What's new in video for 2024?

A quick snapshot of video production and video marketing trends

Earlier this month, after three months of research and writing, we published an ebook about a formula for mastering a video marketing strategy. It was a lot of work, but it was worth it because it is a comprehensive guide to producing better videos and knowing how to use them in the long run for better business results. What’s more, you can now download it for free and use it to boost your video marketing efforts. While we focused almost entirely on strategic thinking in the ebook, I feel like it’s a good time to review the video production and video marketing trends in 2024. Ready? Let’s roll!

Video is king (or is it really?!)

Ok, I won’t be teasing. Video is still king, and it doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere. Most of you and your organisations might be already knee-deep in marketing plans for 2024, but if you - for some reason - forgot to include video in your strategy, take a step back and rethink that decision, because your business can really benefit from wise video-related decisions this year. If you doubt that, let’s have a look at a simple statistic from WordStream, saying that 51% of content shared on social media is video. Ok - what about other channels, like LinkedIn - you might ask! LinkedIn says that video-based posts are likely to drive 5 times more engagement than even the most exciting infographics and other types of content. If you’re still not convinced, I can’t help you, but if the above resonates with you, keep reading!

AI

Let’s make something clear. I personally don’t believe that AI will compete with humans and take our jobs, especially when it comes to creative sectors like art or filmmaking. Yes, it can make some pictures, yes it can generate video avatars and so on and so on, but let’s face it, it just copies, not creates. But it can be a powerful asset when we talk about the speed of the video production process. Thanks to AI, we can definitely produce more ideas, more scripts, and more videos in less time. I say we pay attention to the relation between AI and video and how it can help with more efficient producing, without worrying about its taking our place as creatives. It can also be an invaluable asset for analytics - from tracking audience preferences to optimising our campaigns. But the bottom line is - that unique and effective video content can only come from an efficient collaboration of marketing and video production departments.

Meeting audiences where they are

If you already had a chance to read our ebook, you know how important it is to think about cross-platform strategies. Yeah, yeah, but what does that really mean? When we talk about video content these days, many people tend to think that it’s all on social media. It’s only partially true. In fact, video content consumers are a little bit more decentralised. That is why multi-channel optimisation should be prominent for any video marketing strategy. More and more brands are aware of that, and rather than just producing a one-off massive video for their website, they’d rather focus on a long-term plan, and invest in multiple different videos, aligned with all the channels they are using; like website, YouTube, Linkedin, Social media, and so on.

From 0-engagement in 2.7 s

Video can be the fastest race car to engage your audience if you know how to use its horsepower. If you want to grab your viewers by the throat, you need to have a real monster under the bonnet as you only have 2.7 seconds to get to the point. It seems that it might be extremely hard to deliver any message and value within 3 seconds. Well, it is! The whole point is to get people’s attention in the first seconds to convince them to stay with you for longer, so you can deliver your story. Unless we are talking about long-form and platforms like YouTube, the short-form is set to stay. Only over the last 2 years, the attention-grabbing threshold dropped from 5 seconds (!). If you’re sceptical about those 2.7 seconds, have a look for yourself and see how much you can show in such a short time, PLUS also look at how fast you swipe up to the next video if you don’t see anything interesting!

Silence!

Think about where and how we’re watching videos these days. What do you see? Public transportation, doctor’s waiting room, kitchen at work or even open space. Basically, sound-sensitive environments. People around you don’t want to hear what you’re watching, and you too don’t want them to hear what’s on your phone. I can’t imagine posting a video without subtitles these days, whenever there’s someone talking. It is of course true that you can tell a story without anybody talking, and using visuals only, but the stats show that today’s media require a clever mixture of visuals, subtitles, captions and other visual overlays to enhance the message.

Amateur (?!) phone-made videos…

Creating video content with our smartphones isn’t anything new. But there was always a huge gap in quality, depth and feel between footage from phone and pro cameras. But the newest Apple’s toy, the iPhone 15 has changed the game a little bit. With its LOG shooting capability it offers a quality that can mock up the pro camera grade more easily than ever. Even though it requires additional, colour-grading skills, it’s a great tool for many creators to save up money (or at least some) without giving up on quality. In other words, cinematic-like (aaaalmost) shots, have never been more accessible.

…and UGC

Another thing about filming with phones is that for many people, it creates a vibe of authenticity. To me, authenticity is about something much deeper than just the choice of hardware, but it definitely creates the illusion - in some cases! But it does the trick when we have a random person getting excited about food in restaurant XYZ and filming it with their phone. It might have a slightly different effect than a beautiful and scripted commercial about the very same restaurant; to some people being simply fake. But don’t get fooled that those “random” people are always random and shoot with their phones pro bono. (wink, wink!)

Return of the Long-form

Honestly? I don’t think it has ever gone away! It’s been always there, on the good ol’ YouTube for instance. Only because social media has convinced us to consume fast, doesn’t mean that’s the only way. No matter how popular Instagram or TikTok are, YouTube is still the #1 platform for watching video content. It is also the ONLY platform that actually lets content creators earn real money, rather than pitiful amounts that you can gather on other platforms. As it appears, it’s not only popular among creators themselves, as 78% of marketers claim YouTube to be the most effective video marketing channel! YouTube, following the vertical-short-form-pieces trends, has introduced YouTube shorts, but its core remained the same for year - being a great place for music videos, explainers, video podcasts, tutorials, trailers, aftermovies and so on.

At the beginning of this year, I had a first shot at the 2024 trends. We are only 3 three months in, and I can already see some new things emerging, and some going to bin. And that is what it is with any trends in today’s world - they change faster than we can follow. At the same time, they’re something we can all see, even though some of us don’t want to. Despite all that, I think it’s important to pause once in a while, and have that moment to look at the reality around. It’s also crucial to stay ahead of the curve, not only to know what’s happening but to be ready to break the rules and introduce new solutions. At the end of the day, innovation comes from alternating what we already know. There are, however, some universal rules that outperform the momentary trends. If you’re keen to learn what they are, give it a go with our ebook: Behind The Scenes: 7 Rules for a Successful Video Marketing Strategy

We’d love to learn more about you and your business to design your video strategy with you. We’re your one-stop-shop for video production excellence and we specialise in creating videos that don't just look great, but drive real results for your business. Book a call and let’s make some noise for your not-just-another video!

We’d love to learn more a

out you and your business to design your video strategy with you. We’re your one-stop-shop for video production excellence and we specialise in creating videos that don't just look great, but drive real results for your business. Book a call and let’s make some noise for your not-just-another video!