By Timmy James, Chief Operating Officer, Flick Fusion
You don’t have to look very far to see that video marketing is the future of digital marketing. Not only is video cost-effective and easy to create and use, but consumers favor it on almost every platform. And while already preferred by consumers, video popularity will only continue to grow over the next few years.
Continue reading to learn what will fuel the growth of video marketing over the next five years and what you can do to stay ahead of the trends in 2020.
1. 5G is coming. The world is on the edge of a communication revolution. 5G networks will be rolling out in the U.S. by the end of 2019. Since most mobile devices are already designed for viewing video and downloading large files, the real innovation for video in a 5G world will be augmented reality.
For example, Panera Bread recently launched an augmented reality ad unit for mobile devices. Consumers can project and rotate menu items and share the content across popular social media channels. The idea is to add transparency and increase engagement.
For your dealership to remain competitive, you should consider incorporating augmented reality advertising and image overlays into your 2020 marketing strategy. A consumer can’t really “see” a car by reading a Monroney sticker, but they can, however, kick its virtual tires online and cruise through and around it via video. Imagine car shoppers interacting with a vehicle walk-around video right in their own homes.
Some other major national brands and games have found success with augmented reality applications. Snapchat filters are wildly popular among younger generations and are a great example of how simple overlaid images can enhance the user experience and help spread brand awareness.
2. Over the next five years, millennials or younger generations will make up 70 percent of the workforce, and their purchasing power will continue to rise. Millennials, Gen Y, and Gen Z consume video for more than just entertainment. They use it to guide them in everything from fixing their own washing machines to learning about brands and products. This then influences their purchasing decisions.
According to a consumer study by Animoto, eight out of 10 millennials find video helpful when researching a product or service, and they are 85 percent more likely than baby boomers to make a purchase if they watch a video explaining it first.
How can your dealership take advantage of this? Include demo videos on product pages as consumers prefer product demo videos over still images. Placing video on your website increases conversion by 80 percent. Also, having video on a website, makes it 53 times more likely to rank on Google’s first page. In addition, email open rates increase by seven percent when the word “video” is in the title. So, it only makes sense to include video as part of your lead follow up process.
3. Video consumption has increased by 100 percent each year since 2016, and in 2020, 80 percent of digital content will be video. Video can not only help you to match consumer preferences (six out of 10 consumers prefer video over television) but can also reinforce your brand because viewers retain 95 percent of a message they receive through video.
Video continues to dominate every form of content delivery and somehow manages to break its own records year after year. Video is here to stay, and marketers that fail to use it or lack a robust mobile and video strategy – will quickly find themselves left behind eating their competitors’ dust. And, more importantly, left behind by their potential customers.
Decide now to increase your video content production efforts so you are ahead of the competition in 2020. Include video on your website, use it for more effective customer follow up, and make it a core part of your overall marketing strategy. It is what consumers want, and your profit margins will probably agree.
About the Author
Tim James is a dynamic online marketing strategist with more than 20 years of visionary leadership. Tim is experienced in implementing, managing, and improving online and interactive marketing strategies across multiple channels.
