Social media videos have now become a mainstream type of content on social media platforms. As you scroll through your Instagram or Twitter feeds, there must be a video waiting to be clicked– whether they’re educational video marketing from brands or just memes everyone has been talking about recently.
There are over 2 billion video views on Twitter each day. At least 40% of total Instagram users (1 billion) create videos via Stories daily. Also, more than 4 billion video views take place on Facebook every day. All these staggering numbers mean something for marketers: social media videos should be an essential part of their overall digital marketing strategy.
Now that social media users love video content, today’s savvy marketers should leave no stone unturned when it comes to coming up with eye-grabbing and relevant content using videos. One of the best ways to do it is by understanding the field and the competition.
We’ve listed some of the hottest social media video trends along with stats to help you prepare for your next campaigns and get better results.
Trend #1. Short-form videos are king
TikTok, Instagram Reels, Facebook Stories, YouTube Shorts– all of the popular features from popular social media embrace short-form videos. You might have seen short trailer videos from your favorite movies on those features.
Short-form videos have the highest ROI of any social media marketing strategy, as 30% of marketers plan to invest in these easy-and-quick-to-create videos in 2022.
After all, the human attention span is only getting shorter and shorter. With an 8-second attention span, it’s always best to keep your marketing videos short and sweet. The key here is to grab the attention of social media users within the first few seconds.
Trend #2. Social media users love story-driven videos
As you might already notice, most viral videos tell stories. They make the viewers feel something– whether it’s sad, joyful, inspiring, etc. When they feel a certain emotion, they tend to share the video to pass along the message to their followers. That’s where viral video comes from.
More than 80% of customers want brands to tell stories. It means that using videos solely for introducing your products or services, bragging about the awesome features, listing the benefits are no longer work in today’s digital landscape.
Instead, use the storytelling method to pack the information in a well-delivered, shareable narrative. This way, you make your messages less hard-selling and connect with social media users more meaningfully.
Trend #3. Live videos are a powerful engagement tool
Live videos have been around for a while, but they’re still one of the most effective ways to engage with social media users, especially for brands.
In fact, 82% prefer live video from a brand to social posts. It makes sense since social media users can get the tailored question to their specific questions in real-time.
Also, this unedited type of video is perfect for providing your audience with a more authentic and “real” look at what you do behind the scenes– whether it’s how your products are made or a day in the life of your employees. It also helps to humanize your brand and make it more relatable to social media users.
Trend #4: Scrappy videos reign supreme
Today, social media users are more likely to share homemade-looking videos on their feeds than professionally made ones. It’s because they feel a sense of authenticity and relatability towards the scrappy videos that don’t take themselves too seriously.
Take a look at videos brands put on their Stories or Reels; most of them are taken directly from their smartphone cameras.
Only by using a smartphone camera and a simple video editing tool can you create videos that look as polished as those made by professional video makers. Rather than the quality, the key here is to focus on the quality of the message to deliver.
That said, it doesn’t mean you have to stop using professional video production services. You can still use them to give your brand a more professional look and feel in the long term. By leveraging the power of an AI video generator, you can create engaging and professional-looking videos that resonate with your audience.
Trend #5: Vertical videos are a must-have for social media marketers
More than 85% of 5.27 billion mobile phone users are on social media, and the number keeps growing. Now that mobile phones have become one of the most popular devices for consuming online content, it means you have to optimize your social media videos for mobile consumption.
Most people hold their phones vertically while watching videos on social media, so it’s best to optimize that orientation to provide your audience with a better viewing experience.
Besides, most social media platforms now have vertical video formats. For instance, Reels on Instagram and Stories on Facebook are both vertically-oriented video formats.
Wrapping up: Create your social media videos now
Social media videos are engaging types of content to appeal to today’s social media users. The beauty of them is that they are easy and quick to create. That’s why this strategy is appealing for both small businesses with shoestring budgets or even big corporations. With the latest trends above, now you understand how social media users consume videos and what you can do to approach them.
Author Bio
Andre Oentoro is the founder of Breadnbeyond, an award-winning explainer video company. He helps businesses increase conversion rates, close more sales, and get positive ROI from explainer videos (in that order).
Twitter: @breadnbeyond
Email: andre@breadnbeyond.com
LinkedIn: Andre Oentoro
