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Online Video Trends for 2022

Videos are a vital part of an online marketing strategy for every brand or business. But the challenging part, as digital marketing speaker Hong Kong says, is content creation. For a social media agency Hong Kong, three major platforms lead as video-centric networks. As a video marketing agency Hong Kong notes, it is best to know the online video trends for 2022.

THE TOP 3 SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS FOR VIDEO (2022)

YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram are the top 3 social media platforms for video in 2022.

YouTube remains number 1 as the largest video-sharing network with 2.6 billion monthly active users.

People watched a total of 1 billion hours of video on the platform daily. Around 500 hours of videos are uploaded every minute. Users can navigate videos on YouTube in 80 different languages. Being the 2nd most visited website, next to Google, YouTube is also the second most-used social media platform.

TikTok is a platform for creating, sharing, and watching 15-second short music clips. Currently, it has 1 billion users and is available in 150 countries. TikTok is a big hit among millennials. So, if the target audience of a brand or business is between 13 to 60 years old, it should be on TikTok right now.

After it shifted to a photo-and-video sharing app last July 2021, Instagram users now stand at 1.5 billion. Around 6 out of every 10 Instagrammers log in at least once daily. More than 500 million Instagrammers watch Stories every day. Thanks to Reels (TikTok’s clone), the Instagram engagement rate rise to 0.83%.

ONLINE VIDEO TRENDS for 2022

The year 2021 is a big year for video marketing. Below, let’s discover the online video trends for 2022:

Animated explainer videos are one of the online video trends for 2022. It is a great way to capture the audience’s attention and hold them throughout the video length. By putting some kind of creativity and humor, they can make videos more engaging and informative. They are also a good choice to show off brand personality as they are well-optimized for smaller screens.

AR (Augmented Reality) and VR (Virtual Reality) will make videos unique this 2022. By giving customers a creative, interactive, and real-life feel, they can be very effective in driving sales. An example of these online video trends for 2022 is allowing a customer to explore or try on a product or service.

Short-form videos are here to stay. Many social media platforms enabled sharing of short, vertical videos that last between 15 seconds to 60 seconds. Unlike traditional videos, short-form clips can be recorded, shared, and watched on mobile devices. YouTube has Shorts, and Instagram has Reels as the counterpart of TikTok music clips.

Smartphones are getting smarter. Their cameras are getting more functional, too. That is why unedited smartphone videos will be one of the dominant online video trends for 2022. Unedited smartphone videos give viewers a glimpse of their own life online. They are authentic and unscripted, making them more appealing to viewers.

Vlogging is, no doubt, one of the biggest online video trends for 2022. Creators and influencers consistently post events, updates, and what’s happening to their lives through vlogs. Viewers get to know them on a more intimate level, making them loyal advocates and followers.

Reference: https://www.wevideo.com/blog/for-work/11-video-marketing-trends-that-will-dominate-2022-and-beyond

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How Long Should Your Next Social Media Video Be?

Videos are now an irreplaceable part of every marketing strategy. It became the most popular content choice among online consumers today. During the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, modern consumers have increased their online video consumption by 96 percent. Today, an average person spends 100 minutes watching online videos per day. By 2022, Cisco predicted that online videos will cover 82 percent of internet traffic. This is 15 times higher than it used to be in 2017. 

A digital marketing speaker Hong Kong, around 54 percent of consumers expect to see more videos from brands and businesses they support. It is because they retain more of the video messaging than any other type of content. No wonder, 84 percent of people have been convinced to buy a product or service after watching a brand’s video. 

Marketers who use video as part of their ads and campaign strategies have grown their revenue 49 percent faster than non-video users. Through videos, a brand or business can get 66 percent more qualified leads every year.  This may be the reason why 86 percent of businesses today employ video as a marketing tool. 

Video is a great marketing solution. But like other types of content, they evolve, and their consumption changes. As human attention becomes more selective, how long should your next social media video be? We’ve got you covered here!

