6 Video Marketing Trends for 2024 You Can't Miss!

Video continues to be a go-to in the marketing playbook, and interestingly, almost 70% of those not currently using it are gearing up to weave it into their strategies for 2024. However, with 90% of marketers already using video, is the saturation of video in marketing going to push brands toward more innovative tactics, or will video become less effective?

Let's explore the emerging video marketing trends you can't miss in 2024.

1. Vertical video isn't going anywhere.

With mobile users now making up the majority of general web traffic, social media traffic, and video plays, it's no surprise that vertical video continues to rise in popularity. Additionally, less than 30% of people viewing mobile ads will do so by turning their phone horizontally - and if they do, will only watch about 14% of the way through.

In 2023, we saw the adoption of vertical video placements from various online platforms, following TikTok's immense success with the format (honourable mention to the vertical video OG, Snapchat). Moreover, vertical video provides users with a much more immersive video-viewing experience which, as a chronically-online population, we love.

With TikTok continuing to drive social media trends and the steady incline of media consumed on mobile, we can confidently predict that vertical formats will continue to thrive in 2024. Some editing softwares such as CapCut have even introduced AI features to help convert your 16:9 videos into "TikTok" format through motion tracking and a tight 9:16 crop.

2. The AI Revolution is still... Revolution-ing

In 2023, 75% of video marketers used AI to help them create their marketing videos. With the rise of AI and an increase in uptake of learning to use it effectively, it's likely that we'll see more marketers turn to AI for assistance in video creation.

Using AI for simple (and we mean text-on-screen simple) video production projects can eliminate the need for a production company and its associated costs, not to mention it can be a lot faster. BUT in doing so, you may severely hinder the quality of your video, which 85% of consumers say impacts how much they trust a company.

We've seen our fair share of AI generated videos that come across disingenuous, and with authenticity being prioritised by users more and more, this might create a barrier between you and audience. If you can, we'd always recommend getting the pros to create your slick brand videos. Particularly for things such as brand videos, actor-led videos, and more conceptual, less scripted videos.

3. Videos optimised for no sound (surprise!)

Yes, you've probably heard this a thousand times before, but you need to optimise your videos to be played without sound. For both accessibility and engagement reasons, this is a non-negotiable! At the very least you can use the auto-captioning features that most social media platforms offer. They're good, but not always accurate, so best practice would be to upload your video with the captions burned in.

If you're worried about captions ruining the ~aesthetic~ of your video but want to maintain the accuracy of your captions, many social platforms are giving users the ability to edit auto-generated captions - or even upload their own SRT files (caption files) when publishing. So really, there's no excuse!

4. Long-form video is making a comeback

Before you throw your phone across the room reading this, I'll preface by saying short-form content is not out. Our attention is still selective, so yes, you still have limited time to pique and maintain someone's interest. While short-form dominators like TikTok and Reels are great for entertainment, they often lack depth or information.

A great example is TikTok creators, specifically in the lifestyle category. Their comment sections are often filled with requests for YouTube vlogs, more in-depth videos about their lives or 'story-times'. The viewers can't seem to get enough. So, we're seeing an influx of these creators, who got their start on TikTok, now moving over to YouTube where they can post longer, vlog-style content.

TikTok's response to this? Rolling out a 30 minute upload limit. Instagram's limit is currently 90 seconds, so it will be interesting to see whether or not they increase this to follow-suit and optimise for this trend in 2024. Especially when users are leaving the app to see more of these creators on other platforms.

5. Consumer-centric creation

Pepsi CMO Todd Kaplan recently spoke on the idea that consumers are overwhelmed by choice. Our markets are so saturated with all kinds of brands and products - and the same goes for the online spaces these brands inhabit. It's only going to get harder as more new products are inevitably introduced to the world.

What Kaplan suggests is that brands are going to need to focus on building deeper, more immersive brand experiences so that the customer finds you, as opposed to you chasing them wherever they go.

This push for deeper emotional connections will translate to video marketing in 2024, too. We've seen how much success and notoriety the John Lewis Christmas ads have, largely because those ads seamlessly blend brand and feeling. John Lewis clearly displays how they want us to feel about their brand through video creative, and as an audience we are very receptive to this.

Of course, they are a large conglomerate in the grand scheme of brands, but smaller brands can also accomplish this through good storytelling and placing themselves in the seat of the customer to uncover what they really want to see from you.

6. Interactive Video

With video becoming a highly saturated marketing tool, brands are being pushed to innovate when it comes to their video delivery. We're starting to see an increase in interactive videos as part of brands' video marketing strategies. These sorts of videos help take viewers from passive to active as they engage with the brand throughout the video.

Nike, for example, released an interactive video to promote their Air Max Dia, where you can style an outfit and are then presented with the option to purchase at the end. Shoppable videos like this are just one way to effectively use interactive video, so we highly recommend checking out this article for more examples.

Final Thoughts...

Looking back, a lot of these trends build from increased uptake of trends of years passed. What is clear is that people are wanting convenient, authentic and personal experiences when it comes to video marketing, and brands should be keeping this in mind when forming their strategies. If you're keen to start brainstorming what a meaningful and effective video could look like for your brand, chat to us!

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