Consumers increasingly perceive brands as media companies, a perception that is both fueled by companies creating more engaging content and consumer expectation of more interactive and interesting advertising.
A recent report sheds some light for travel marketers looking to engage more deeply with video content - a medium ideally suited to the beauty and story of the travel experience.
The survey of 1,000 Americans, and 500 marketers, comes from content marketers LevelsBeyond, and points out that brands are leaving opportunities on the table, as many brands don't believe that their customers even want to see videos from the brands.
There's also a disconnect between what consumers want to watch and what brands provide.
Surprisingly, consumers are especially eager to consume videos that are instructive and teach how to do a particular skill. This insight could be leveraged by travel marketers in spaces where active sports or other insider knowledge could be packaged as a "how to" for a specific destination, vacation or location.
Comedy comes in a second, following by product videos, micro-documentaries and animations. Travel marketers should take note of the 33% of surveyed consumers that enjoy micro-documentaries - this result is a sign that this type of content could be a way to hook browsing travelers into a purchase mindset.
However, the surveyed marketers did not match what the surveyed consumers wanted to watch. Brands are focusing less on instructive videos and more videos from their own branded events. A slight focus switch from "event videos" to "micro-documentaries" could be a welcome move by consumers
Social sharing also becomes a very important component of successful online video, as consumers are much more likely to watch videos that were shared within a network. And when a video is trending, a solid 38% of respondents would be more inclined to watch that video.
Despite this compelling evidence that successful social sharing drives ROI of video, brands are behind in understanding how this mechanic works.
Another piece of data from Videology shows an immense shift into what video advertisers are seeking for the investment. The jump in cross-screen analysis reveals that this has quickly become one of the most important metrics for video advertising.
The videos are pegged to their ability to bring attention and traffic across screens, liberating some of the conversion pressure for one particular platform as its impact can be tracked across screens.
Marketers are finally starting to see video as a key component of the cross-platform marketing mix; now brands must be more considered when it comes to matching consumer appetite for video.
The full report can be downloaded here.
NB: Nerdy video cat courtesy Shutterstock.