Trend 1: Use of video as a bidirectional communication channel

Companies will increase their efforts and investment in communication formats that enable dialogue and interaction. 

In the video communication of 2021 we will start to see interaction elements and personalization of the experience being built in as a matter of course. Videos that collect real-time feedback from customers, or that personalize their content according to the target's preferences or previous selections will become common.

Communication strategies that seek to transmit emotions and values that strengthen the relationship with customers.

Trend 2: Integration of video into customer experience processes.

The second major trend is a consequence of the previous one. And also reinforced by the global context of 2020. Videos will become part of any transactional communication and of the company’s day-to-day business. 

Videos to explain invoicing processes, customized videos in real time to give product demos, videos to prevent call centres being overwhelmed, and - why not? - videos with instructions on how to assemble a piece of furniture or how to use a service.

In all of them, the key will be to include elements of interaction and personalization so that each customer has the experience that best matches his or her needs.

In this regard, sectors such as universities and postgraduate education and event organisers will make video one of the main alternatives for keeping in touch with students and attendees.

Trend 3: Use of video to influence consumption or behavioural habits.

The NHS in Britain is already using videos to improve the lifestyle of patients with type 2 diabetes.  During 2021 we will see an increase in the use of video as a tool for influencing public behaviour. 

In health, for example, we will see personalized prevention programmes for healthy lifestyle habits that include information collected through smart watches and phones. And in the banking sector videos will be used to help in the management of savings or the organization of home finances integrated into open banking apps.

Trend 4: Integration of video into B2B sales processes and LinkedIn

In the United States, video has for some years been routinely integrated into the management of recruiting and rating of opportunities. 

Just as voice messages on WhatsApp allow us to communicate more quickly and directly, video allows us to send more effective, creative and direct recruitment messages.

This use of spontaneously and directly recorded video to replace a written text will also undergo strong growth in social media. Currently the use of video messages via email or on LinkedIn to obtain new customers increases the visits arranged by email fourfold. In fact, the integration of video with personalized information at the early stages of the commercial funnel multiplies final conversion rates by five. 

 

Trend 5: Learning and do-it-yourself.

One of the consumer behaviour trends is individual empowerment. Today video tutorials help us learn how to do virtually anything from home.

Although these types of videos have long been a success, especially on platforms such as YouTube and specialized social networks, the situation caused by COVID is increasing their use exponentially, and more importantly, the technology associated with them has improved.

According to recent studies, almost 70% of consumers prefer to watch videos to learn about new products or services. And there are many more if we add reading articles, infographics, e-books, presentations and manuals.

Because technology will also bring innovations: live webinars with real-time interactivity between the viewers and the teaching team, educational videos that tell several stories depending on the viewer's preferences, personalized video training in real time for each student according to his or her knowledge and academic progress... 

Trend 6:  Accessibility to professional video editing systems, including multi-language voiceover.

The social media also have an influence on video marketing and help to determine trends. In fact by 2022, more than 80% of internet traffic will be in video format. 

This explosion is made possible, among other things, by the emergence of desktop video publishing tools that greatly facilitate the possibility of creating videos for both entertainment and business purposes. Mobile video editing platforms, galleries of ready-to-use video clips or more recently, platforms for optimizing the audio included in the video. 

Concerning the latter point, in 2021 we will see both the creation of videos to be viewed without sound and the proliferation of professional audio creation platforms that are multilingual and in real time.

So in the process of creating, recording and editing the video it should be borne in mind that part of the audience will not listen to it. Subtitles and on-screen information are playing a major role in achieving the goal of optimally reaching the largest possible audience. Not forgetting the fact that optimizing playback with sound can help make video content accessible to more people. 

 

Conclusion: 2021 heralds an important development for communication strategies that seek to reach the customer in a more proactive, relevant and direct way in the face of a multichannel overload of messages and impacts. 

The personalization, interaction and integration of video in any channel enables it to stand out and achieve this goal. And thanks to technological advances, personalized videos are natively incorporated into each and every one of the company's transactional communications while reinforcing their role as support in strategies that seek to influence the lifestyle of the audience.