5 Social Video Trends: From Going Live to YouTube Shorts
- 1. Going Live
- 2. TikTok
- 3. Video Trends and YouTube Shorts
- 4. Instagram Reels
- 5. Instagram Stories and Instagram Video
A person has 5 senses: sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste. In the digital world, since we can't touch, smell, or taste anything, we're left with 2 senses that content creators skillfully use: sight and hearing. Despite the fact that synergy works best here, visual perception is much more developed in terms of marketing, prompting action with a significantly higher conversion rate from viewer to buyer. This led to the emergence of social video trends, which we will discuss in detail in this article. We'll talk about the advantages and disadvantages of one social media trends video over the others, helping you choose your niche in 2024 with given tips.
1. Going Live
Livestreaming, or going live, has become a cornerstone of social media engagement. Its immediacy and interactivity make it a powerful tool for connecting with audiences in real-time. For viewers, the pros are clear: they can engage directly with creators, ask questions, and feel a sense of authenticity often lacking in pre-recorded content. From an e-commerce standpoint, live streams offer unparalleled opportunities for product demonstrations, Q&A sessions, and flash sales, driving direct engagement and sales conversions.
However, there are cons to consider. Livestreams can be lengthy, potentially testing the patience of some viewers. Additionally, the unpredictable nature of live content means that not every viewer will find it appealing. Moreover, each streamer has its own schedule or doesn’t have such at all, which means, the audience may not time the stream with all its benefits. As a result, we've seen the evolution of short-form content like Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and TikTok, offering bite-sized entertainment that caters to shorter attention spans while still maintaining high engagement levels. As the social media landscape continues to evolve, striking a balance between longer live streams and shorter-form content will be key to keeping audiences engaged.
2. TikTok
TikTok has pioneered short-form video content and taken the concept of video content trends to a new top level. Here, you can become wildly popular even with just 20 followers, thanks to the unique nature of content, audience, and TikTok algorithms, which collectively track viewer engagement with your videos according to popular trends and recommend them to watch, further promoting.
From an e-commerce perspective, you can track trending videos and hashtags, as this is provided by most tracking sources, including third parties. Skillful use of these tools can greatly increase viewer engagement and promote your product in an authentic manner that resonates with the local audience.
Speaking of the local audience, it's important to focus on Generation Z (up to 24 years old), which significantly limits potential if your customer orientation doesn't match this category.
3. Video Trends and YouTube Shorts
After the explosive popularity of TikTok, YouTube, with its traditional long-form content, decided not to fall behind the trends and introduced its version of short videos - YouTube Shorts. Here, the same things happen as on TikTok, but the reach is significantly higher. Additionally, having the ace up its sleeve of long-form content, YouTube allows engaging not only the traditional audience but also fans of dynamic short videos. You can create Shorts directly from your or someone else's main content to highlight the most memorable moments. Therefore, advertising integration has more opportunities since you can insert it into two trends on YouTube at once, catering to the needs of both worlds.
4. Instagram Reels
Originally focused on photo content, Instagram also decided to keep up with the times by introducing Instagram Reels - another type of short video with all its advantages, just like the two previous platforms. However, like YouTube, Instagram has maintained its authenticity, collaborated, and expanded its influence as a social media platform alongside its Stories, Live Streaming, and Video Posting features.
5. Instagram Stories and Instagram Video
Speaking of Stories, it's an excellent tool for announcing upcoming video content, whether it's Live or long-form Video. Instagram allows direct integration of advertising and product placement in the form of clickable links, reducing the number of steps for converting viewers into buyers.
Compared to TikTok, the demographic here is also more extensive, and while on TikTok we are currently limited to Generation Z, Instagram with its 2 billion online users provides a better reach to the audience.
Author
Editor with 15 years of experience and enthusiasm about the digital video industry. Managed video editing processes for projects with billions of views and created flagship video products from idea to successful launch. He reads over 40 books a year and travels extensively.
