Video production is a vital part of your marketing in today’s world, so it’s more necessary than ever not only to be making high quality videos for your business but also to know about trends so that your content can reach the most people in the most effective way.
Matt Middleton, creative director here at Glowfrog Video, provides his expert insight and predictions for the world of video.
“With 689 million active monthly users (DataReportal 2021), TikTok has really changed the way that people are watching content in the last couple of years. It was the most downloaded app in 2020 and, for anyone who doesn’t know, is a kind of video and social media integration app whereby people can upload short videos and other users watch them within a continuous carousel of content. “TikTok naturally prefers portrait content, so that the video fills the phone screen fully without the viewer needing to rotate their phone. Facebook and Instagram were already encouraging this, too. It’s a move away from the traditional wide 16:9 aspect ratio we’re used to seeing on our TV’s (and indeed when your phone is flipped horizontally). These wide videos still have their place, and will continue to do so well into the future in my opinion, but content creators and business owners must now seriously consider the aspect ratio they choose to make their videos with. Or, rather, have a specific intention of where their video will be uploaded, before the camera begins rolling, to ensure the video will be ideal for use on any given platform or medium. Are you creating videos that most people will watch on a phone? Increasingly, portrait orientation is preferable. This is a trend that will only become more prevalent as time goes on. “Even YouTube has felt the threat of TikTok, this year implementing a new ‘Shorts’ section which is extremely similar in style to the TikTok “carousel” of content and encourages channel owners to upload shorter videos. TikTok has a video length limit of either 1 minute or 3 minutes, depending whether the video was created within the app or externally, while Instagram has for many years now had a cap of 1 minute (assuming you don’t want to force viewers to press ‘keep watching’ and enter IGTV). This is driving a new necessity for short, snappy videos that get your message across quickly. Personally, I find this something of a shame – often the more artistic elements and the ‘breathing’ of the video are therefore sacrificed, as there’s no longer time to include pauses and cutaways for information digestion, or to include arty sections, or to really get into the bones of the topic that’s being discussed/explained within the video. An overview, delivered quickly, is now the order of the day. This is of course still dependent upon where you intend for the video to be shown - it isn’t so true if you intend to upload or show the video in a place that isn’t geared towards short videos – for example if you are going to be uploading it to your website homepage, or showing it on screens in your store. Hence again, the increased requirement for forward-planning of where you will be posting the video. But largely, videos no longer than 1 minute will continue to become more and more common.” Matt then explained how this trend for shorter videos is also inherently tied with another few ‘trends’, or rather, as he put it, requirements for effective online videos in recent times - these being “shock value”, shareability, and audience retention ability. All of which are very important and well-considered when Glowfrog begin a new client project.
“Can we really engage the viewer straight away – because if not, chances are they won’t be watching until the end.”
“Not only do videos for TikTok and Instagram need to be short, punchy and ideally in a portrait crop, they also need to provide the viewer with almost immediate ‘pay off’ in the form of surprise or intrigue, such that the viewer then feels compelled to keep watching and share it with their friends. It’s far too easy now to just ‘flick away’ from a video that hasn’t grabbed your attention within the opening 5 to 10 seconds. In our opinion, this is effectively the most important part of any edit now – can we really engage the viewer straight away – because if not, chances are they won’t be watching until the end. But of course, the video then needs to continue to be surprising or interesting enough throughout. There’s just too much other content out there already for you to expect anyone to have the patience to get through an uninteresting video. Over 20 days’ worth of videos are uploaded to YouTube every minute (Blog.YouTube, 2021) – so it’s vital to consider how we can achieve “audience retention” with any video we are producing. This means not just being aware of where the video will be uploaded and adapting it to be optimal for that platform, but also ensuring the overall topic of the video is surprising and/or interesting enough for someone to even give it a chance. Logically, audience retention is easier to achieve with a shorter video, which is why another reason why the new trend for shorter videos exists.” “Sometimes, our clients have a very specific idea of what they want, but haven’t considered these trends or whether their idea will result in an engaging, effective video that people actually want to watch. We are experts in marketing videos, thanks largely to my former role as a marketing manager for over ten years before founding Glowfrog Video Production. So it’s great when we’re given the opportunity to work more closely with the client to achieve the best possible video for them, that will deliver the results they want.” “Literally every business can benefit from effective videos and we are more than happy to discuss ideas with clients, no matter whether the client is brand new to us or long-standing. If you want impactful videos that are made to professional standards and can deliver real results for your business, you can give us a call on 01332 492465 or contact us through our website at www.glowfrogvideo.com.”
