Campaign video trends for 2020

Our guide to making the most of video in your campaign plans in the year ahead

At first glance, you might think that 2020 is going to be a relatively quiet year in UK public affairs after the drama and uncertainty that led up to the Conservatives’ landslide election victory in December last year.

But that’s not the case:

·         On May 7, 118 English local authorities will see council seats contested that were last up for grabs before the Brexit referendum of June 2016.

·         The London Mayoralty and the whole of the London Assembly will be voted on

·         Eight other directly-elected mayors and 40 Police and Crime Commissioners across England and Wales will also be elected

And that’s to say nothing about the Brexit negotiations which will take place at high speed throughout the year if the Prime Minister’s insists on avoiding any extension of the transition period.

Or about the direction of the Labour Party after Jeremy Corbyn, whose successor will be picked in April.

Or about the build-up to next year’s elections to the Scottish Parliament, when the question of independence could well play a decisive part.

So there will be no taking it easy for campaigning organisations in 2020.

And with all commentators stressing how critical video continues to be in generating awareness and engagement, you need to be thinking about how you can harness the latest trends and techniques to get your messaging across.

Here are eight themes and developments which are going to be huge in online video this year, along with our top tips on how to take advantage of them.

#1 360-Degree Video

It has never been easier or cheaper to create immersive video experiences with 360-degree video technology and the statistics justify the effort:

·        98% of viewers say 360-degree video is more exciting than standard video

·         360-degree videos get completion rates 46% higher than normal videos and clickthrough rates as high as 300% greater than static display ads

With Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technology creeping their way into the mainstream, 360-degree video is a great way to get ahead of the user experience curve.

#2 Personalised Video

Personalisation has taken online marketing by storm, and now 72% of web users say they will ONLY engage with personalised marketing .

Campaigning organisations have great opportunities to increase audience engagement by leveraging this trend, for example:

·         By targeting videos served to browsing history or known visitor characteristics

·         By using visitors names in videos for maximum impact and recognition

·         Personalised video in email marketing can be particularly effective

#3 Shoppable Video

E-commerce businesses have seen great success in recent years with “shoppable video” – that is, social media videos that demonstrate or showcase a product and then redirect viewers who click through to a checkout page or even to purchase instantly. Conversion is enhanced by minimising the friction of the process.

The one-click principle doesn’t have to be limited to e-commerce. It can be used for lead generation, petitions, fundraising ,enquiries and many other purposes.

#4 Social Media Stories

500 million people use Instagram Stories every day.

Another 450 million use WhatsApp stories.

There is a gigantic audience for short, snappy content that deletes itself after a fixed period of time, and video is being incorporated more and more.

It’s an ideal format for urgent announcements and is particularly effective at reaching the Millenial demographic.

#5 Live Video

Many social media platforms provide live video streaming capabilities. Live video is great for presenting a more human, authentic experience to engaged audience members than pre-recorded material, and can provide opportunities for real-time interactions.

Webinars, live Q&As, Vlogs – the possibilities for the format are endless, and because they are time-limited, live videos tend to get preferential treatment from social media algorithms.

#6 Search Engine Optimisation

On the subject of algorithms, search engines have become far more intelligent about video indexing in recent years. Google has a prominently-positioned “Featured Videos” section in many SERPs that comes with a thumbnail still image, making any content that gets in there highly clickable.

So make sure that you upload your videos with plenty of explanatory metadata and complete subtitles so that search engines – a group which includes YouTube and Vimeo – can index them properly for maximum discoverability.

#7 Soundless Video

Another reason for subtitling your video content is that a massive percentage of videos are watched without the sound switched on.

On Facebook, for example, the proportion of videos watched on silent is as high as 85%.

The more options you provide for users to consume your content, the higher the numbers who get to the end of the video and click through will always be.

#8 Video for Training

Explainer videos are consistently rated as the most popular and valuable video types. Many people learn effectively from video content and increasingly expect it to be available.

It can be gated to restrict access to logged-in subscribers (providing incentives to join) or made freely available as a promotional tool.