Did you see that?
These are the stories that caught our attention this week – from video marketing trends to a top Instagram creative’s insights on visual content.
Scroll through to get our take and check out the quotes that grabbed us.
Click the links to follow a rabbit hole of interesting reads.
Roundup:
The Year in Video Marketing and What to Expect in 2016
Marketing Profs
By Tyler Lessard
Tyler Lessard predicted 2015 would be the Year of Video Marketing, and his prophecy certainly came true. Now, he is forecasting how video’s role will change and grow in 2016.
Lessard outlines how video will play a larger role at each stage of the customer journey, from the top of the funnel to the close. He explains that brands will be able to capture potential customers’ attention with fun, thought leadership, and how-to’s. Then, they will be able to close the sale with detailed demos.
In 2016, more companies will produce videos for each step of the customer journey, and many of them will empower sales teams to create and harness content to help them close more deals.
Will his predictions come true? Time will tell. One thing is certain – video marketing isn’t a flash in the pan. In our recent study with the CMO Council, 79 percent of marketers said video’s importance will increase in the future.
Ready to get inspired for the new year? Check out The 21 Best Video Examples of Visual Content Marketing.
Getting the Most Out of Video Ads
CMS Wire
By Pierre DeBois
The section above proves the accuracy (and hilarity) of Pierre DeBois’s opening line:
Remember when Beyoncé sang about being crazy in love? That same euphoria describes the way marketers feel about video ads.
Marketers are excited about video’s potential to drive business, but how are they proving it works? DeBois offers some testing ideas to measure your video content’s ROI.
My favorite is, “extract images from video.” Repurposing your valuable work for new content initiatives is a great way to get more return on investment for the same effort. When you make an image or a gif out of a video, you not only get a new piece of derivative content, but you can also promote the original. It’s a win-win.
To repurpose content, you have to have a system for managing your visual assets so your imagery is easily accessible. This becomes increasingly important as your team produces more content. Check out Andrew Fingerman’s 5 Ways to Prepare for the Visual Content Apocalypse to get started!
How to succeed with visual content, according to Instagram’s top creative
Econsultancy
By Jack Simpson
Instagram’s European creative lead, Alastair Cotterill, shared insights about visual content at The Content Marketing Summit, and now Jack Simpson is sharing the highlights, from Cotterill’s thoughts on emojis to his tips for combining video and text, like in this fantastic example:
https://www.facebook.com/Hotels.comUS/videos/vb.112577918783959/898438500197893/?type=2&theater
This silent film spoof also highlights how videos should be tailored to different platforms:
Another important point Cotterill mentioned was the need to adapt your video content to the platform on which you’re publishing it.
“You need to design content for how people are consuming it,” he says. “You can’t just slap a 30-second ad on Instagram or Facebook and expect it to work.”
In Case You Missed It
Here on the Libris blog, we went behind the scenes with the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves to see how the organization works with Shell to create and share compelling visual content. Don’t miss the five-part formula that helped to land their new campaign on NBC during SNL (the night Donald Trump hosted).