2023 went by in a blink. As soon as AI went mainstream, new products, creative techniques, and ways of consuming exploded on the scene, and we could scarcely catch our breath. The dust hasn’t settled as such (and it doesn’t appear it will anytime soon) but there are some larger patterns emerging in the video production industry.
What are the Video Content Trends of 2024?
A new wave of video culture is blossoming. Thanks to advanced technologies like AI and VR, and the strategic use of various video formats, 2024 is poised to see significant shifts in how video content is created, distributed, and consumed. Here’s a detailed look at the video production trends we’ll see this year.
1. More than ever, product videos drive sales and ROI
89% of consumers desire more video content from brands to help them make informed purchase decisions. High-quality product videos drive sales and ROI. We’ve seen product videos get tech companies ahead by leaps and bounds, as they make the functions and features of complex products easily understood by stakeholders. Take, for example, our work for Ekso Bionics, where we demystified its cutting-edge exoskeleton technology:
2. Silent video gains momentum
Perhaps you’ve experienced the irritation of scrolling through Instagram or TikTok in a crowded public space, and a video auto plays with an embarrassing laugh track before you can hit pause. Or you want to watch foreign content without dubbing and need subtitles. Research shows that 75% of people watch mobile videos on mute, irrespective of their disability status. YouTube prioritizes content with closed captions, and a study by Discovery Digital Networks found an overall increase of 7.32% in views for captioned videos and a 13.48% increase in viewership during the first 14 days after adding captions.
3. Social media goes video-first
Research shows that viewing videos is the second most common reason for social media users to go on apps. Platforms like TikTok and YouTube are leading the charge in video-first content, with video streaming accounting for a significant portion of web traffic. Advertisers are also sponsoring content creators directly on platforms like Twitch, and YouTube has added features like channel memberships to support creators. (More on YouTube trends in the next section.)
4. Demand for short-form videos grows
Short-form videos continue to be all the rage, with the momentum of TikTok, and social media’s rewarding of short-form content, pushing this trend. Its popularity is driven by its alignment with consumers’ digital-native lifestyles, preference for mobile consumption, and desire for quick, engaging content. Creating content that is brief yet impactful is also much cheaper, not to mention suitable for disappearing attention spans.
5. Segmented video formats become a necessity
To cater to a variety of watching habits, devices, and social media platforms, content creators are adapting to multiple video formats, including horizontal, vertical, and square videos. For instance, international fitness brand Les Mills chose short, made-for-mobile video to be the ideal format to promote their at-home fitness app. Then, they repurposed short-form, vertical video content previously developed for social media into a video campaign, featuring a mix of vertical and horizontal video action. Thus, viewers would receive the ad in the most suitable aspect ratio, regardless of device.
6. AR and VR revolutionizing video content
Revenue generated by Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technologies is on the up and up. Major tech companies like Google and Microsoft are integrating AR features, providing users with interactive and immersive experiences. Social media was on the bandwagon a long time ago. Snapchat and Instagram, for example, have already incorporated AR filters and effects, allowing marketers to leverage these tools for product showcases, virtual try-ons, and unique branded experiences.
7. Video SEO
We don’t often hear video and search engine optimization mentioned in the same strategy, but on the heels of its revolutionary year of updates in 2023, Google is showing more and more videos in search results. Cue, video SEO.
According to Google, video (mostly from YouTube) competes in search results in four different places: the main search results page, the Images tab, the Videos tab, and Google Discover.
Thus, creators have to make videos easy to find by indexing them, placing them on public web pages, using meta tags, and creating a video sitemap.
Talk to our team at Rock Creek Productions to find out how to fit this into your video strategy.
What’s Currently Trending On YouTube In 2024?
You can’t talk about video marketing without talking about YouTube. Every day brings a new sensation on the platform: usually a genre-bending song, a challenge, a parody, or a superlative cat video. But this year, we’re seeing advanced technology transform the content and viewership on YouTube in myriad ways. Here are four:
1. The rise and rise of AI avatars
Influencers no longer have to be real. Take, for instance, the South Korean creator RuiCovery, who uploads cover songs to YouTube, just like many others. Except, Rui is played by an actor with an AI-generated face designed by the Seoul-based IT startup Dob Studio. This has been going on all 2020s, but it’s gaining prominence now, with very popular YouTubers incorporating AI into their video content (and not just production processes. Gaming influencer Kwebbelkop has been using an AI clone in some of his videos. This is novel but enters very complex ethical territory. Thus, YouTube is now coming down hard with regulations on AI-generated videos.
2. Diversification of content across formats
Google reports that creators uploading both Shorts and long-form videos see better watch time and subscriber growth compared to those only uploading long-form videos. The difference is massive.
For instance, fitness creator Cassey Ho of Blogilates has 8.6 million subscribers on her YouTube channel. When she began creating YouTube Shorts at the beginning of 2022, she gained more than half of her lifetime views within a year and a half.
This is why at Rock Creek Productions, we shoot our footage and plan in a way that one video can be repurposed into different formats. While some of our clients do need longer videos, they can still take advantage of Shorts to draw more viewers into watching their other content.
3. AI-powered campaign management
As we’ve seen, consumption is shifting across various formats and screens: but what is the right mix? With tools such as Google’s Video Reach, AI handles ad format decisions, so marketers can focus more on strategic tasks. This year, YouTube is also launching a suite of tools to provide personalized AI-powered insights through YouTube Studio, based on what audiences are already watching.
There’s also Video View, which uses Google AI to serve skippable ads across in-stream, in-feed, and Shorts, to help makers earn the maximum number of views at the lowest possible cost. In early testing, Video View campaigns drove 40% more views, on average, compared to TrueView in-stream alone.
What is the Future of Video Production?
The horizon of video production is continuously forming around a confluence of trends and technological leaps, forecasted to burgeon into a multimillion-dollar realm by 2030. Staying ahead is key, and you can only do that with the pros. Let Rock Creek Productions be your partner in this race with our video production services. We harness the latest tech to create videos that surpass continually rising quality standards, to transform storytelling and beat your viewer engagement goals. Our expertise means your projects not only meet current trends but also set new ones. Let’s shape the future of video together.