Facebook

The ideal video length for both an organic or paid Facebook video is 15 seconds. A social media agency Hong Kong recommends keeping your Facebook short and sweet as much as possible. A Facebook video with a length of 2 minutes has often seen great engagement. The longer your Facebook video is, the more dramatically its engagement decreases. Facebook has several types of videos. These include: 

  • Facebook Reels that can last between 1 to 60 seconds. Please note that this format is still under testing.
  • Facebook Stories that can last between 1 to 120 seconds.
  • Facebook In-Stream that can last between 5 seconds to 120 seconds.
  • Facebook Feed videos that can last up to 240 minutes.
  • Facebook Marketplace videos that can last up to 240 minutes.
  • Facebook Search Results videos that can last up to 240 minutes.

When it comes to a Facebook live broadcast, the limit is 8 hours. Facebook algorithms favor videos that are directly posted within the platform. So, to get better engagement and reach, be sure to post your videos directly on Facebook. 

Instagram

Instagram typically supports short video clips. It is because the social media network is originally a photo-sharing platform. It is only last 30th of June that Instagram Chief, Adam Mosseri, announced that Instagram is switching to a photo and video sharing platform. The ideal length for an Instagram video is 30 seconds. It is important that the videos you upload on Instagram should be visually appealing. Like Facebook, there are several types of videos on Instagram. These are:

  • Instagram Video Feed that can last between 3 to 60 seconds.
  • Instagram Video Feed Ads that can also last between 3 to 60 seconds.
  • Instagram Reels that can last up to 30 seconds.
  • Instagram Stories that can last up to 15 seconds.
  • Instagram Stories Video Ads that can also last up to 15 seconds.
  • Instagram TV or IGTV can last up to 10 minutes for regular accounts and up to 60 minutes for large verified accounts.
  • Instagram live streaming allows a limit of up to 4 hours. 

If you want to level up your videos on Instagram, be sure to take advantage of hashtags. The platform allows the use of 30 hashtags on regular posts and 10 on Stories. But don’t overdo it. Only use relevant hashtags to boost the engagement of your videos on Instagram. Looping videos are also a great feature of Instagram. They can keep your audience engage and lengthen their viewing time. 

YouTube

YouTube is the largest video-sharing platform in the world. As such, it is well-known for longer video content. The ideal video length for YouTube depends on the category of the video and the type of audience you are targeting. 

A video marketing agency Hong Kong notes that YouTube can accommodate long-form videos of up to 12 hours in length. This is equivalent to 256 GB of data. YouTubers may see videos longer than 12 hours. But these are the older ones. The 12-hour limit has only been imposed recently by YouTube. Among regular YouTube videos, shooting for 7 to 15 minutes is the best-performing ones.

When you are using videos on YouTube for marketing purposes, videos that are no longer the 2 minutes offer the best results. There are several types of video ads on YouTube. These are:

  • Bumper Ads are non-skippable video ads that last up to 6 seconds.
  • Non-Skippable video ads that can last between 15 to 20 seconds. 
  • Skippable video ads that can last between 12 seconds to 6 minutes. 

Reference: https://bemarketing.com/social-media-video/

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Improving Instagram Engagement

The story of Instagram begins with a picture of a dog. Kevin Systrom, the co-founder of Instagram, captured a photo of a stray dog sitting near a taco stand in Mexico. After a few months, he posted it as the first picture on Instagram with the caption “test.” That was the official launch of the photo-sharing app on 06 October 2010. On its first day, Instagram gained 25,000 users. 

In 2012, Facebook bought Instagram, which at that time, already has 30 million users. Instagram’s video function was launched in 2013. Within its 1st 24 hours, 5 million videos have been uploaded. By 2018, 45 billion photos will be posted on the app. Selena Gomez became the most followed person on Instagram with 138 million followers. Today, the crown was handed over to footballer, Cristiano Ronaldo with 312 million followers.

According to a digital marketing speaker Hong Kong, Instagram has now evolved as both a photo and video sharing app. With 1.074 billion monthly active users (MAU), it ranks second as the best social media marketing platform. More than 200 million businesses are on Instagram with 90% of IG followers visiting at least 1 brand every day. If you are one of those marketing on Instagram, here are some tips on improving engagement on the platform. 

