Video trends to watch out for in 2023

It’s a no-brainer that video has officially conquered the web. And seems like it is going to stay like this in 2023 and beyond. So, if you are looking to boost your video marketing game in 2023, now is the time to get ahead and embrace these trends. 

• Keep it short

The average length of a video on TikTok is 21 to 35 seconds. Even Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook have introduced short videos. Going by the trend, short videos are going to become a property hotter than the temperature in Death Valley. If research is to be believed, pages with short video content are 50 times more likely to rank higher than posts with static content and have a 41% higher click-through rate.

Hence, making short videos that get straight to the point and are easy to digest will rule the roost in the new year. The key lies in leaving no room for fluff. You have to hook the viewers in the first few seconds. So, keep your copy optimal and make every word count, and ensure the video is concise and optimized for the platform where you intend to upload it. 

• Have a vertical-first approach

If you look closely, social media platforms leave clues. 2022 had a lot of brands and content creators making vertical videos. Did you notice that every video you uploaded on Instagram got displayed as a Reel? Or how aggressively YouTube was promoting YouTube Shorts. TikTok is among the largest video-led consumed platform in the world and is solely made for vertical videos!

Is there something to take note of? Yes! The future is going to be all about making vertical videos. A little birdy is telling us that Twitter is ready to jump on the bandwagon and may in the near future develop a TikTok-style immersive feed. And there’s also chatter on LinkedIn suggesting advertisers create vertical videos to get better and more effective results from their paid ads. If you want to stay abreast with the latest in the field, create value for your brands, and increase your views & watch time, you know what to do.

• Optimise ‘em for search

Video SEO has been around for a while. But it’s only recently that marketers have started using it to their advantage. Perhaps it’s more to do with Gen Z rapidly replacing Google Search with Instagram and TikTok as preferred visual search engines. If they want to check out a place for coffee or lunch, to stay during a holiday, or try a new make-up brand, etc., they first go over to social media platforms than Google. Adding video to a webpage can be effective for SEO as it gives your audience multiple ways to consume the content. If you want your videos to speak to the need of your target group, make them search-optimized.

Keep your captions keyword & search-friendly, keep titles that spark curiosity, add location tagging, make a strong call to action, and most importantly make your thumbnail & title deliver on the promise as not doing so can limit your discoverability.

• Make ‘Perfectly Imperfect’ the new mantra

Want to ace the video marketing game in 2023? Show up radiating real! Yes, 2023 is going to be all about ‘keeping it real’. Raw and unfiltered video content allows you to connect with your audience on a more intimate level. Thus, making you more approachable and authentic. During the pandemic, the need for genuine content increased. It literally brought us into each other’s homes and tossed titles and revealed us more as humans. Those times may be behind us but the sentiment of picking on brands that make the consumer feel seen, loved & valued, and does real talk is here to stay. In 2023, play on the power of the real you as people want to gravitate toward those they can relate with, trust and like.

Our phone is our biggest asset when it comes to shooting videos so leverage it to shoot & deliver what’s on your mind. Use the power of UGC to create content that’s less polished, perfect, and not staged. After all, our customers are our best advocates and watching them speak as your voice will only add weight to your story. 

Wrapping-up

From communicating through live streaming videos to using AI tools to create personalised videos, brands and content creators will have a lot on offer to improve upon their video strategies in 2023.

The author is Abhinav Jerath, the CEO of ANJ Creations Pvt. Ltd. A digital marketing agency based in New Delhi and branch offices at Allahbad, Mumbai, Jaipur, Lucknow.