What Does Video Mean To You?
It's funny. Every time I see or hear the word "video" I think of those clunky VHS tapes from the 1970s and beyond.
I still recall my dad turning up with our first ever rented video "Convoy". In it went into our PYE VHS video player. Dad grabbed the special cabled remote and dragged it back to his lounger. We were off!
"Check this out" he tells us with much excitement in his voice. He proceeds to click the "pause" button. Then he clicks the "rewind" button and a whole new world is unveiled to us.
"Wow you can pause the movie and rewind and fast forward. Cool dad!"
30 odd years later and there are no more VHS video tapes for rent and the last of the Video rental stores are all but closed. At best, there are a few still renting DVD's and Blu-ray.
But the word "video" itself lives on in a completely different sense of the word and a drastically different form of technology. Video is still the recording of action with audio, but the output is much higher quality now and typically uploaded to YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, Snapchat, LinkedIn and other online platforms to be shared with a broad range of audiences instantaneously.
The devices used to record videos have also changed dramatically. Video cameras used to record the family holidays back in the 1980s weighed a tonne!
Now anyone with a smart phone can capture those special moments at the click of a button. The video can then be saved straight to your cloud storage or uploaded to your social media platform of choice, with no risk of losing or damaging the tape.
Facebook live for example, turns every Facebook user into a live on the scene journalist.
You would think another term may have been invented to describe a YouTube or Facebook Video, perhaps "Modeo" or "Vivie". Vimeo sounded pretty good and I'm sure they were hoping this would become the go to platform for all things video. But it wasn't to be.
There is no denying that video is now dominating social media including advertising. Every platform has optimised their advertising engines for video. And why not! It is the perfect medium to convey a message. Video is so much more engaging than just typed words or still images. You can read the body language of a person and connect with their message and overall tone.
While of course videos can have audio, make sure you know your platform and audience. Statistics from Facebook suggest that 80% or more of mobile Facebook users watch video with the sound off. That is why subtitles are so very important.
From an advertising perspective, you also want to keep it short and sharp as along with the size of our recording devices, our attention spans are also shrinking.
Other statistics that impress:
46% of users take some sort of action after viewing a video ad.
Videos are shared 1200% more times than links and text combined.
And most importantly...video ads increase purchase intent by 97%.
If you haven't included video in your digital marketing strategy, I'd suggest you could be in trouble!
Now that we understand where video has come from, what is the future for video?
I think a lot the future will come down to the devices that are used to capture video. Google glass and other wearables will help with this. Perhaps contact lenses will eventually have the ability to capture video and give us heads up displays. Augmented Reality style devices will no doubt play their part and maybe a new platform will be created to store the AR/Video/and Virtual Reality applications.
While the technology and platforms for playing, recording and storing video have evolved greatly and will continue to do so, it seems the word "video" will live on!
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