Has your corporate video production company let you in on the juicy strat for 2019?

Every corporate video production company worth its salt knows that they need to keep an eye out for the next big thing. After all, the medium is the message and if a company that positions itself as a video production expert fails to keep up with the emerging trends within its own industry, it’s pretty much dead in the water. It’s as simple as that.

As we head into the second quarter of 2019 in sunny South Africa, the HolyCow team is happy to report that we have identified the top corporate video production company trends that will be making waves for the rest of the year ahead, and we’re willing to share!
 
Has your corporate video production company informed you of the following 2019 video trends? If not, you should make a point of asking about it at your next meeting:

• Video content on homepages
• Branded videos
• Experiential explainer videos
• Scalable in-house training videos
• Executive communication videos

Here’s some more info on the 2019 corporate video production company trends listed above:

CUSTOMER-FACING CORPORATE VIDEO PRODUCTION TRENDS FOR 2019

Let’s start with the video trends that will have an impact on how we market our goods and services to existing and potential customers throughout the rest of the year:

Video content on homepages

Up until now, corporate videos used to live on YouTube, Vimeo and other hosting sites, with guest appearances on the secondary pages of business websites. In 2019, these videos are enjoying some well-deserved time in the limelight, featured front and centre on homepages all around the web.

Because for most businesses, its easier to show rather than tell, an elegantly-crafted video can make all the difference in delivering a to-the-point message and setting a tone that would be very difficult to achieve with text alone.

INSIDER TIP: Play it safe by keeping your video short, snappy and quick to load.

Make sure that your corporate video production company provides you with a compressed version of your corporate video to use on your homepage if you want to go this route, so you don’t lose any traction on the all-important SERPs (search engine results pages).

 
Big videos tend to make your site quite ‘heavy’, which means it takes longer to load and since Google uses the speed at which your site loads as one of the criteria that influences your rankings, it counts in your favour if your video doesn’t clog up the works. Mobile users are also more likely to bounce off your site if they are met with a bulky video that refuses to load.

Branded content

Video marketing strategy is a vital component of the seasoned corporate video production company’s service arsenal. If your video agency has a handle on current trends, you’ve likely been informed of the emergence of something called ‘branded content.’
 
But what exactly is branded content, and how does it differ from conventional video content?

First of all, branded content does not feature your company’s services or products. If you just went ‘huh?’, you’re not alone. The notion of paying good money to enlist the services of a corporate video production company to produce content that doesn’t feature the thing you’re selling can seem quite ridiculous. Here’s why lots of big companies around the world (such as Procter & Gamble) are doing so nonetheless.

Branded content speaks to consumers who are sick and tired of being marketed at, from a new and inspiring angle.
According to Forbes, the average consumer is exposed to between 4000 and 10 000 ads per day. Compare this to the 1970s, when the average Joe only had to filter out about 500 marketing message in a 24h timespan. That’s a LOT of banners and sponsored posts and unsolicited SMS messages to be sifting through while you’re simply trying to get through the day; it’s no wonder consumers are becoming a little tired of it all.

This is where branded video marketing comes in. By crafting a beautiful, inspiring video that speaks to one of your brand’s core values, a corporate video production company can assist your business by drawing in viewers who want to feel understood and uplifted. This calls for expert storytelling and a compelling narrative that dances along a taut golden thread that ties the whole thing together. It calls for artistry.

Why? Because the type of consumer you’re trying to reach with branded content can sniff out subversive marketing messages in a matter of seconds, and will bounce like a beach ball if they catch you at it. A branded content video should tell why you are, not what you are.

Experiential explainer videos

Explainer videos have been hot property for a while now, but this year it looks like we’ll be kicking things up a notch by moving into the experiential realm. Also in the vein of showing rather than telling, experiential videos seek out viewers in the real-life spaces they frequent, instead of waiting for the viewers to come find it online.

Here are a few inspired examples:

• WaterAid created Hope Lockers. This example may be from 2016, but it still points to what is possible when you think outside the box about video placement. Swimmers who rented a locker at a public facility would be shown a video upon their return that summed up the plight of nations without clean water, and then be given the option of donating the pound coin that would have been returned to them rather than accepting back their deposit.

