Video in 2021 - The Top 1 Trend (yes, one) for Video in 2021
Well we say goodbye to what for many may have been the most frustrating, heartbreaking year ever. For others, 2020 opened doors and proved to be a turning point in their professional lives.
For video, it turned out to be the year we all realized just how much we depended on the medium. We saw video used in so many ways. Teams kept in touch via video. Sales people stopped traveling and reached out to prospects via video. TikTok became more than just a way for kids to show off their dance moves. Heck, we had happy hours via video! So what will happen in 2021?
At Agile Video, we don’t have a magic crystal ball so we’re not going to give you a list of 10 video trends. Usually those trends are services offered by the company that is writing the blog and not really trends in the first place. In 2021, we believe video will be bigger than ever. But, because companies will need more video content than even they realize, budgets will be tighter. So, drum roll please, what is the trend for 2021?
Lower Expectations On Production!
That sound you just heard was thousands of producers and videographers passing out. For decades, we’ve been taught that we need to spend a lot of time lighting each shot, moving things around, cleaning surfaces, finding the perfect angles, etc. to get the perfect shot. We’ve treated corporate videos like Hollywood movies. And yes, that was what we should have done at that time.
But times have changed. For much of 2020, we were subjected to Zoom videos, phone videos, and generally lower quality production. And guess what? If the content was good, viewers were ok with the lesser production value. Your customers have been bombarded with video in the last year and have been trained to trade production value (to some extent) for great content. To be clear, I’m not saying 2021 is going to be full of shaky, out of focus, poorly lit, and bad audio videos. All I’m saying is viewers were trained quickly to accept lower quality in certain instances.
What Videos can “Sacrifice” Production Quality?
Not all videos are created equally. And 2021 won’t be any different. However, in the past, companies have spent a lot of money producing the following types of videos.
Limited Use Videos - What we mean by this is a video that has a limited shelf-life so to speak. These videos may be an address by the company CEO to its employees. Or it could be a video acknowledging the accomplishments of an employee. As long as the content of the video is exceptional, the visuals in the video are less important than the messaging.
How-to Videos - Let me start here by saying these videos still require decent production value. It’s still recommended you bring in a professional for these if the videos are customer facing. What you don’t need is a 10-person crew for 5 days adjusting lighting for each shot while three producers ponder if we should move the plant in the background 3-inches to the right or left. Think about YouTube and the videos you’ve searched to help you around the house. I recently looked up, “How to change the oil in my Toro snowblower.” Toro has a series of videos that are fantastic. They’re not too long. They’re not overly salesy. And they were a lot easier to follow than the manual. These videos are a great example of professionally produced, useful content that isn’t overly flashy. If you hire the right video production company, your organization should be able to produce a series of How-to videos at a reasonable cost.
Moving forward, companies can expect to get more bang for the buck by negotiating a bit with their production company (and expecting a little less in terms of production value.) Or, it’s ok sometimes to create your own video! Yes, as a professional video producer I say, “It’s ok, in some instances, to produce your own videos.”
What Videos Should Retain “High” Production Value?
The answer to this question is fairly simple. If you are creating a video that is customer-facing and reflects your brand, it’s time to bring in a little more firepower. Again, you still probably don’t need the huge production team, but you’ll want to at least make sure you’re representing your company in a professional manner. What videos should you make sure you’re not short-changing the production?
Company Overview Videos - These videos are what separates your company from the competition. If the footage is poorly lit or even worse, if the audio is terrible, your audience will turn away from you.
Sponsored or Paid Content - Since you are paying to showcase this type of video, you’ll want to make sure it lives up to the standards of your brand.
How-to Videos - Wait? This is listed above too. Yes and this isn’t a mistake. All we’re saying here is don’t grab your iPhone, hand it over to your high-school intern and pray it’s going to work. Invest a little bit more to make sure these videos represent your company but you don’t need to break the bank to create these videos.
Human Resources - When a new employee starts and they sit down for that day of training, you’ll want to make sure they get a good first impression. Skimping on these videos can leave a bad taste in an employee’s mouth on day one.
2021 - Your Video Budget
Expect more for slightly less in 2021. I don’t mean expect to pay half-price but lower expectations for video production is good for companies. It means you can get more for your dollar. If you’re hoping to produce one video, think about 2-4 others you’d like as well. Produce those at the same time and your cost per video goes down tremendously.
So I do declare, 2021 will be the year of Quanity over Quality! Again, I’m only talking about the production value here. If the content stinks no amount of production can help!
Todd Vaske is the president of Agile Video, a video production company in Minneapolis, Minnesota. We love to hear your comments. If you are looking for advice on your next video project, please reach out. If you’re a video production specialist, feel free to connect and talk shop.