Offering the opportunity for innovation, engagement and creativity across sound, text, image and rich media, mobile video has come to the fore of modern marketing minds and caused a well-deserved stir.

Finding evidence of video’s rise isn’t hard. According to the analysis teams at SocialBakers, the reach of videos on Facebook is already shooting ahead of static images with an organic reach of 8.1 per cent, compared to an average of 3.1 per cent for photographs.

Digital marketing analysts SyndaCast have also taken a look at the area, and have found that 52 per cent of marketing professionals globally name video as the type of content that generates the best ROI.

Each week we are hit with new figures saying that video is the winning component in online and mobile marketing – whether that be pre-filmed content, video streaming or video chat. However, behind those stats there is an assumption that marketers will know how to best act on them, and that they understand the workings of video technology.

A good workman in any trade must know his tools’ capabilities, and so we are taking the opportunity to introduce three key technologies driving video that marketers should be aware of to make the medium work more effectively for them.

Software for apps

Video has become a central component of some of the leading apps, and is also being added to existing apps to enhance the user experience. For example, Facebook and Twitter have both incorporated improved video features into their services, and video calling, such as Facetime is a now the norm in many rich communication apps.

Video itself offers a more differentiated and engaging service because of the immersive and personal experience it can provide, and technologies like open source WebRTC allow brands to easily integrate this video experience into their own new or existing apps, to provide further interaction. This enables a real-time communication link (including video streaming, broadcast and playback) between supported apps and web browsers, and is highly valuable for brands in building loyalty and engagement with customers.

In addition, video in apps doesn’t have to be static. It sits well alongside other content, including customer service live chat or calls, showing that its two-way format is just as important as a broadcast service. Using video for interaction opens up new marketing opportunities that are already being taken advantage of in the customer service arena, such as in app video calling and browser screen sharing, enabling instant engagement and, more importantly, ensuring an audience does not have to leave the current environment to interact with a brand or business, like clicking through an embedded email link to send a tweet for example.

Devices

The demand amongst consumers for rich content services is being catered to by device manufacturers and designers - a look at mobile and tablet capabilities shows us that video is a key competitive differentiator. For example, this year saw the launch of HTC’s flagship One M9 handset, a device designed especially for video. The same can be said for Panasonic’s Lumia releases, as well as Samsung and LG’s handset designs. It’s becoming more and more common for a handset to offer 4K and above video shoot, edit and display capabilities.

This ‘quality video’ drive is leading everyday mobile and tablet users to experiment with video, a perfect opportunity for marketers to take advantage of user generated or customer contributed video campaigns. The potential for encouraging customers to show off recent purchases, share opinions for charitable campaigns, film themselves having fun at events, or other brand enabled successes is unlimited on mobile devices with strong video capabilities. Not only does the brand source some great content from mobile video, but they also find a community of endorsers on these devices, willing to share content on behalf of their brand. The creation of video by brands and its customers on mobile is content that marketers can afford to lose.

Video messaging

72% of smartphone owners use multiple messaging services each day (YouGov / Intelligent Environments), providing brands with the opportunity to connect with customers personally and instantly through a message alert or video reminder. Jumping into a customer’s pocket, onto a mobile device which is rarely more than two metres away from them, means that the brand messages are read quickly, and generate engagement.

As a result of this convenient customer experience, consumers are looking to OTT messaging type services and rich media on mobile to connect with brands. 61% of customers aged 18-30 said that they would like a Whatsapp style customer service messaging experience with their bank (YouGov / Intelligent Environments).

Adding video into the mix can make a message more engaging, particularly as live video chat encourages customers to initiate a connection with the brand. For example, in a banking scenario, if a customer logs into their account and fraud is suspected, they can speak with an agent who can better authenticate their identity and address their issue in a more personalised, disarming way. Recorded video messages are also effective, allowing consumers to engage with brands through rich content, rather than words.

Mobile messaging is transported to the front of your customer’s mind and video enhances that experience with digital content. Where so many brands are competing for attention across advertising space, this device and interactive medium allows marketers to make a direct connection with customers quickly.

Ultimately, by making use of these three technologies, video and those marketers that make best use of it, can flourish. By understanding the technology that will deliver their campaigns, support enhanced customer interactions and bring the best ideas to life, marketers can build fantastic video marketing that is optimised for mobile.

 

By JF Sullivan, CMO of Acision. 

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