In our latest white paper, leaders across the marketing and media landscape predicted some of the hottest video trends in 2019… and judging by their insights, video storytelling is about to become an even bigger part of our day-to-day experiences, and an even bigger priority for every digital brand.

But this isn’t new – video storytelling has become more and more popular across all industries in recent years. What is new is the science and strategy around how we tell those stories through the medium of video. Here are 6 of the top predictions from our white paper that should be implemented into your content strategy this year:

1. Multiple video formats for mobile & social consumption

While the last several years have been about short-form video across many platforms, I think the future will find content more segmented: Short-form, vertically-oriented video for Instagram, live video for Twitter. For longer form content, my team and I prefer YouTube, where viewers are more accepting of 5+ minute videos. Across all platforms though, the major trend will continue to be producing franchises that resonate with socially active audiences.”
– Osman Noor, ESPN

One of the emerging video trends of 2019 has to do with orientation. Customers spend more time watching videos on their phones than any other device. And because we naturally hold our phones in this position, vertical video is becoming more and more important. But of course, not all social platforms support vertically-oriented content – so square video is a great bet for Facebook and Instagram feeds, and landscape video is still the best for YouTube (and most mobile sites).

Tailoring your videos to mobile devices has other perks too. YouTube reports that mobile video consumption is increasing at least 100% year over year. And an impressive 92% of mobile video consumers have been found to share videos with others.

2. Social platforms become more video-focused

Existing social platforms will continue evolving to being video-first while new social networks built around video will continue to emerge (i.e. Tik-Tok). This will continue to impact the first generation of kids that aren’t simply raised on mobile or social media, but are video literate as their first language. They will know how to shoot video, and communicate with their friends through video, first and foremost.”
– Ephraim Cohen, FleishmanHillard

As social platforms become more and more video-focused, younger audiences continue to say video is their preferred method of communication. Our report on millennial & generation Z social video trends found that Gen Z audiences spend at least an hour longer watching videos online every day than the average millennial.

Now, every social platform has its own rules and best practices. And thanks to the popularity of video marketing, we’re learning more about what kinds of videos work best on each website.

For example, as of this time last year, 78% of online audiences were already watching video on Facebook Live. Facebook is still currently the most popular platform for live streaming video. YouTube, meanwhile, is close behind.

And while platform algorithms currently show a preference for long-form video, forward-thinking brands would do well to consider how their strategies will work with hardware used for social. We already know that short-form is tried and true in this arena. Make sure to include it in your plan this year and you’ll be ahead of the curve.

3. Greater focus on monetization and engagement

In 2019, we will need to ensure the videos we produce can be turned into inventory that we can monetize easily, and are formatted in a way that will engage audiences on every channel. Our biggest challenges will be continuing to scaling video production to cover all trending stories, optimizing user experience for these videos across all devices, targeting our messaging to specific infinity groups, while maintaining a strong and well-defined graphic identity.”
– Timothee Gerardin, Prisma Media

Now that most businesses have the content creation thing down, 2019 will be the year we set and achieve more concrete goals with our video marketing. Both monetization and engagement will dominate marketing strategies this year. Creators are looking for new ways to produce video content that the direct cause of sales. This also means that the content will need to be as engaging as possible to stand out from a swath of fresh shares in news feeds.

If this is your goal for 2019, consider adding the following to your strategy:

• Scale video production to cover all relevant trending stories.
• Optimize user experience across all devices.
• Target messaging to specific infinity groups.
• Maintain a strong and well-defined graphic identity.

These tactics will make your video marketing efforts are as effective as possible.

4. Technology integrates video into our daily lives

Video will be the default method for digital content. It will be integrated into every part of our daily digital lives – from booking a stay on AirBnB, buying tickets on Ticketmaster, searching for a home on Trulia, or ordering appliances from Amazon. There will be no industry, market, or geography producing digital content without incorporating video in some way.”
– Zohar Dayan, Wibbitz

Thanks to other new technologies, video has become part of almost everything we do. We have backup cameras in our cars. Our security assistants automatically record surveillance footage. FaceTime is now available on your TV. The list goes on and on.

And with the invention of virtual reality, 360 degree videos, and DTC streaming services, marketers will find more and more opportunities to create and share their own video content on more platforms than ever before.

5. Increase in paid social ad usage

The decline of print circulations and challenge to monetise digital advertising revenues has long been putting immense strain on UK news brands. While issues around brand safety, viewability and ad fraud, as well as the post-GDPR cleanup, have worked in publishers’ favour as brands begin to return to premium inventory, the growth of Facebook and Google continues to weigh heavy on newspapers and digital news sites alike.” – Jane Loring, Wibbitz

It makes sense – the more brands creating content, the harder it is to stand out. Paying for ad space ensures you’ll get more eyeballs on your videos. You may already know this because it’s been a trend for some time now. Between 2015 and 2018, social media ad spend has consistently increased year over year. In the last three years alone, U.S. advertisers have spent approximately nine billion more on them. Everyone seems to be prioritizing this tactic.

There’s also the issue of availability. What you might not have considered is the fact that print ads continue their slow and painful death. Which means digital ads are both in higher demand and there are even more people vying for them than before.

6. Instagram is taking over for Facebook

Viewing a video vertically is a natural way for people to engage on their phones, and it allows for more intimate experiences that are better attuned to the viewing habits of the Instagram generation.”
– David Kashak, Connatix

In addition to increasing demand for social ads, Instagram is primed to overtake Facebook for ad spend. Instagram Stories and IGTV provide more attractive opportunities for video marketers in 2019 than Facebook’s limited news feeds.

According to Socialbakers, ad spend on Instagram increased in 2018 while decreasing on Facebook, driven by hard-to-rival engagement levels on the photo-sharing platform. And our latest social video trends report found that, while Millennials still watch the most videos on Facebook, Gen Zers ranked Facebook second to last, preferring Instagram and YouTube for content viewing. So if you’re trying to appeal to younger audiences, add more Instagram to your video marketing strategy this year if you haven’t already!