4 Video Marketing Trends For 2022

If there’s one thing that’s a safe bet after an extremely topsy turvy year, it’s that video has firmly placed itself at the forefront of online content. It can’t even be debated anymore, video marketing has dominated 2021. This does make you wonder though, just how will video production change in 2022?

4 Video Marketing Trends For 2022


If there’s one thing that’s a safe bet after an extremely topsy turvy year, it’s that video has firmly placed itself at the forefront of online content. It can’t even be debated anymore, video marketing has dominated 2021. This does make you wonder though, just how will video production change in 2022?


With 2021 coming to a close, it’s time to look to the future.


It has been a turbulent year, to say the least.


From lockdowns and vaccines to sideways container ships and Brexit.


We’ve been through a lot.


Stability has been hard to find, with change seeming like the constant abrupt theme of the year.


Thankfully, there have been some constants which we can bank on.


Video marketing being one of them.


As you can imagine, video content has soared since the pandemic it is showing no real signs of slowing down.


This isn’t just a blind guess either, consumers genuinely expect to see more video content from businesses and brands now. 


Also, and we won’t go on listing statistic after statistic, but the statistics behind video marketing speak for themselves.


So, where exactly does video go next?


2022 is looming. The world is slowly figuring out what “normal” is again.


It would be impossible to say exactly what direction video marketing will go in 2022 but we can certainly predict some trends.


These trends are a result of what we saw throughout the course of this year and what the current video marketing statistics point to.


You may not agree with our predictions and that’s fine. These are only predictions based upon the relevant information right now. 


It’s certainly something to think about when you sit down to map out your 2022 marketing strategy.

Trend 1 - Live video

Live video is on the up.


Again, this won’t come as a huge surprise after more than a year of being isolated from each other but nevertheless, live video is hugely popular right now.


It has actually been a savior for our personal and working relationships.


As you can imagine, businesses and brands have capitalised upon this trend perfectly and delivered some really creative live video experiences.


What we’ve learnt, among many other things from 2020/2021, is that pretty much any idea you have can be live streamed.


We’ve seen everything from full Broadway theatre performances to product endorsement videos. All completely live.


What’s also interesting about live video is that it reports six times the interactions of traditional video and three times longer viewing as well. 


Now, statistically speaking consumers actually prefer traditional video over live video but we can’t afford to dismiss live streaming due to its increasing popularity and simple accessibility.


Nowadays, you can simply pick up your phone and go live in seconds. It’s easy.


What this means for your brand in 2022 is that you should set aside some ideas specifically for live video. 


This can be anything you want. The more creative the better.


Live video can be an excellent way to build your brand reputation and get a competitive edge in your industry.

Trend 2 - Vertical video

This is another one which may seem obvious due to the proliferation of TikTok, but vertical video is growing rapidly across the board.


You only have to take a look at any of the large social media platforms and you’ll quickly see vertical video in some form.


TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts… Vertical is here to stay.


To put this into some perspective, TikTok has been downloaded 2.3 billion times worldwide and boasts 1 billion active users.


Let’s not forget stories here either. Snapchat Stories, Instagram Stories, Facebook Stories, WhatsApp Status - they all embrace vertical video. 


Much like TikTok, stories are also growing in popularity. Roughly 86.6% of Instagram users post stories every day and around 60% of millennials watch them. 


One of the benefits of vertical video is its accessibility. You can literally create and view vertical content straight from your smartphone device. No editing or cropping needed. This isn’t always recommended of course but it’s certainly something to think about.


What this means for your business is that you should really consider including some form of vertical video content in your marketing strategies. This could be posting regular stories on your social media profiles or creating purpose driven vertical content for TikTok, Reels or Shorts.


Again, due to its accessibility, you don’t really need to spend here. You can start small and build from there. If you find that a particular platform or style works for you, then you can run with it and put some budget behind it.


Side note here - this is in no way to dismiss traditional horizontal video. That is still as effective as it has been and is still the predominant video size. However, vertical video content is currently seeing a surge in popularity which should definitely not be ignored.