BUILD INSTAGRAM REELS ENGAGEMENT

Reels are one of the newest features of Instagram. They are short music clips meant to inspire collaboration and creativity. Reels Ads are a great way to get engagement within the platform. They show up on the top tab of an Instagram feed. They are also recommended content on the explore tabs. By creating fun and relevant Reels for your target audiences, you can boost conversion and discovery, thus, improving Instagram engagement. Cultivate conversations among people who reacted to your Instagram Reels by responding to them. Or, at the very least, heart their comments to show appreciation.

CULTIVATE ENGAGEMENT WITH YOUR INSTAGRAM FOLLOWERS

What marketers constantly ask is “the best time to post on Instagram.” Little did they realize that the best time to post on every social media platform is the time of the day where they can spend an hour cultivating engagement with their Instagram followers. During the first hour when an IG post is published, find people who have already liked your post. Send them a direct message (DM) with a question and a link back to the post to spark conversation. This leads them back to the post when replying to your question. The reply shows as a comment which you can reply to improve engagement. Brands and businesses can send a private message to up to 50 people asking for their thoughts. They just need to carefully choose the right target who will most likely reply to their private messages. It is during the first hour of posting on Instagram that engagements weigh heavier on Instagram’s algorithm. 

DEVELOP ENGAGING INSTAGRAM LIVE

Instagram Live is the perfect opportunity to connect with your audiences in real-time. A trick on improving Instagram engagement through IG Live is by using a Q & A sticker inviting your audience to ask questions. While scrolling on their comments, the host can directly answer their queries. You can also go live with three other Instagram users to expand the reach of your IG Live. Every time a new guest comes, their followers get notification about the broadcast. 

OPTIMIZE IGTV POSTS

Setting up IGTV is like having your own television channel on Instagram. This is the answer to long-form video content. What is best about IGTV is that you can include a link from other Instagram posts and websites. You don’t need 10,000 followers and up to do so. You can even upload a live video directly on IGTV. To optimize your IGTV post, be sure to choose the best thumbnails. Just like any other Instagram content, replying promptly to commenters, likers, and sharers can spark meaningful conversations.

SET UP A GREAT INSTAGRAM BIO

A social media agency Hong Kong notes that the best way of improving Instagram engagement is to set up a great Instagram bio. An Instagram bio serves as an introduction to what the brand or business is all about. It creates a first impression among the visitors of the page, so brands and businesses should aim to make the first impression last. An Instagram bio contains 150 characters. Brands and businesses should maximize such a short description to convince Instagrammers to follow them. Ensure that your name and bio are clear and concise. Focus on telling how you can help them, give them value, or offer something new or unique. Every post in your Instagram profile should then follow your bio. Your photo, IG Shop, Reels, Stories, and videos should fulfill the promise that you made in your bio.

TAG OTHER CREATORS ON YOUR INSTAGRAM STORIES

A video marketing agency Hong Kong has noted that Instagram Stories no longer showed up on major hashtags the way they used to. Today, the best way of improving Instagram engagement is by tagging other creators to your Instagram Stories. Instagram allows tagging up to 10 accounts. When you tag creators, they will receive a message that you have mentioned them in your story. As such, they can share your story and help them get in front of new audiences. Just be sure that the stories you are tagging on an account or creator are relevant to them. In replacement for hashtags, geotags can also get your business noticed, especially when the location is relevant to the post.

USE QUICK REPLIES ON YOUR DIRECT MESSAGES

Instagram Direct Messages are the best way for brands and businesses to connect and contact their community of followers. Today, it is easier to qualify and respond to incoming messages using Instagram’s Quick Replies. These are saved replies for the most frequently asked questions about a brand or business. Such replies will auto-populate on incoming messages using their queue words. This can help brands and businesses save time in qualifying incoming messages and responding to them. Of course, the goal of improving Instagram engagement is to spark continuous conversation. Responding using an audio or video message may also be smart to use. 

