can’t say whether or not our predictions will come true, we will be keeping up with trends as they come along. Video content has come so far and we’re excited to see where it continues to go.

Trending Video Marketing Investments

As we always say here at Locomotive, video content is King! It continues to be the top way to market to brand audiences. However, there are so many different styles of video marketing to consider now, so what types are brands investing in this year? Here is a quick list of our top three trending video marketing styles that brands are investing in.

1.     Short-form video. According to HubSpot, 58% of marketers use short form videos. Out of all video types this one provides the best ROI. Short form generally means anything under a few minutes. It should also be noted that the average engagement for short-form videos is around 50% (Wistia).

2.     Social media video. 93% of social media marketers say that it’s a vital component of their strategies and 85% of consumers say they want more videos on social from brands according to  Sprout Social. Give the people what they want and watch your return on investment increase.

3.     Long-form video. Long form video can be anywhere from 3-6 minutes long. One would think that longer videos see less engagement but that’s up for debate. YouTube is a great example of where longer form videos excel with a high ROI. Long form video creation has increased by 446% for videos between 30-60 minutes long and 228% for videos between 5-30 minutes long (Wistia).

Video marketing will always be the top way to achieve and retaining a successful marketing strategy for your brand. If your brand isn’t already investing in the power of these video marketing tools listed above, get on it quick. Staying up to date with current trends will keep you at the top of your game! And remember, User-Generated Content reigns.

Tapping Into Gen Z for Advertising

Who’s ready for some changes? We know we are and Gen Z is proving to be new type of market when it comes to the advertising world. They are like no other that came before them. Let’s talk about the biggest difference between Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z. Millennials remember a time before social media whereas Gen Z does not know a world without it. Even more, their Gen X counterparts grew up on MTV with zero social media. I don’t think it really comes as a surprise that Gen Z is a unique group who can’t imagine a world without tech. Actually, 45% of Gen Zers say that they are online almost constantly according to Rolling Stone. Since the insurgence of smartphones, people can watch anything from anywhere and that’s what this generation does. They rely on social media platforms for almost everything. There are a couple of questions to ask yourself when considering how to market to this new breed of consumers.

1.   Can they trust your brand? They want transparency and they want it now. Since this generation can and will find answers to information they have questions for, make sure your brand is be honest. They will also build a relationship with your brand if they feel that they can relate to what your company stands for.

2.     Do you stand for something? Brand neutrality is a no go for this generation. They want brans that stand up for social injustices. They want brands that aren’t afraid to take a stand for what’s right even if that means offending some of their audience.

3.     Are you influencer savvy? They don’t care about celebrities! Relatability takes the driver seat with them. They want people that they can relate to not paid actors. This is another reason UGC is extremely affective to connecting with them!

4.     Can you make it fast? 8 seconds to be exact. That’s the average attention span of this generation according to iab.uk! Are you really that shocked? And before you getting too cheeky, just know that Millennials are right behind them with a whopping 12 seconds.

5.     Do you know how to use each social media platform differently and accordingly? Not only should you diversify your content across each platform it needs to be tailor fit!

Gen Z harnesses the power of $143 billion since they comprise 40% of the U.S. population according to Forbes. If your brand wants to uncover ways to tap into their market it’s important to understand what they value in a company. They’re different. Changes are coming and we think that they’re honestly for the better. Who doesn’t want to support a brand that takes social stances, is trustworthy and transparent?