Is 2019 the year that digital video marketing makes it to the mainstream? With 81 percent of businesses incorporating digital video into their marketing strategies and 99 percent of those using video planning to continue or even increase its use, it appears that the answer is a resounding yes.

This doesn’t mean, however, that digital video marketing tactics will remain static for the foreseeable future. Like any other marketing tactic, video continues to evolve at a rapid pace, ranging from the video capabilities and advertising options available on different platforms to the way consumers receive their information.

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How will video marketing change in the year ahead? How will these changes impact the way businesses develop and deliver their messages to consumers?

Here at MDG Advertising, we believe that these are the key trends that will define video marketing this year:

1. Stories Will Become More Prominent

Stories are a unique content format that first appeared on Snapchat. Unlike traditional video posts, the images and videos in Stories are only accessible for a short time. The immediacy of this type of content was a huge hit with audiences, so the format was quickly adopted by Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms. Today, more than 400 million people view Instagram Stories each day, and the product is forecast to drive marketers to double their spending on video ads.

2. Video Format Offerings Will Become More Diverse

Stories are just one example of how video offerings on digital platforms are becoming more diverse. When posting videos online, brands now have the ability to choose from a vast array of video-length and picture-quality options. Since more consumers are watching video content on mobile devices, digital platforms are also offering more aspect ratio options, making it possible to optimize video for smaller screens and vertical viewing. Facebook already allows users to choose from four different in-feed video sizes, and other major online platforms are following suit by adding more display options.

3. Video May Be Seen but Not Heard

While consumers may be viewing video content and checking social media feeds on their mobile devices, they aren’t necessarily listening. There are a couple of reasons for this shift in viewing and listening behavior. First, people often mute their mobile devices in public settings to avoid annoying those nearby. Second, content creators have started to develop videos with “sound off” as a default setting. This means that brands will need to find new and creative ways to develop video content that can tell a story without sound.

4. Marketers Will Have Access to Better Video Ad Options

Brands are no longer limited to 15- or 30-second pre-roll spots online that may—or may—not reach their target audience. Today, marketers have access to adoptions that allow them to target their message more effectively, including the immersive Stories ads on Instagram and the skippable TrueView ads on YouTube. Facebook also has announced that it will continue to roll out new video ad products.

5. Social Media Will Strengthen Its Relationship with Video

The increased focus on video advertising by the major social media platforms is a sign of a larger move toward a preference for video in general.

While this transition has been taking place for some time now, it’s likely to become more evident in the year ahead. Late last year, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg publicly shared his belief that video is an important part of the future of Facebook and Instagram. He also stated that his company will invest heavily in efforts to accelerate the development of video content initiatives, such as Facebook Watch. Brands looking to succeed on social media will need to make video an integral part of their social media strategies.

6. Search Engines Will Strengthen Their Bond with Video

The push toward more video-oriented offerings is not limited to social media platforms. A similar move is also occurring among the major search engines.

For the past several years, video content has been ranking higher and higher in organic search results on both mobile and desktop pages. A recent move by Google is about to take this a step further. The company plans to utilize artificial intelligence to find relevant video content related to a user’s search queries and to autoplay short segments of the video directly from the results page. This means that search engine optimization and video will become more interrelated in the year ahead.

7. Ads Will Become More Platform Specific

The sudden explosion of online video opportunities is a mixed blessing for marketers. While it provides them with more avenues for disseminating their message, it also means that it’s not enough to distribute the same content over all platforms.

The videos that are likely to provide the biggest return on investment are those that are optimized for a specific platform and delivery format. For example, video content that may work well as an organic video post may not be as effective as a Stories post or a paid placement. This means that brands will have to create different versions of their video content for each platform or delivery method.

8. Increased Popularity of Educational Video Pieces

Marketers have traditionally shunned informative or educational video pieces, labeling them boring or ineffective, and opted for flashier campaigns. If one survey is any indication, this is likely to change. Seventy-two percent of consumers say they want to learn more about products and services through online video content. As a result, brands are starting to devote more financial and creative resources to developing product showcases, customer testimonials, and other informative and educational pieces.

9. Video Creation Is Becoming More Affordable

Creating digital video content quickly and efficiently has been challenging, especially for new or smaller brands that don’t have large advertising budgets. Now, however, the tools and equipment needed to create and edit video are more affordable and easier to operate than ever before. In fact, full-length movies and episodes of TV shows have been filmed and edited entirely on smartphones and laptops like the ones available in almost every home or office.

All of these trends highlight the fact that online video is here—and an important part of any brand’s marketing plan for 2019.

About Michael Del Gigante, Chief Executive Officer of MDG Advertising