How To Keep Up With Video Trends in 2021
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again – video is the most engaging and effective means for communicating online.
Videos are fun to watch, easy to digest, and great for creating emotional connections. Tell a good story, tell it well, and your viewer will be hooked to watch it unfold.
However, the world of video is a fast-paced one, where trends come and go at a high velocity. To be able to act on them, you need not only to know about them, but also be agile enough to move fast.
Especially in social media, if you want to participate in the meme trend of the day, you have to jump on it before it’s yesterday’s news. This is one of the biggest challenges for brands today. Leveraging online trends is powerful when done well, but it requires a super agile workflow.
Contemporary or Evergreen?
The changing nature of video marketing trends presents a bit of a dilemma. On the one hand, you want to create content that’s evergreen. But at the same time, you want your videos to feel relevant and contemporary.
The way to strike that balance is by getting well acquainted with the trends and tendencies, both of past and present. Once you know them, you’re able to choose which ones to follow and which ones are not for you.
It also helps to work with skilled creatives who know what they’re doing and can guide you in choosíng the right visual path for your particular brand.
With more than 300 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute, it’s never been more important to go for quality and stay on top of the latest trends and techniques. If not, you risk creating content that feels dated from the get-go.
Related reading: 10 Steps to Creating Authentic Video Content
So, How Can You Keep Up With Video Trends?
Well, luckily, there are tons of great resources online to help you stay updated on the latest dos and don’ts of video.
Youtubers, bloggers, podcasters and tiktokers have their ears to the ground and are usually the ones to look to. Following a curated collection of publishers, who are active in the industry and have their ear to the ground, is an efficient way to stay in touch with what’s hot and what’s not.
The keyword here is “curated” because you need to find a way to filter the massive amounts of information available. If you try to consume it all, you just end up paralyzed by the endless options. And opinions! Because make no mistake, video is an art form. And therefore, there are no “truths” or rules, but rather just different movements, tastes, and directions.
Find a list of publishers whose content and attitudes appeal to you, and let those guide you as you set your own direction.
3 Great Podcasts About Video Marketing
While video is our favorite way of consuming content, there are times when it’s actually not that appropriate. When driving the car, for example. If, like most people, you spend time behind the wheel, that’s the perfect time to listen to conversations about video marketing.
Luckily, there are a bunch of good podcasts out there covering all aspects of video marketing. These are three of our favorite ones:
Hosted by Ryan Connoly: the Film Riot Podcast provides listeners with plenty of relevant information. Every new episode, a special guest is invited to bring their perspective, and the roster has included numerous famous people like Youtuber Matti Haapoja, Matt Lanter (Anakin Skywalker – Clone Wars), and Dan Trachtenberg (Director of 10 Cloverfield Lane)
Engage video marketing podcast
This podcast, hosted by Ben Amos, dives into the marketing side of video content. Guests are brought on to share their expertise on business trends and the best practices that audiences look for, making this an excellent forum for spotting and understanding emerging trends.
Here, video marketing expert Dane Golden invites and interviews top voices from the video marketing industry to learn about their secrets to success. They’re generous in sharing strategies and tips for getting the most bang for your video marketing bucks and give tons of advice on how to plan your video marketing.
10 Trending Video Marketing Influencers
There are also tons of skilled professionals out there who regularly share their learnings and advice in various channels and formats. Finding a few that you enjoy following, whether on Twitter or through a newsletter, is a great way to get some daily inspirational nuggets of wisdom.
- Phil Nottingham is a video strategist and marketing expert providing in-depth video marketing analysis and valuable tips on creating your strategies.
- Joel Comm is primarily focused on cryptocurrency. But his extensive expertise with social media video and live video marketing makes him super interesting to follow.
- Scott Stratten is a prominent voice in digital marketing. He has helped create some of the most viral videos in recent memory for companies like Walmart, Microsoft, and Pepsi.
- Krishna De’s social media channels are goldmines for useful ideas and video conversations with other experts.
- Casey Neistat is a famous YouTube personality who knows how to market videos for maximum reach.
- Tim Washer is a video marketing expert with experience from Hollywood. His social media and articles are great for humorous and clever advice on how to improve your video marketing.
- David Murdico’s Twitter is brimming with examples, tips, and articles about how to improve your video strategy.
- Mark Robertson is a video marketing expert whose Twitter is full of great advice, paired with humorous tweets and fun videos.
- Tyler Lessard, a digital marketing veteran, offers data-driven advice about video marketing on his Twitter feed.
- George B. Thomas, Head of Impulse Creative, draws on his experience across multiple marketing fields, with a particular focus on video.
Pick The Cherries and Leave The Rest
Trends will always come and go, but works of quality tend to age well. The most important thing is not to jump on every trend but rather to find your voice and stick to it.
Staying informed about what’s trending doesn’t mean you should constantly change your tonality but rather pick what works for you and use it to make your message feel relevant and stand out.
And remember, one of the most important things in marketing is not to look and sound like everyone else. Trying to shoehorn trends just to be “trendy” will always have the complete opposite effect.
And who knows! By being courageous and daring to try something new, you may become the one setting the next trend–instead of following the current one.
Get in touch to explore how we can make your brand come alive with authentic video content!