One of the biggest shifts in attention online over the last 12 months has been towards short form vertical video such as TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts. In fact, in 2022, Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg said that Reels are now the primary engagement growth driver for Instagram. With 2 billion active Reels users per month on Instagram, that’s no surprise. By the end of 2022, TikTok was expected to hit 1.5 billion users. So, the first major trend is to recognise that video produced in formats and styles native to these vertical short form platforms is going to be worth paying attention to in 2023, no doubt. The other macro trend to consider is what I like to think of as a general cultural shift in viewer behaviour towards lower attention tolerances, but higher attention expectations online.
When it comes to online video platforms and content at the start of 2023, we were no longer in the early days of audiences engaging with video and platforms adopting a video first strategy. Instead, in this post-COVID world that we’re in now, there’s an accepted expectation that video can be readily and easily consumed on any device at any time during the day across multiple platforms. Because of this, I believe that we are now seeing the maturing of viewer behaviours resulting in people having lower retention tolerance for unengaging poor-quality content. However, when the content is relevant, when it’s interesting, and when it’s valuable to a viewer, we’re also seeing much higher levels of attention on longer form content and way longer watch sessions on the platforms. So, in short, people these days have less time for rubbish content that doesn’t hook their attention, but they are happy to give hours of attention to the right content for them. So, let’s think about how these macro trends feed into the video strategies that we will focus on for 2023.
So first up, and tying directly into these macro trends is the adoption of short form vertical video platforms such as TikTok and Reels into our clients’ wider video strategies. For any business creating video content this year, we’ll be highly recommending that production is approached with a vertical video delivery in mind. Depending on the goal for any piece of content, we’ll be either producing in wide screen 16:9 as a primary deliverable, but we’ll be shooting with vertical framing in mind for future repurposing. Probably in most cases, we’ll be recommending producing content specifically for vertical video platforms as a primary distribution channel. The visual language of platforms such as TikTok and Reels and Shorts is different to longer form content. As marketers, our role is to help guide our clients to be producing content that looks and sounds and feels like it belongs on these vertical video-based platforms. So quite simply, the more native and natural that the content feels on that platform, the better it will perform.
Tactic number two is one that continues to dominate in video strategy and really more important than ever before is, having a strong focus on creating videos with impeccable hooks. As I mentioned earlier, attention tolerance is way down. If the opening seconds of your video doesn’t quickly grab the attention of your ideal audience, then you quite simply have lost your chance. I used to suggest that the opening hook of a video was something like the first 30 seconds, but today it really is no more than two, maybe three seconds before you’ve either won a viewer’s attention or you’ve lost it. So, for Innovate Media this year, we’ll be working with our clients to produce content with multiple hooks in order to split test the winning combination. You see in 2023, it’s no longer enough to just make a great video. You’ll also need to nail the hook first, or that great video might never be seen.
Okay, next up we’ll be focusing on UGC or User Generated Content. This is a strategy that we’ll be working with our clients on in two different ways. First, by planning and utilising genuine video content captured by customers, strategising with our clients on creative ways to incentivise or encourage users to film themselves, reviewing or using or sharing about the product or service, or behind the scenes content showing how the business is working with the customer. Building a UGC strategy for a business in 2023, not only promotes fantastic and hugely valuable marketing content, but will also be building community and advocacy around the business and this is how brands these days stand out from the rest.
We’ll also be tapping into the power of UGC through production of what I call ‘UGC style content’ alongside our more highly produced content strategies. While we’re out there shooting with our professional cinema cameras, we’ll be pulling out the iPhone and capturing some rough and ready content that can be used in various ways. In a UGC style, as part of a wider video strategy, we’ll be building and utilising a library of authentic, real footage that actually has an edge over highly produced video on many platforms. Now, don’t get me wrong here, there is 100% still a place in a video strategy in 2023 for professional cinematic, highly produced content. But savvy marketers will also be recognising the importance of utilising content that doesn’t always feel highly produced.
Video strategy tactic number four for this year is one that we won’t be recommending for every client, but when it fits, is a powerful strategy that just can’t be ignored. I’m talking about long form video podcasting combined with repurposing into short form snippets. As mentioned earlier, attention spans for longer form content are there, but only when the content is hyper relevant to the audience. When brands and businesses or thought leaders can be empowered to capture longer value-based content using video and publish the long form content, and then extract vertical video snippets for short form platforms, then you’ve got yourself a video content powerhouse. These longer format videos could be podcast style or expert interviews or thought leadership or video blogs. But producing these in a video first format, and with short form video repurposing in mind, then you’ll be maximising the results from the strategy and establishing masses of credibility, trust, and community around the brand. This is going to be a big one in 2023, I guarantee.
Another big one for 2023 is a strategy that we’ve been advocating for throughout 2022 and probably the year before that as well, and that is personalised one-to-one video for sales and customer retention. In this post-COVID world that we find ourselves in, audiences are now more than ever needing to feel personal connection to the people behind the businesses that they’re dealing with. They’re also more accepting and familiar with video communication methods than they were ever before. This year we’ll be placing a lot of focus on working with our clients to integrate new video messaging processes into their sales and customer service departments. It might be video outreach of video proposals, video follow ups, video support request replies, video thank you’s, celebrating milestones with video and loads more. As marketers, we’ve seen so much opportunity ahead this year in supporting businesses to adopt this video messaging mindset. We’ll be there to guide them, train them, and consult on best practices throughout the year.
So that’s where we see trends moving towards and will be our key focus for this year here at Innovate Media.
Innovate Media offers powerful brand story and client testimonial (case study) social media video marketing packages for businesses on the Sunshine Coast and across Australia. Check out these services we offer and see which suits your needs https://innovatemedia.com.au/video-marketing-services/
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