Technology in analytics and audience targeting has created a new landscape for marketers reaching their customers with video.
Everyone knows the power of video to successfully engage an audience but the days of producing a beautiful piece of content and winning an award without ever knowing if it did its job are well and truly over.
Our old model of content production was simple: receive brief, make, deliver, feel proud. But if we put our hands up and were honest with ourselves, we never really knew if it did its job for the client, or if it was truly successful in achieving all its aims or gave a return on client investment.
New reporting and analytics tools have lit up the dark corners video production agencies used to hide in. It’s now possible to see playback fall-off rates, engagement and comment instantly. No more hiding!
Until 2015, we never felt we were fully supporting our clients as much as we should be and that something was always missing – that after care – a sense of responsibility. Now, with creative use of technology we offer our clients a longer-term service that actively monitors the efficacy of every piece of content we produce. In monitoring every video published on a weekly basis, we can instantly see how videos are performing across a multitude of platforms, exactly who is watching and for how long and in some cases what they did after watching. This has given us an incredibly valuable service offering for our clients that reassures them we’re actively taking responsibility and ensuring they see a return on their investment.
By actively monitoring, we’re able to make edit tweaks and changes when some content on some channels isn’t engaging as well as we’d hoped. Technology in analytics reporting has transformed how video production agencies behave after delivery.
Vertical video formats in 2018
2017 saw a 40% rise in the use of video content delivered in vertical aspect ratios across a multitude of social media platforms. As content producers, we’ve had to keep up with the curve and learn that the days of repurposing content shot in 16.9 for social platforms is over.
2018 should see a steady increase in that trend and I expect a 70% lift in agencies producing content in 2:3 and 9:16 aspect ratios which will mean greater challenges on set.
Producers and directors will be faced with the challenge of shooting for a variety of aspect ratios on set. Widescreen formats will always remain valid but the question in development will be ‘are we just shooting for mobile’ or ‘does this have to be cross-platform relevant’?
There are some practical solutions on set. Ensure branded elements or subject matter is not left or right of shot, no fine details and brand placement with text remains centre frame.
