5 Video Trends That Are Here to Stay After the Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way the world does business. Companies quickly adapted to government restrictions and health guidelines in ways that altered how their teams communicated with one another and their brand reached consumers.
Now as the country starts to open back up and ease restrictions, marketers are trying to anticipate what changes are going to stick around. As a video production company, we’ve taken note of what video content trends are still going strong and show no sign of slowing down. If you’re eager to get the video production ball rolling again for your business, don’t overlook these five video content trends that are here to stay after the pandemic.
1. Live Streaming
Live streaming is a video service that many turned to due to limits on group gatherings. Instead of having people together in a physical location, live streaming allows companies to bring people together digitally.
Live streaming has earned its place on this list for several reasons.
For one, it can be a major cost cutter. Instead of hosting an in-person event in which you have to provide or rent space, equipment, and more, you can use a small space and broadcast it to as many people as you want. It can also reduce costs associated with travel and lodging since it is accessible anywhere you have an internet connection.
Live streaming’s interactive capabilities are also a huge benefit. Streaming an event doesn’t have to mean cutting out two-way communication. Programs nowadays can support features like chat rooms, which allow your audience to respond and interact with your stream in real-time.
Ways Your Business Can Use Live Streaming
Live streaming can serve so many functions. Businesses have found ways to host live streams for:
Presentations: Share important presentations and company announcements to your remote workforce or offices around the globe with a live stream.
Conferences: Does your company host an annual conference? A live stream can bring your speakers and special events right to attendees’ computers and mobile devices. Even if you hold the event in-person, you can supplement it with a live stream to increase accessibility and reach a wider audience.
Training: Train new employees without ever having to travel to different offices. Some portions of the training can even be pre-recorded and reused to cut down on the work your onboarding team has to perform.
Marketing events: Live streaming allows you to get creative with your marketing events. Take your customers behind the scenes at your company, host exciting interviews, and create fun events that build brand awareness and loyalty.
Product launches and demos: Have a new product that you’re excited to share with consumers? Show what it can do for your customers with a product launch or demonstration event.
Q&As: Boost engagement by holding a Q&A with customers to answer questions they may have about your products or services.
Educational event: Educate your potential customers on who your brand is and how you can serve them.
This by no means an exhaustive list of how your business can use live streams. It’s an extremely flexible format that any business in any industry can use to their advantage. And if you’re worried about handling the technical aspects, no need to worry! Some video production teams, like Remote Team Films, have all the expertise needed to handle the image, streaming, and IT side of things so that every stream looks great and runs smoothly.
2. Reusing, Repurposing, and Refreshing Existing Content
For many companies, COVID-19 brought content production to a standstill, leaving marketing teams time to take stock of what they already had. What many found was that they already had a ton of great content assets that could be reused, repurposed, or simply refreshed.
Reusing and repurposing content doesn’t mean using outdated ads across the same platform over and over again— that’s not an effective strategy. Instead, look at what channels you haven’t taken advantage of yet.
Here are just a few ways you can get the most out of your video content:
Create mini-clips out of longer videos: Longer videos can be cut down into easily digestible mini-clips that grab your audience’s attention on social media.
Integrate them into your blog: Blogs aren’t just for written content. Take your existing video assets and build blog posts around them.
Include them in your email campaigns: Several studies have shown that including video content in your marketing emails can boost click-through rates.
Refreshing old content is also a way to boost your organic traffic through SEO. For example, if you have an old blog page that isn’t getting as many visitors as it used to, updating it with relevant information and a pertinent video can help its standing in the search results and get traffic flowing again.
3. Animation
When in-person video shoots were no longer an option, companies pivoted to animation to get their messages to their audiences.
Animation opens up a whole new world of possibilities. Far more engaging than reading text alone, an animated video allows you to capture your audience’s interest with compelling visuals and storytelling. And because animation can be so stylized, it’s a great opportunity to solidify your brand’s image through color, font, design, and musical elements.
4. Stock Footage and Motion Graphics
If live production or animation isn’t an option, you can still create quality video content with stock footage and/or motion graphics.
Stock footage content uses existing videos that someone else has filmed and made available to consumers on marketplaces. Having access to stock footage allows creators to piece together a video that includes a large array of settings, locations, and people.
But beware. Though it may seem like a ticket to inexpensive and easy video content, stock footage videos can easily come across as looking cheap and unprofessional if not edited correctly.
Similarly, extra caution should be taken when creating motion graphic videos. This type of video, which adds motion to text, shapes, and objects, can look fantastic if done by a skilled graphic designer or editor. But resorting to free online software for this content can result in a less-than-effective product.
If done right, stock footage and motion graphic videos can be a wonderful lower-cost supplement to your video marketing efforts.
5. Video as Communication
If you weren’t familiar with Zoom prior to 2020, you probably are now! With so many companies offering their employees the option to work remotely for the foreseeable future, video conferencing is not going anywhere.
Be prepared to see companies and employees alike put more effort into their onscreen appearance. Companies will want to ensure that their team members have the equipment— like lights and quality webcams— they need to look professional and represent the brand in important meetings. New products such as the Razer Kiyo Streaming Webcam have made getting a good image easy, helping tech-savvy and tech-challenged folks alike.
Conclusion
Change isn’t always a bad thing! COVID-19 forced everyone to quickly adapt and seek new solutions in many aspects of our lives and business. As traditional in person video production picks back up, it’s important to realize that there is a “new normal” that includes these five trends.