• Coca-Cola tailored a 2018 FIFA World Cup AR experience. Augmented reality is the future of entertainment and the corporate video production agencies who look after big brands like Coca-Cola have been leveraging this exciting tech to great effect. This particular campaign invited commuters outside a Zurich train station to show off their soccer skills alongside Swiss football star Xherdan Shaqiri, take a virtual picture with the legend and enter a competition to win tickets to a match.

INTERNAL CORPORATE VIDEO PRODUCTION TRENDS FOR 2019

Next up, the video trends that are about to change the internal-communications landscape throughout the rest of the year:
In-house training videos

Training and induction videos have changed the knowledge-sharing landscape irrevocably over the last decade, and as technology develops, corporate video production companies are working alongside innovative business leaders to refine this video application to a science. Here are a few ways in which in-house training videos will level up in 2019:

It will be available 24/7/365

When you go to the trouble of developing a training resource, it stands to reason that your employees should be able to tap into it at any given time. Cue the in-house training video library – a searchable directory that employees can access whenever they need to.

 
This type of on-demand setup allows an instructor to record a presentation that can then be shared with an unlimited number of viewers. It’s an excellent way to boost training and development without increasing the budget allotted for such endeavours.

E.g. A chain of spas with branches across the world can ensure that all of their managers are following the same stock-take protocols by creating training videos that map it out step by step, rather than sending around a trainer to do so in person. The spa managers would then also be able to go back and watch the videos again if they feel uncertain about something, instead of having to log a request and wait for a response from head office.

It will free up Subject Matter Experts

Every company has it subject matter experts – veterans of the trade who are called upon to share their hard-won expertise in the field to smooth the way for new recruits. It’s a position of honour, but it can also be an immense time suck that keeps these valuable employees from reaching their own KPIs.

Social learning is a great tool – most employees can attest to the fact that on-the-job experience is invaluable in almost all industries. However, those watercooler exchanges are hard to scale, and unsustainable on the whole. A simple solution is to get the subject matter expert to commit their knowledge to video, which can then be stored on a video CMS which is accessible to the whole company.

E.g. A company’s in-house software developer can record a video that shows the useful shortcuts they’ve developed and other insights regarding the use of a new program, for instance, instead of having to go around the office showing everyone in person; or worse – having needy colleagues hanging around their desks, distracting them from their work and generally making a bit of a nuisance of themselves.

It will facilitate cohesion for far-flung teams

Not every corporate team has the luxury of being able to nip into the boardroom for a quick catch-up or blue-sky session; some are out on the road drumming up sales, while others collaborate across continents. Here are a few ways in which video can be used to facilitate cohesion for far-flung teams:

• Give your sales team easy access to product info and best practices.
• Broadcast team meetings and training sessions in real time.
• Have reps record insights and/or updates that can be shared with their team on the fly.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg! When you collaborate with a knowledgeable corporate video production company the sky is the limit in terms of what can be achieved to streamline your internal operations.

Executive communication videos

Forward-thinking companies understand that progress comes a whole lot easier when their entire team is on the same page and has a clear handle on what the business is trying to achieve. Internal communication videos are a simple way for CEOs and leaders to speak to a big audience in a straight-forward, fuss-free way, especially in multi-national enterprises with vast numbers of employees in different time zones.

Email and meetings have been going the way of the dinosaur for a long while now, and with good reason – a well-crafted video does exactly the same thing, only in a much shorter space of time. It also gives employees the option of tapping into the missive when they have a spare moment, instead of having to organise their whole day around it, which means they’ll be far more receptive to the message. It’s a great big WIN all around.

There you have it – the most important corporate video production company trends for the rest of 2019. Keep an eye on the blog in coming weeks and months as we share more insider info on the art of video and how you can use it to develop sales leads, drive profit and smooth communications within your enterprise.

In the meantime, feel free to contact the HolyCow team if you would like to learn more about our corporate video production company services and how we can turn these trends into workable solutions that tick all your must-have boxes.