The UAE and wider region will consume 80 percent of its online content in video format by 2020, and businesses need to be ready to meet this demand, cautioned ITP Live Conference panel speaker, Sean Graham, Managing Director of US-headquartered CreatorUp.
During the panel discussion themed ‘Everyone is a Film-Maker,’ he pointed out that 110 million Indians now have access to unlimited bandwidth and data, and even those who do not read or speak other languages still watch video.
More visual content is being created because consumer demand is driving this, Graham told the audience. “For brands and businesses however, instead of creating traditional short form ads, the huge gravitational shift is going to be ‘visual content’ – marketers need to be producing interactive content if they want to attract the attention of their target audiences and engage with them,” he continued.
Fellow panellist and herself a social influencer, Alex Hirschi advised brands wishing to create stronger and more interactive relationships with their customers.
“Find out what is trending – an easy way to do this is by using Google Trends. Then try to integrate your brand with the topics people are talking about – Halloween is just one example. As well as integrating your brand with trending topics, companies also need to be original – you have to think about trends and originality together in order to get onto the radar and get closer to your customer,” she said.
Another challenge for all businesses is capturing customer attention in an almost instantaneous way using video. Using the analogy of traditional TV adverts, he pointed out that in the pre-social media days, advertisers could build up to a message. When asked by an audience member if the panellists found it a challenge to catch consumer attention within the first 60 seconds of a video, the consensus of opinion from the panel was ’no – you need to catch their attention within three seconds.’
The panel of social media experts, which also comprised Omar Butti, Executive Director of Innovation at The Dubai Film and TV Commission and Khaled Zaatarah, Founder and CEO of 360VUZ, agreed that marketing in the form of ongoing video content is the way that brands can stay visible and engaged and that their storytelling needs to be condensed.
“We don’t just make content, we are engaged in an ongoing communication process,” concluded Graham.
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