Every year comes with different trends within the video marketing niche. As a smart marketer, you need to be able to take full advantage of the trends. Of course, don’t cultivate a bandwagon habit by jumping on every available trend. Nonetheless, keeping an eye on what is trending will help come up with the best explainer videos in 2020.
As fuzzy as the year 2020 has been due to the Coronavirus pandemic, this has not put a stop to explainer video trends. While we are in the 2nd half of the year, we’ve seen explainer video trends gaining ground while others are fading into oblivion.
At Expansionvideos, we see changes in explainer video trends as usual. Being a dynamic explainer video marketer, we know what works today might not work tomorrow. This has helped us to create explainer videos that generate the expected impact regardless of the period and trends.
In 2018, handmade illustration was one of the prevailing trends, and American Express used it in explaining their cardmember benefits. Slack also explored the possibilities of handmade illustration to characterize a hostile workspace.
While 2018 fizzled out with handmade illustration, the year 2019 witnessed a series of explainer video trends. Topping the list is augmented reality (AR) and interactive videos (IV), the two dominated the explainer video scene.
We don’t expect you to keep up with the fluidity of explainer video trends. Since we’re in touch with the reality at Expansionvideos. To help you in re-strategizing your video marketing plans for the 2nd leg of the year, the following are the explainer video trends to consider;
1. Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR)
The move towards Augmented Reality in explainer videos gained prominence in 2019, but 2020 has cemented the trend.
The AR and VR technology may still be new, but it should not take long before it becomes the in thing. Being a smart marketer that you are, ensuring that your explainer videos support AR and VR could be a smart move even beyond 2020.
Employing AR and VR technology in your explainer videos means that the video can view it from different angles and even interact with the explainer video.
This technology is already being employed within the fashion retailing industry. It allows indecisive clothing shoppers to see how the cloth fits from different angles.
2. Video SEO
More than ever before, Google and other search engines are giving more attention to videos than ever. You may not have noticed, but sites with videos on the relevant page rank higher on Google.
This is not a mistake or oversight by search engines, but because they know people are more inclined to watch a video than reading texts. For example, when you search brand names, Google is likely to show a video on the first page.
What’s the implication?
In your next explainer video, ensure the video is optimized for search engines. Be one of the first brands to take advantage of the attention search engines are giving to explainer videos.
It’s beyond just the video title and description, but attention should be given to transcripts and captions.
3. Mobile Optimization
Our world has gone fully mobile, and so should your explainer videos. There’s a high chance that you will be reading this article from a mobile device.
Let’s consider the statistics;
There are no less than 5.11 billion people globally that have a mobile phone. That’s not all; more than 50% of video streaming comes from a mobile device. Hubspot even went ahead to state that 99% of mobile phone users watch videos on their phones.
There are more people watching videos on their mobile devices than on desktop devices. Look into making explainer videos that are optimized for mobile. Ensure they can be watched both vertically and horizontally.
This is a factor of the explainer video firm you hire for your videos.
4. Storytelling
We all love a good story, including your target audience. To grab their attention in 2020, you must be a master storyteller in your videos.
Storytelling has proven to be an effective medium for marketing messages. There’s rarely an explainer video in 2020 that does not make use of storytelling techniques.
Have you seen this video that we made for Design Diverso? It’s the precise definition of storytelling in explainer videos.
With storytelling, you can simplify complicated content and further reach your audience better. Storytelling in explainer videos helps to spark the interests of the audience and create a human connection.
5. Liquid Motion
Why would you want to use liquid motion? Humans have a short attention span, but with liquid motion, they are more prone to stick to the video longer than planned.
After 30 seconds, 33% of viewers stop a video. Only 40% of viewers watch a video until the end.
It’s all about giving the audience motivation to watch the video until the end. Even though videos less than two minutes gets the most engagement, not everyone has the mental strength to wait for two minutes before moving to the next available information.
6. Micro Videos
Go on Instagram and Facebook; you’ll find millions of 6-15 seconds videos; these are micro-videos.
Why so short? We’ve already established that humans have a short attention span. Rather than struggle for their attention, create explainer videos that deliver the message before they lose focus.
That’s why Instagram and Facebook stories are growing popular among brands. As short as Micro videos are, they are fun and engaging.
While creating longer explainer videos of two minutes, look for means to carve out micro-videos. This is for the intent of sharing on social media, while the longer video goes to your Youtube, Vimeo, and other channels.
Final Thoughts
These six trends will go a long way to help you get the best out of explainer videos in 2020.
However, we recognize the uniqueness of brands. Choose any of the explainer video trends that align well with your brand message and values.
We’ll love to hear from you at Expansionvideos on any of the trends you prefer. You can reach out to Mikael Hamrin, the CEO of Expansionvideos via call, email and chat. He’s readily available to guide you on explainer video trends and your other concerns.
