Three Major Shifts That Will Transform Video Marketing in 2017

Over 90% of marketers say video content is important, and they're doing something about it: More than two-thirds of participants in plan to increase their budgets for video content creation, a Vidyard's State of Video Marketing study found. It's clear: Both for content providers and for content consumers, this is no passing trend. In the same way that social media has revolutionized how we engage with brands, video is shifting from a passive to interactive experience. More interactive experiences mean that we can now track more insightful measures and provide more meaningful analytics. I expect that number to jump in 2017 as businesses invest more in video content across their business, and they become more aware of how well analytics can convey viewers' precise levels of interest and engagement in their content. Video marketing technology now allows marketers and sales reps to personalize video content for recipients in a way that stands out, draws them into the story, and boosts their engagement in the content experience. As HubSpot's Halligan mentioned in the keynote I quoted earlier, today's buyers want short, easily consumed, informal content. All of which is good news for businesses. It provides your brand with more ways to stand apart from an increasingly crowded market to capture the attention and engagement of your target audience. Video will emerge from its passive, generic YouTube experience to become a dynamic, personal experience primed to make a serious impact on business results.

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2016 was a good year for video marketing. 2017 will be extraordinary.

Marketers know that video has become critical throughout the buying cycle, and sales teams are catching on as well. Brands are no longer asking whether video is a worthwhile investment; the days of “why video?” have given way to the who, what, when, where and how.

Over 90% of marketers say video content is important, and they’re doing something about it: More than two-thirds of participants in plan to increase their budgets for video content creation, a Vidyard’s State of Video Marketing study found.

We aren’t the only ones confident in video’s rising popularity and importance. “We’re entering this new golden age of video,” Mark Zuckerberg told BuzzFeed News in April 2016, adding that he “wouldn’t be surprised if you fast-forward five years and most of the content that people see on Facebook and are sharing on a day-to-day basis is video.”

His fellow innovators and thought leaders agree (though not all). In his keynote at INBOUND 2016, HubSpot co-founder and CEO Brian Halligan described the current combination of social and video as the perfect marriage—”scallops and bacon,” to be precise—and opined that half of the content that marketing teams are producing in 2017 should be video.

It’s clear: Both for content providers and for content consumers, this is no passing trend.

In 2017, three major shifts in how we create, promote, and measure video content will bring about the tipping point that changes the game and puts us squarely on track for Zuckerberg’s “golden age of video.”

1. From Passive to Interactive

Watching a video has been a passive process. Whether you’re on your couch in front of Netflix or at your computer researching software, you click play, sit there, get bored, mess around on your phone, wait for the video to be over, and you walk away with a few nuggets of entertainment or information.

No more. In the same way that social media has revolutionized how we engage with brands, video is shifting from a passive to interactive experience. The process began with clickable URLs and annotations—”Visit www.whatever.com for more info” at the end of the clip—but it’s quickly becoming integrated into the entire viewing experience.

We can now add embedded surveys, quizzes, and links to keep viewers engaged throughout the video while also providing additional content to retain their focus. We can respond to user actions, create 360 degree videos, and provide other immersive experiences, all of which bring the viewer further into the story and more invested in its outcome.

The same trend applies on the back end as well. We used to track videos with passive and relatively meaningless metrics, such as impressions and views. More interactive experiences mean that we can now track more insightful measures and provide…

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