Although marketers have been buzzing about digital video marketing for years, it has remained relegated to the sidelines and considered by many marketing professionals as an emerging tactic. If recent studies are any indication, 2019 may be the year that video marketing finally takes center stage. Here are some of the reasons why:

• Of the businesses currently using digital video marketing, 99 percent plan to continue to use it.
• 88 percent of marketers plan to increase their spending on video marketing in the year ahead.
• 74 percent of marketers who are not utilizing video marketing tactics plan to start within the next year. That is up from 65 percent in 2018 and only 34 percent in 2017.

Although video marketing appears to have made it to the mainstream, it is still undergoing tremendous change as viewer preferences and advertising and platform options evolve at a rapid pace.

Following are the top trends the experts at MDG Advertising believe will dominate the field of video marketing in 2019:

Using Stories to Tell the Story

Unlike traditional video posts, Stories is an ephemeral social media content format in which posts containing images and/or video are only viewable for a limited time. The format was pioneered by Snapchat, and Facebook (News - Alert) and Instagram quickly added their own versions of Stories.

Today, more than 400 million people view Instagram Stories on a daily basis, which demonstrates just how popular the format is among social media users, as well as advertisers. The trend is expected to grow in 2019 as more social media users switch their sharing from traditional public posts to Stories. As a result of this change in audience preferences, Instagram is expected to double its spending on video ads over the next two years.

New Video Formats Will Emerge

The rise in popularity of Stories underscores the fact that marketers and audiences have access to an increasing number of video format options, ranging from video length to picture quality. Since more and more people are watching videos on smaller screens or vertically, aspect ratio is perhaps the area where this diversity is most evident. For example, Facebook already offers a choice of four different in-feed video sizes, and other major social media platforms are quickly following suit.

Optimizing Video for Silent Viewing

Social media and mobile devices have certainly changed the way that we watch video content. They have also changed the way we listen to—or in some cases don’t listen to—video content.

Most social media platforms have sound off as the default setting. In addition, a large number of people mute the sound on their smartphones when viewing content in a public setting to avoid disturbing others. This means that you cannot rely on audio to grab your audience’s attention. It also forces marketers to look for ways to create compelling video content that is not dependent on sound. To remain relevant, marketers will need to optimize their video content for these types of shifts in audience behaviors.

The Introduction of Innovative Video Ad Options

It was not long ago that the only video ad options available to marketers were 15- and 30-second pre-roll spots. Today, specialized video ad options that allow marketers to effectively target specific segments of the audience are becoming the norm. Skippable and immersive ads, such as TrueView ads on YouTube and Instagram’s Stories ads, have opened the door for a number of creative ad options. Facebook has announced the rollout of In-Stream Reserve and ThruPlay ad options. In-Stream Reserve allows advertisers to target their videos to individuals watching videos from certain high-quality publishers and creators. ThruPlay makes it possible for advertisers to only pay for ads that are watched to completion or for a minimum amount of time.

The Bond Between Video and Social Media Will Strengthen

The amount of money that social media platforms are devoting to video advertising is just one indication of a larger move toward video in general. This transition is not new, but it is becoming more apparent in 2019.

At the end of 2018, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (News - Alert) shared his belief that video will be an important part of the future for Facebook and Instagram. He also announced that Facebook will accelerate its investment in Facebook Watch and other video content initiatives. As social media and video become increasingly interconnected, brands will need to become adept at digital video if they are going to continue to succeed on social media.

Video and Search Results Will Become More Interconnected

Not to be outdone by social networks, Google (News - Alert) and other search engines are incorporating video into their offerings. This transition has been in the works for several years as search engines have been giving increased priority to video content on search results pages. A recent announcement by Google shows that the company is about to take things to the next level. Google is going to start using artificial intelligence to identify relevant video content based on user search queries and play snippets of the content directly on the results pages. This means that brands will need to make video a part of their thought process when developing search-targeted content and SEO strategies.

Increased Focus on Platform-Specific Content

While the plethora of online video opportunities available today makes it possible for marketers to reach a wider range of people, it also creates a unique challenge. To maximize the return on their investment in video, brands need to figure out how to optimize their content for both the platform and the viewing format. To illustrate, an organic video post requires a different approach than a Stories post or a paid placement.

Increased Acceptance of Educational and Informative Videos

For years, marketers considered customer testimonials, product showcases, and other informative pieces too boring to be worth the time or the money. It turns out that consumers have an appetite for this type of content. In fact, 72 percent of consumers say they want to learn more about products and services through online videos, especially when produced with skill and style.

The Cost of Video Creation Will Continue to Decline

High-quality videos are easier to create and more affordable than ever before. In most cases, all you need is a smartphone and a laptop. Feature-length films and entire episodes of popular television shows have even been produced and edited using devices available in almost any home or office.

These trends highlight the fact that digital video content is maturing and is better than ever. They also demonstrate that video is ready for the spotlight in 2019.

About Michael Del Gigante, CEO of MDG Advertising

In 1999, CEO Michael Del Gigante founded MDG Advertising, a full-service advertising agency with offices in Boca Raton, Florida and Brooklyn, New York. With his unique insight and decades of industry experience, he turned what was once a traditional ad agency into an integrated branding firm based on an innovative 360-degree marketing philosophy that provides a full spectrum of traditional and digital advertising services.