Are Videos The Future Of Marketing?

This engaging medium is taking over social media advertising

Consumption of video content has been slowly increasing over the years. If you look at Facebook or any other social media platform a decade ago, content was pretty much image-centric, with the occasional GIF.

Similarly, ads were heavily focused on images, carousels, and nothing else. Advertisers at that time were favoring these long, wordy, sales pages. Remember those? You would scroll down forever past these huge blocks of text filled with testimonials, offers, discounts, you name it. No matter how boring they may seem now, they worked! Why? Because that was what people wanted.

However, in recent years, the trend has shifted to video consumption and production. This started with Vine and was fueled by the rise of Snapchat, then Instagram, which introduced videos back in 2013. Now, all of a sudden, every platform has become flooded with video content. Look at popular marketplaces like Clickbank or Jvzoo—every affiliate product is centered around videos. They use the same approach when it comes to copywriting and structure, but through a different medium.

When you break it down, this approach makes sense. Videos attract more attention than static text. They’re more engaging and stimulating, especially when paired with sound and visual effects. According to mycustomer.com, ‘consumers are 27.4 times more likely to click-through online video ads than standard banners, and almost 12 times more than rich media ads, according to a new report.’

YouTube is the perfect case study. They report that internet users watch 1 billion hours’ worth of video every single day. Billion, with a b. Considering that number alone, we forecast that, in the near future, video will overshadow every other medium. Marketers must learn how to use it to their advantage in order to be in sync with the future trends and needs of their audience.

We encourage everyone to develop basic skills like planning, writing scripts, using lightning, and even video editing. These skills will go a long way in future-proofing your business, and attracting audiences for years to come.