Reference: https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/improving-instagram-engagement-to-build-community-conversions/

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Why Brands Should Make Instagram Reels

The same kinds of campaigns have been saturating social media marketing today. As such, the engagement rate of social media users among brands has significantly declined. Recently, the TikTok app took the world by storm. Through catchy and short-form video content, creators achieved a ridiculous reach within the platform. That is why other social networks tried to mimic the TikTok clips. YouTube created Shorts, and Snapchat designed Spotlight. But according to a social media agency Hong Kong, Instagram’s TikTok clone works the best. For them, Instagram Reels is getting its users back from TikTok into the platform. They are the perfect way to engage with a new kind of audience. They allow creators to collaborate with the community by creating reel-ish content. They are easily digestible and highly entertaining. So, there are a lot of reasons why brands should make Instagram Reels.

WHAT ARE INSTAGRAM REELS?

Reels are a new way to create and discover short-form videos on Instagram. Like TikTok clips, Reels allow users to record a 30-second multi-clip video using creative tools, effects, and music. A private Instagram profile can share Reels on their feeds. On the other hand, those with a public account can additionally share Reels on Instagram Explore pages. Reels in the Explore page showcase the best culture trends in the world today.

To create a reel, simply tap the camera icon, and select the “Create a Reel” option. A variety of creative tools will then appear on the left side of your Reels camera screen. These include the following:

  • Align to line up objects within your clip frame.
  • AR Effects to add augmented reality to your background and overlays to your clips.
  • Audio to add a pre-recorded from your device or a song from Instagram’s music library. The pre-recorded audio will be attributed to you once you share a reel. If your Instagram profile is set to public, people can use your audio to create another reel.
  • Speed to control the speed of the beat on the part of the video or the whole video. It can help users speed up or slow down the motion of a reel clip.
  • Timer and Countdown to allow users in recording Reels hands-free. 

WHY BRANDS SHOULD MAKE INSTAGRAM REELS

To Increase Brand Reach

The average reach of an Instagram post is currently less than 2% to 3%. For example, if you have 1,000 followers on your Instagram account, the reach of a normal video post is only limited to the active followers of your Instagram profile. A video marketing agency Hong Kong noted that if a brand posted a reel on IG instead of a normal video, there are 4 ways Instagrammers can discover Reels.

  • Reels can be discovered on a dedicated Reels tab at the home screen navigation.
  • Reels from the brands users follow are visible when scrolling an Instagram home feed.
  • Reels are featured on the Instagram Explore page.
  • Reels are featured on individual Instagram profiles.

The algorithm of Instagram Reels also works in mysterious ways. Among Instagrammers, they are most likely to see Reels from accounts they already followed, the content they interact with, and their location.

To Increase Community Engagement

According to a digital marketing speaker Hong Kong, Reels can increase community engagements among brands. This is because the higher the reach of an Instagram reel is, the more chances it can drive followers to an account. With a huge number of followers, Reels can also increase community engagement. A recent report shows that 75% of Instagram users buy a product or visit a brand website after watching an Instagram Reel. Most IG users are getting bored with images. Reels offer them a new way to genuinely enjoy catchy and funny videos. They are super scrollable, and Instagrammers can easily comment, like, or share a posted reel. Besides, Instagram Reels allow creators to showcase their true personalities in a relaxing way. This makes them more authentic, triggering actions through emotional connections.

To Increase Revenue and Sales

Instagram recently rolled out Shoppable Reels. Using this eCommerce feature, brands and businesses can now tag products when creating Reels. These make the Reels fully shoppable. Whenever a viewer taps on the product tag, the user can directly buy the item without leaving the Instagram app. Shoppable Reels are a game-changer for Instagram ads. Being featured on the Instagram Explore Page makes it easier for a large number of audiences to find a product. Brands can use their resources with Shoppable Reels in the most innovative way. They can add a product link, a CTA like “Shop Now,” a shopping bag icon, etc. Shopping from Creators is another new way to turn Reels into a shoppable post. Creators can now use branded product tags when creating Reels. The tags make it easier for viewers to buy the items featured directly on its checkout feature. This can be the next big step to influencer marketing. At the same time, it is also a way to revolutionize online shopping. 

Launched in 2019, Instagram Reels are now available to over 50 countries. In the past 6 months, such short-form video content has been boosting Instagram engagement and reach to the roof. So, if a brand is not using it today, it’s now time to make Reels!

Reference: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/367075