Trend 3 - User-generated content (UGC)

This is somewhat of a direct follow on from 2021.


User-generated content has been growing in popularity over the last few years so it’s no real surprise that it is continuing to grow. Especially when you think about our previous point with vertical video, the two go hand in hand!


Nevertheless, UGC is set to be a big feature for video in 2022. 


One of the biggest advantages for user-generated content is trust. There are so many untrustworthy organisations and scams that it can be really difficult to get your consumer to trust you.


Well not with UGC.


User-generated content is raw, honest and authentic. 


Consumers actually trust user-generated content more than they trust brand content. Specifically, 85% say that UGC is more trustworthy than brand content. A further 68% claim that they find the content more authentic and 57% say they follow a brand because of their UGC.


So, should you ditch all your other marketing materials and focus solely on user-generated content?


Of course not. What you should be doing however, is gathering and encouraging user-generated content so that your consumers can do the talking for you!


User-generated content is real, fun and can be used really creatively. 


KFC actually took this a step further during lockdown and produced a television commercial made up of user-generated content. It worked a treat for them, it was different and very tongue-in-cheek. It captured attention, trended across socials and put them in a commanding and trusting light.


Trend 4 - Search-optimised video

Video and SEO together is nothing new.


However, optimised video for search results? Let’s talk.


It is estimated by Forrester, that videos are 53 times more likely to generate first page rankings when compared to traditional SEO methods. 


According to research by Brightedge, Google is now putting video snippets next to 26% of search results so users will be much more likely to click them.


For all you YouTube users, we recently wrote an article about YouTube trends going into 2022 and funnily enough one of them was creating chapters within your videos. Well, this is definitely something you’ll want to consider with Google using video snippets in search results. Chapters are tailor made for that exact reason.


So, how exactly do you optimise your videos for SEO?


Well, there’s a few things you can do.


The first is to make your content valuable and relevant to your consumer. Make sure that with every video you release, you’re adding some value to their lives. Otherwise there’s no point. Also, remember that not every one of your videos HAS to sell your product/service. You don’t have to spam your audience. Nobody goes online to be sold to. 


The second is the backend optimisation of your videos. This is your traditional optimisation which you should already be doing - title tags, keyword rich descriptions, engaging thumbnails and interactions with your audience. If you have any issues with this, you can find plenty of resources online to help you best optimise your content.


The final one is to remain consistent with your content. Google loves video content so make sure you are consistently creating and publishing content. If you’re consistently creating good content that adds value for your consumer, you’re going to see a boost in your traffic and your SEO rankings.

Honourable mention - Silent videos with subtitles

I know we said 4 trends but we’ll give this one an honourable mention.


Silent videos with subtitles.


Believe it or not, 85% of Facebook and Instagram videos are watched without sound. That’s a massive amount of silent content.


It makes sense. The proliferation of video content across all social media platforms means that we’re watching videos all the time. Nobody wants to be that person on a crowded train who’s blaring out some random fail compilation.


This is where subtitles come in. People may watch without sound but they still want to know what’s going on.


Consumers watched ads with captions 12% longer than they did those without. It may not be a monumental statistic but it’s more than worth it to just add some captions.


This doesn’t mean that you should neglect sound design completely either. Sound is an amazing and emotive tool within video and sometimes it can be disheartening knowing it may have not been appreciated. 


However, it is much better for your business and your content that you still take your time with your sound. Just make sure you add captions when you post it to your social media platforms.

Final thoughts

Video is an amazing tool. It has been growing in popularity for years now.


For as good and effective as it is though, it is constantly changing and if you don’t learn to change with it, you’re going to be going around in circles. 


The trends we’ve spoken about today may not flourish as we expect them to in 2022 but the signs are certainly there. The good thing for all of us is that you will actually lose nothing by trying any of these trends. 


If you were to put them on a scale, you’ve got an awful lot to gain and not that much to lose. 


The best advice we could give is to get creative with your content and more importantly have fun with it. Don’t give up after one attempt and don’t be scared to try new things.


You never know what might take off!