Few underestimate the power of online video. Its importance has been apparent since at least 2006, when Google acquired YouTube in a deal worth north of $1.5bn. But a lot has changed since then. So much, in fact, that it’s worth asking if video is effectively the future of the internet.
Video is changing the face of non-video services
One of the strongest pieces of evidence to support the notion that video is the future of the internet is the impact it’s having on some of the most popular online services that, unlike YouTube, didn’t start out with a video focus. For example, when Instagram, which rose to prominence as a social photo sharing app, announced a new 60-second video limit earlier this year, the company revealed that the time its users spend watching videos has increased by more than 40% in the past six months.
There’s no reason to believe that trend has stopped and, while it’s still a popular photo sharing app, video is increasingly becoming a bigger and bigger part of the Instagram content mix. The impact of video is even more apparent when looking at Instagram’s owner, Facebook. The world’s largest social network is now one of the most popular platforms for sharing video, and a real threat to YouTube.
But Facebook doesn’t just have the potential to overtake YouTube; it could find that it is overtaken by video itself. Nicola Mendelsohn, Facebook’s VP for EMEA, when she predicted that the social network would “probably” be “all video” in the next five years.
The best way to tell stories in this world – where so much information is coming at us – actually is video. It commands so much information in a much quicker period so actually the trend helps us digest more of the information in a quicker way.
Video ads are big, but…
For businesses and brands looking to take advantage of mobile, video advertising is the low-hanging fruit. While digital video ads – at least the good ones – aren’t repurposed TV spots, they’re the easiest way for brands to dip their toes in the online video waters.
But the formats most familiar to brand marketers, like pre-rolls, aren’t exactly loved by consumers, and there’s the challenge of the quality of viewing. So it’s no surprise that many brands are going beyond video ads. For example, brands are creating original content for platforms like Instagram, including requesting customers to create content.
In short, there are plenty of ways brands can embrace online video and while some are associated with advertising, some of the most effective aren’t.
Live video is not a fad
The biggest trend in online video recently has been live video. Numerous brands have embraced Meerkat and Twitter-owned Periscope, as well as Facebook Live. Facebook is investing heavily in Live, and it appears to be paying off.
According to Facebook , Live has been “a bigger, faster phenomenon” than the company expected, and engagement on Live videos is “much higher,” with Live videos receiving ten times as many comments as pre-recorded videos.
While live video’s rise is most evident on social platforms like Facebook, brands should keep in mind that live video isn’t exclusive to these platforms, as evidenced by Amazon’s Style Code Live, a live 30-minute show the online retail giant produces and streams daily Monday through Friday. It features an interactive player that highlights products as they are featured in the show, giving viewers the ability to more easily purchase them.
Mobile isn’t a barrier
If there were reasons to be sceptical about video’s potential, one of the biggest might have been concerns over mobile performance, as well as bandwidth and data utilisation. But advances in mobile technology and reduced data costs mean that widespread mobile usage isn’t a permanent impediment to the growth of video on the internet.
The statistics back this up: Facebook revealed that the company’s users are watching an average of 100m hours of video every day on mobile devices.
Although video has traditionally been an audio-visual medium, but the internet is changing that. On Twitter and Facebook, videos auto play without sound, challenging brands to find ways to deliver video content that’s compelling even without audio. One of the more increasingly common techniques: texted video.
The internet, as compared to mediums like radio and television, is the most niche-friendly, and given the appeal of video content, it’s not surprising that digital video is giving birth to and supporting lucrative niches. For businesses and brands, there are great opportunities to get involved in these niches through advertising, sponsorship and original content allowing powerful and personalised messaging to reach a focussed, targeted market.