Today every brand, whether fledgling or established, is making sure their marketing plans include video marketing. And why shouldn’t it? After all, videos are engaging and boost a marketer’s ROI. Let’s go through a few numbers here:

• By the beginning of 2018, 81 percent of businesses were using video marketing as a part of their marketing paraphernalia. The figure increased to 87 percent in 2019.
• 83 percent of marketers say that video marketing gives them an excellent ROI.
• 87 percent of marketers are using YouTube as a part of their digital marketing efforts.

The above numbers make it clear that video marketing is now embraced by most brand marketers, and it is here to stay. But you may be wondering about the kind of video marketing that’s likely to provide the best return on investment. To help determine what’s best for your brand, take a look at these trends:

1. Instagram video stories are only now becoming popular

Stories have steadily gained traction on social networks, and this trend will only rise in 2020. Nowadays, more than 400 million people view Instagram Stories daily, and this number is expected to double. So it would be smart to create short and interesting video stories for the platform on a consistent basis. They can also be used very successfully as sponsored stories to get your brand in front of a new audience.

2. Live video is a living reality

Live streaming services are becoming extremely popular on Facebook, Instagram and other social networks. Live streaming encourages more audience engagement and retains viewers longer than prerecorded video. This is why 82 percent of adults prefer live videos over social media posts from brands.

3. “No-sound videos” are of equal importance

85 percent of Facebook videos are viewed without sound. Because videos are now often watched on smartphones in public settings, social feeds have the sound turned off by default. These kinds of optimizations are likely to become increasingly important in 2020 as more and more people change their viewing and listening habits.

4. Video marketing and search go hand-in-hand

Search-friendliness has always been the core of digital marketing. Video marketing too is feeling its importance. This is the reason why AI and the use of closed captions are used for making videos more searchable. AI can write out the audio tracks of video using voice recognition technology and make videos more prominent on search results. As such, the time to use these emerging technologies to boost a brand’s presence is now.

Now that you know these video marketing trends for 2020, your brand will be able to get ahead of the competition this year. You just have to ensure that your videos are engaging, meaningful and relevant for your audience.