Video marketing isn’t just a buzzword. It’s taken the world by storm one screen at a time. People love it and seasoned marketers are coming up with exciting ways to crank up their video content game.
It’s important to recognize that the popularity of video content goes hand in hand with social media. Consumer behavior and social media continue to shape how marketers and content creators interact with their audience.
In this post, we’ll take a look at some of the most important social media video trends to stay on top of in 2020. The common trends you’ll find on all the platforms mentioned are Stories and live-streaming. Stories made their debut on Snapchat in 2013. Since then, every other major platform has gone ahead and blatantly copied the feature, introducing it on their apps one by one.
Now, without further ado, let’s jump into it.
Despite the fact that Facebook has constantly entered the spotlight for all the wrong reasons over the past couple of years, mainly because of bad policies and carelessness with user data, its stranglehold has allowed it to become the largest social networking platform.
The social media giant has also been trying to push video content into the limelight by incentivizing it. This is great news for video marketers.
Here are a few social media video trends to pay attention to on Facebook.
1. Facebook Stories and the rise of vertical video
Credits: Marvel
The stories format has gained popularity and so have short vertical videos as a result. The impact the two have had in combination is worth taking note of.
According to Statista, an estimated 3.46 billion users have been actively using social media on their phones as of July 2019. This has fueled the rise of vertical videos in story format.
Facebook introduced the feature on its platform in 2017. This move garnered criticism at first because the company clearly copied the idea from Snapchat and soon captured double the users compared to the pioneering app.
Vertical videos on stories show high engagement. The news feed algorithm is also rewarding this sort of organic video content. If you haven’t quite explored it yet, I’d suggest it’s worth getting into.
Facebook stories disappear after 24 hours and can allow you to connect with your audience on a more intimate level if done right.
You can also run ad campaigns in this format.
2. Facebook Watch
Facebook Watch launched in 2017 and is supposed to be the home for recorded or live, original; episodic content.
The company emphasized how its video-on-demand service can allow publishers and content creators to build a loyal following around their original work. Businesses can take advantage of this and create video podcasts and keyword-driven serial content.
3. Facebook Live
Facebook joined the live-streaming party a little late and debuted the service in 2016. In 2018, the number of live video broadcasts reached a massive 3.5 billion. The social media has also reported that live videos on its platform get 6 times more interaction as compared to other videos on the platform.
From a business perspective, you could leverage Facebook Live for webinars, etc. You have a much better chance of ranking higher on the algorithm with this type of quality content.
YouTube
YouTube isn’t just a social media video platform. It is also one of the largest search engines around. Neglecting the video behemoth in your video content strategy would probably be a bad idea.
Even though the platform has been around for more than a decade, it’s still going strong. These are some trends you should be aware of in 2020.
Read more: 15 Simple Tips to Increase Your Video Views on YouTube
1. YouTube Stories
Credits: Hot Ones, BrainCraft, The Dodo
YouTube hopped on the Story bandwagon in 2018. The format is similar to that of other early adopters of the feature.
Content creators and channel owners can share images and short vertical videos as Stories. It is an opportunity to connect with viewers in a more authentic and personal way. Short video stories can help you stay in touch with your followers on a regular basis which is great for boosting engagement.
YouTube Stories are viewable for up to 7 days. Your fans can also comment and leave a like on your stories.
YouTube Stories can only be created and viewed on the mobile app.
2. YouTube Live
YouTube came out with its live-streaming feature way back in 2011. It allows creators to hold Q&A sessions with the audience, classes, etc and interact with viewers in real-time
This live stream by Space X raked up millions of views as people witnessed, for the first time, rocket boosters make a precise landing back on Earth.
To begin live-streaming on YouTube, you must have a verified account and there are a couple of ways of going about it. You could try the quickest one, which is the Stream Now option or, if you want more control, you could use the Events tab. You can also live stream using the mobile app or your computer’s webcam, too.
Remember how influencers would grind their gears to take the perfect shot or make the perfect video to present an aspirational lifestyle? I bet you do, and I also bet you were getting tired of it.
Luckily, the wind has changed direction yet again. Staged content has been replaced with authentic content and the “no-edit” edit trend is going strong.
This is great news for content creators and marketers because everything doesn’t need to look like it was professionally done.
Here are the latest video trends to look out for on Instagram this year.
1. Instagram Video Stories
Credits: Buzzfeed Tasty, National Geographic
Instagram Stories were added to the platform in 2016 following the success of Snapchat. They remain up for 24 hours and are great for posting short, authentic videos regularly to update your audience and connect with them.
In 2020, you’ll be seeing more videos on the Explore page. This offers plenty of incentives for businesses to invest in this form of content.
Do you want more good news? Videos on the Explore page autoplay and thus have a better chance of catching a person’s eye.
With over 4.8 billion people browsing the internet using their mobile phones, creators have the opportunity to take advantage of the situation and engage their audience. Creating vertical videos that don’t really require a ton of time and resource investment is something you should definitely experiment with.
For a while now, people have been worrying about Instagram’s organic reach. Video content may help brands and marketers break through the stubborn algorithm and finally catch a break.
The emergence of Tik Tok certainly played a role in bringing the trend of short vertical video front and center. I’ll dive more into the Chinese app later in this post.
2. Instagram Live
If we’re talking about engaging vertical videos and social video trends, then Instagram Live hits the nail on the head.
As you prepare to go live, Instagram will notify your followers so they can tune in. It would be best to make an announcement a day or two earlier before going live so your fans and followers know when to keep an eye out for the video.
Once you’re done broadcasting, you can download the video or share it as your Story where it’ll stay up for 24 hours.
If you’re not sure how to do a live video on Instagram, this tutorial will help.
TikTok
TikTok took most millennials and older generations by surprise. The relatively new Chinese app arrived on the global scene in 2017.
Vertical; 15-second video is what Tik Tok is all about. Users can also publish Story videos back-to-back for a total length of 60 seconds. The time limit forces people to get really creative with the type of content they create.
The app also lets users play a 15-second music clip with their videos. The company has a special license with music providers and it does not legally allow users to play more than 15-seconds of the sound.
You may have your reservations about whether or not you should use the app. Ultimately, it really depends on who you’re targeting.
The fact of the matter is that Tik Tok is a subculture for young people. A survey found that 41% of Tik Tok users are 16 to 24 years old. If this just so happens to be your company’s target demographic, then you may want to get on board.
Here’s a popular trend you should consider if you’re going to experiment with Tik Tok.
1. The #Hashtag challenge
Several brands have found great success using challenges to promote their business or product. Hashtag challenges get the audience to participate and, as a result, drive up engagement like nothing else.
Chipotle’s bizarre #Guacdance campaign went viral as people chimed to get in on the fun. The marketing effort was a massive success and the restaurant chain reportedly served more than 800,000 sides of guacamole as a result.
So think of a fun hashtag challenge to promote your business and possibly get an influencer involved. Having an influencer whose audience overlaps with your target audience can really help you reach out to the people you’re trying to zero in on.
Conclusion
A quick glance at all the top social media video trends of 2020 makes it obvious that social video, short-form content, and live-streams are where all the action lies.
As a business, you have the opportunity to reach out to your audience in new and exciting ways.
If you find it tedious to try out some of the new features and apps; or think you don’t have anything to gain from them, then I’d suggest that you should at least familiarize yourself with what’s out there. Simply knowing how something works can oftentimes be beneficial, too.
