Gen-Z A Video Content Love Affair
- Online video content is more relevant than ever
- Lead with objective first before creating content
- The main video content types are live videos, demo videos, promotional videos and testimonial videos
- More and more brands are turning to live videos to deliver content to their audiences
- Consumers are valuing transparency more than ever
- Your content should be relatable, realistic and empathic to your audience
A Video Generation
Marketing attention has now firmly shifted to a post-pandemic Gen-Z consumer, who now accommodate for at least 40% of the consumer market. Nailing you online video content game is more important than ever. From long format podcasts, to short-form meme-based remixes on Tick Tock, consumers just can’t get enough.
Traditional media is quickly becoming a relic of a historic era. Evidence even suggests only 12% of the Gen-Z population get their news from traditional sources in contrast to 42% of adults. People would rather have their daily updates fed to them through a platter of different social sources and hosts.
As we adapted this past year too living and working a little more isolated from one another, this reliance on new media sources has only been accelerated. The latest YouTube Trends Repot shows more and more people have turned to online content (specifically video) to for-fill their longing for community and tribalism.
So as marketers, content creators and designers what can we do to best serve our audiences on these platforms?
As with all great marketing and design, the starting point should be firmly routed in what you wish to achieve with the media in the first place. Who are you targeting? Are they part of your pre-existing following? Is your main aim to drive sales? Or is your goal to build awareness of the value your product can bring?
Your objective should determine the different qualities of your content. This includes, but is not limited too, the length, the platform you use and the content.
When we search for popular content online it tends to fall under four different headings. These are demo videos, live videos, testimonial videos and promotional videos. While this is not a complete overhaul of all video content, these four categories seem to be the most effective with the largest ROI’s.
Let’s break them down:
Live Videos:
Live videos have had a massive boost in popularity this last year with 78% of people in the U.K. reporting they’d watched a live video within the last year. This is no surprise as more brands rethink how they deliver content and events to their audiences during the pandemic. Formula 1 hosted their first ever Grand Prix live event on YouTube, Travis Scott hosted a concert in Fortnight and Post Malone held an online charity concert livestream where he raised a massive $7 million and amassed a total of 14 million views.
Check this article for more on Live Streams
Many apps now have Live streaming options, however the three top players are still YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, with Facebook currently ranking top.
According to Facebook Live, consumers watched for 3x longer when watching live streams and the number of comments were multiplied by 10. That’s a huge improvement over pre-prepared video.
It’s worth mentioning here that most platforms will also automatically save your stream, so you can continue to re-use the content generated to engage with your audience.
Demo Videos:
Demo videos are a great way to demonstrate to your audience what value your product or service can bring to their lives. In a study conducted by Wyzowl last year, 96% of people surveyed said they’d watched an explainer video to find out about a product or service. They also reported that 79% of people said they’d been convinced to buy or download a piece of software after watching a video.
There are many factors which may effect where you might place a demo video to best engage your audience and its a good idea to know just who you are targeting before even making the video, let alone hosting it.
However having a demo video on your landing page or at least somewhere on your site will make those warm leads just that little bit warmer.
Testimonial Videos:
Okay so we know that your average Gen-Z customer isn’t watching TV. They’re getting their news updates from someone they actually have a connection with. They want their information from real-life people they can generally relate to.
So it’s important for Testimonial videos earn their merit on transparency and how genuine they feel. If the video sounds scripted and forced the experience feels fake and your truth-seeking audience will see straight through it.
Break the 4th Wall
Life post-pandemic sees the 4th wall being broken all over the place, we’re now more accepting and comfortable with seeing our politicians and public figures in real life unpolished settings, facing the same struggles we all do.
Attorney Rod Ponton became world famous as his courtroom cat filter video leaked out all over the internet, breaking the boundaries between the formal and the informal. And there has been countless cases like this and will be many more post-pandemic, dare I say it is ‘The New Normal.’
Testimonial videos should feel real and relatable, featuring a person and setting your audience can directly relate to. A great place to share your video is a setting where your audience is already fairly ‘warm’ to your brand. For example sharing on social media means your video would already have a narrow focus on people who are already interested in you.
Your website would also be a good place to embed your video for these same reasons. This would allow an undecided customer to gain a second opinion of your product or service. It may just provide the tipping point your customer needs.
Promotional Videos:
Promotional videos sell the ‘dream’ of your product or service to your customers. They engage your audiences’ imagination. What might life be like with your product?
The meditation app Headspace does this by providing free explainer videos on YouTube. They use a combination of motion graphics and people to tell stories, give explanations and tips to help people live more healthy lives. It’s a great way to provide value to your customers and engage their imagination.
Perhaps the audience learns something new or feels calmer after watching the video. They gain insight into how the service may be of use to them, and as a result, buy into the experience the app may provide.
When creating your product video you should consider these four points:
- Is it relatable and empathetic?
- Does is demonstrate value?
- Is it professional but not too ‘commercial’?
- Is it short enough to keep your audience engaged?
Conclusion:
The most important thing to consider when making videos to represent your brand will always be target audience and application. What is your end goal? Who is your audience? etc. We need to ask ourselves these important questions again and again.
Without being distracted by our own egos or shiny ‘object syndrome’. We work for our consumers and they should always come first.
At Traphic, we use in-depth discovery sessions to explore and define all these things with you, to help you tell your brands story in the most efficient way possible. We work with and for you to produce the best motion graphics to help you achieve your goals.
