2024 is giving ROF: We don’t know if we’ll be laughing or rolling on the floor in a primal scream therapy session – either way, we’ll groan as we get up.
In the new year, brand managers and storytellers will get real about how they’re using video. It’ll be a breathless but exciting year for those experimenting on new platforms. Everyone else will feel a migraine coming on (looking at you, guy on the floor, screaming).
When you find yourself looking up at the ceiling, notice how little design attention we give the literal roof over our heads. A big blank canvas obstructed with boring tile or worse, popcorn paint. It’s begging for creativity. And so it goes with video marketing in the new year. Throw out predictability and go Sistine Chapel on your brand video.
Video Marketing Tips and Techniques
Remember when we said, “Nobody cares about your story?” That’s still true. But that doesn’t mean brands won’t tell a story in 2024. Audiences are hungry for cinematic experiences that touch their hearts and souls.
C’mon, give humanity a shot.
Long-form videos delivering simple yet artful messages are in. Yes, you’ll be seen and heard – but context is the content. Let us explain.
The American College of Emergency Physicians had a powerful story to tell as it turned 50. Quite literally, a story of life or death. Harrowing moments unfolding in emergency rooms. Soldiers and Marines on the front lines of war and trauma.
“The American Emergency Department” film clocks in at 15 minutes. None of it focuses on the organization’s member services, advocacy, or research work. All of it leaves the viewer with no doubt that specially-trained emergency physicians are essential.
Are you skeptical that an audience will hang with you through long-form video? Skip to the midpoint of ACEP’s film for the scene of a healthcare professional administering chest compressions while standing on a moving gurney as a patient is rolled through the emergency department.
Character-driven, immersive, and documentarian approaches will transform your video. It doesn’t even need gore to be exciting. The sirens and nat sound from the ER helped but none of the footage had blood. (We don’t mind blood, for the record).
We list long-form human-centered videos first for a reason: This genre can make you look even cooler than you actually are (no offense).
This is video content marketing at its finest.
Online Video Marketing
Speaking of cool people and wondering if you are one … let’s talk social media.
The most popular platforms aren’t new but that isn’t the point. Data show viewers retain far more information from watching a video than reading boring ad copy. Marketing managers increasingly say they want more videos on social. And 47% of American office workers admit they’ve put a client call on hold to finish a TikTok video.
OK, we made that last one up.
But really. Need more convincing as to why video content is important in 2024?
Hubspot found that 66% of consumers watch at least one video about a company, brand, or product before making a decision.
In 2024, brands can break up with the notion that all videos must be polished, pristine, and pompous. Audiences on social media want quick, relatable, situational content. Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube are still at the top for best video marketing tools.
Why not get the youngest person in your office to brainstorm with you about casual video content for these platforms? If talking to you doesn’t send them to primal scream therapy, maybe you can work together on a behind-the-scenes video about your product.
Our top tip is to experiment. We’re all losing our minds with chatbots, “smarketing,” and value-menu content. Test the limits of how intimate and soulful your brand video can be.
Social media analytics will tell you quickly if your video ideas suck. It’s like speed dating for video marketing. If they don’t hate you, you can text them later. If you try a concept that doesn’t work, you can delete their number and pretend it never happened.
If things go really well, why not Netflix and chill? Not that. This:
Everyone’s streaming but not everyone’s paying (my kid uses my ex-coworker’s Disney+ account). Hulu, Peacock, and the rest of them all know we’re cheapstakes. That’s why OTT ads are gold.
What is the Brand Video Trend in 2024?
Streaming giants are trending toward more ad-supported tiers or freebie services. Recent data showed close to three-fourths of Americans watch non-traditional (i.e. no cable bill) streaming video at least once a month. And an estimated 91% of traffic on the interwebs involves video.
We’re in the year of FAST (free ad-supported streaming TV) and OTT (over-the-top).
Built for OTT and enhanced video ads offer bang for your buck with growing options for reaching a nuanced audience. Savvy video marketing will put your brand on the right screen, in the right time zone, with the right weather pattern. Just ask the good folks at Hunt A Killer, who introduced themselves on OTT with great fanfare.
The numbers show viewers value these ad experiences. And you know it from sitting on your couch: If you’ve streamed old sitcoms and wondered why you’re served so many commercials for anti-aging creams, you’ve felt both decrepit and deeply seen.
Whether action-packed or subtly provocative, streaming ads can render highly sought-after results when expertly produced. At Hackstone, we give cord-cutters experiences that don’t make them gripe when their show starts with a commercial.
Now that we’ve established 2024 doesn’t have to be a topsy-turvy mess for your video strategy, pick yourself up off the floor. Call us today to make your next campaign more ROFL and less fetal position.