Do It For The Vine

How Video Content Can Help Improve Your Influencer Marketing Campaigns

It is currently believed that, on average, our attention span is only eight seconds long. And that number is only decreasing! As our attention spans get shorter, content needs to become more captivating and engaging. Subsequently, brands and influencers are turning to video content to help captivate their audience.

Engagement

Engagement is currently the buzzword of content creation and influencer marketing. Engagement rates are measured by likes, comments, views etc and are steadily overtaking follower counts as the most important thing that brands are looking for when choosing creators for influencer marketing campaigns. Simultaneously, likes are becoming increasingly futile. On LinkedIn, for example, engagement is now mainly measured by comments.

Video content is thought to take a higher level of engagement and, thus, leave a longer lasting impression. On Instagram, followers must watch a video for more than 3 seconds for the platform to register the view. It is thought that after this 3 second period, viewers have engaged with the content enough to create a lasting imprint. Thus, brands are proportioning marketing budget to video content in order to promote their products, as consumers are more likely to remember something they watched, than something they glanced at while scrolling through their feed.

Authenticity

On social media, there is really nothing more authentic than raw, uncut video footage. The ongoing success of YouTube, as well as of Snapchat and Instagram Stories and Lives, speaks volumes for the argument that what followers really want to see is real people, being themselves, and video provides the best and most authentic medium for them to do this.

Video content allows content creators and celebrities to speak directly to their followers, in a less polished and edited way. In turn, followers feel a real connection to their idols, as though they are getting a real insight into their lives. This connection increases trust, one of the most important elements of influencer marketing.

Branding

Video is as a great way to convey a brand’s voice and character in a creative and interactive way. Just by its length, video provides brands with a stronger way to show viewers more about themselves, while also advertising their products and services. Video can convey humour or gravity, adventure or security, in a way that still image or text may fail to do.

Choosing a creator to convey this message aligns the brand with the creator and shows consumers exactly what kind of brand they are. For example, Coca Cola used content creator Jay Alvarrez and Insta-famous model Philine Roepstorff to front their ‘My #BestSummerCoke’ campaign. Not only did the pair add their own personalities to the advert but they also promoted it on their social media accounts, creating a huge amount exposure for the campaign.

Mobile-Ready Content

In 2017, mobile ad spend surpassed TV for the first time. Its a safe bet that most consumers have a smartphone. Thus, content should be optimised for smartphone viewing. Images and videos are easier to absorb via your phone screen, than plain text. However, people are also easily distracted while on their smart phones - notifications pop up and texts come through. Video content engages consumers, making them less likely to scroll away.

Moreover, in this media age, there’s an app for everything. Need a spray tan? There’s an app. Need your fridge cleaned? There’s an app. Increasingly, consumers are turning to their smartphones to do tasks that, in the past, have been restricted to your desktop (or even, God forbid, leaving the house). Brands should take advantage of this. Creating engaging content that allows consumers to click through to a purchasing page with ease will boost sales and brand exposure.

There are even apps that will let creators produce mobile optimised content, straight from their phone. In 2017, rumours were circulating that Vine was making a comeback, and in January these were (basically) confirmed. Vine’s co-founder Dom Hofmann is creating a similar platform, called v2, which will specialise in videos between 2 and 6.5 seconds long. Videos can be smoothly looped to play over and over, and there will not be colour, face or geo filters in order to keep content raw and authentic.

Generation Z

In 2018, the oldest members of Generation Z will be turning 22 years old, with many of them entering the workforce and beginning to earn their own money. This generation has been raised on video content; video games and Vines are their bread and butter. More familiar with getting their news from their newsfeed than the newspaper, Gen Z have also grown up on social media. Brands need to take these factors into account when devising their marketing strategies, maximising engaging video content in a move away from traditional forms of advertising and promotion.

The millennial market is more likely to engage with and share short video clips than long paragraphs of text: 40% of the video watched on Facebook is the result of a share. Moreover, video is optimised for social platforms, where consumers, especially Generation Z, spend most of their time.

Disclaimer: The irony of this blog post has not been lost on us.