As a communicator, I want to talk to people in effective ways and for the last few years this has been increasingly video.

It’s been a while since I blogged specifically about video so with my online video skills training now back up and airborne again I thought it an idea to do some horizon scanning.

The first thing to tell you is the popularity of video as content.

Video is the most popular type of content

Video is the content most people reach for in 2021, according to Animoto.

More than 80 per cent prefer video bearing images (68 per cent), text (31 per cent) and stories (30 per cent).

So, if video is what works, think about what video will work.

AR and video

Tech journalist Kris Kolo tweeted this short clip which made me smile. Watch it and you’ll see why.

Smart glasses download Augmented Reality software to put a smile on the faces of those you go past on your morning commute. How refreshing.

Augmented reality is a preserve of the under 24s with a global survey pointing to 24 per cent of web users from this demographic using AR in the previous month.

Augmented Reality is also something that Facebook are looking at expanding and that’s an indicator of where things will go.

This is a lived video experience rather than a recorded one and is an on-the-horizon trend rather than one that’s essential.

Working with TikTok creators

The daunting learning cliff that TikTok poses is that it has a language all of its own.

‘Don’t make an ad, make a TikTok’ is the platforms advice. Or in other words, make something bespoke for the platform. Don’t shoehorn in something from somewhere else.

Photomyne is an app that allows people to use their phone to scan old photographs and convert them to a digital file.

Instead of making their own videos they worked with TikTok creators through the platform’s own clearing house to make 12 organic posts with creators. The best performing ones they then turned into Spark Ads.

This led to a 27 per cent conversion rate for app installs – which is what they were after.

While this exact route isn’t open to everyone the idea of working with creators absolutely is.

This is one creator’s story of converting her brother Mohammed’s only picture into a digital file.

Instagram will be a video platform

Instagram’s change of direction needs repeating.

They want to see themselves as a video platform and not just a picture platform.

You can use this as more evidence on the onward march of video and how all social media is including video in what they do.

Adam Mosseri put the cat amongst the pigeons in this video which talking through the change of direction.

On Facebook, video still performs powerfully

Earlier in the year, I blogged on how Mark Zuckerburg spoke of how half of all time spent on Facebook is spent watching video.

That trend continues with Facebook revealing the majority of top performing posts including either a picture or video. If you don’t have one or the other the clear signal is that you are going to struggle.

If LinkedIn are getting involved with live video it must be a thing

Live has been a feature of the video landscape for a number of years.

Facebook has been at it for some time and have been joined by others including Instagram, YouTube and also… LinkedIn.

The format can work really well. Behind the scenes tours, Q&As and interviews are all content that perform well.

But the fact that LinkedIn now has gone down the path of live again shows a direction of travel.

At the moment, this is for approved members but you can see the tool being rolled out.

I help deliver ESSENTIAL VIDEO SKILLS REBOOTED online training. You can find out more and book a place here.

Original source – The Dan Slee Blog » LOCAL SOCIAL: Is it time for a Local localgovcamp?

Comments closed