<a href="https://www.videosmart.com/">Video marketing</a> started earnestly in 2005 after the launch of YouTube and has skyrocketed since then. The rise of smartphone technology made the creation of quality video much easier, but that is not the only reason why video marketing is so popular among marketers.
According to Statista, online videos make up more than 82% of all consumer internet traffic. Also, new research revealed that viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch a video compared to 10% when they’re reading it in text. However, the icing on the cake is the fact that 64% of consumers purchase a product after watching social videos created by brands.
So, how do you create a successful video marketing campaign to enjoy the same benefits for your business? Continue reading to find out.
<h3>1. Set goals</h3>
You need to set goals at the beginning of every marketing strategy. In this case, think about what you want your videos to accomplish and where you want them to make an impact in the marketing funnel. Three of the most common goals for video marketing are increasing brand awareness, increasing engagement, and lead generation or conversion. These goals touch on every stage of the sales funnel, but at the start of your video marketing journey, you might have to focus first on the stage that is most important to you. If you are a new business, you may need to start with creating videos that attract customers to your business.
<img src="https://8971965.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/8971965/2-Aug-03-2022-03-37-37-00-PM.png" alt="2-Aug-03-2022-03-37-37-00-PM" width="1024" loading="lazy" style="width: 1024px;">
<h3>2. Fing your target audience and figure out where they spend their time</h3>
Now that you’ve set your goals, the next step is to find your target audience. Having a specific audience in mind when creating your videos is crucial so that you get your messaging spot-on, so how do you go about finding your target audience?
The key to this puzzle is developing a buyer persona. A buyer persona is a semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer. You can create one by conducting research, surveys, and interviews with your customers, prospects, and other contacts in your database. Use the information you gather to determine your target audience’s basic demographic information, interests, challenges, and goals.
Once you understand your audience, find out which social media platforms and communication channels they use the most. For example, Instagram has a firm hold on Gen Z and Millennials. The majority of its users are between 25 and 34, closely followed by 18 and 24. However, if you're in the B2B realm, delivering your video via LinkedIn or an email may be better suited. Understand&nbsp;where your target audience is the most engaged.
<img src="https://8971965.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/8971965/3-Aug-03-2022-03-37-37-03-PM.png" alt="3-Aug-03-2022-03-37-37-03-PM" width="1024" loading="lazy" style="width: 1024px;">
<h3>3. Decide on platforms to host and distribute your video</h3>
Besides your target audience, there are a lot of factors that determine which platform you should use to deliver your video. These factors include:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Size and sound limitations</li>
<li aria-level="1">Average view time</li>
<li aria-level="1">Budget</li>
<li aria-level="1">Promotion</li>
<li aria-level="1">Communities</li>
<li aria-level="1">Contact data</li>
</ul>
Trying your hand at social media video marketing? Older platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram support different types of video and have fewer limitations. That said, new platforms such as TikTok make it easier for your content to go viral and favours short-form video. Every social media platform has its benefits and drawbacks, so do your research before deciding which one to use. Here is a guide to help you pick the best video platform for your campaign.
Want to take your video marketing strategy to the next level? Transform your everyday marketing communications with <a href="https://www.videosmart.com/products/personalisedVideo" rel="noopener">personalised video</a>. Combine data with video to deliver engaging, dynamic and personal video messages to your audience. Deliver your personalised video via email, SMS, landing page and more to speak to your audience where it matters most.
<h3>4. Select video format</h3>
When creating social media marketing videos, you must take two things into consideration; your content and the form in which you present it. Here are some of the most popular types of video:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Commercials: They are brief, attention-grabbing videos that highlight your company’s product with beautiful imagery and a clear call to action. The primary goal of commercial videos is to create brand awareness and attract new customers.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Behind-the-scenes: BTS videos give your audience exclusive insight into your business, allowing them to be part of the making of it. They help brands be raw and authentic, which helps build trust and loyalty.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Educational: There are different types of educational videos, including tutorials, guides, instructional videos, and explainer videos. They are a great way to establish your company as an expert in the industry and create awareness. Our <a href="https://www.videosmart.com/products/interactiveVideo" rel="noopener" target="_blank">interactive video</a> solution can be a fantastic way to bring your educational video to life and drive action.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Entertaining: All work with no play makes Jack a dull boy, so it’s important to incorporate light and fun videos into your content plan. While the purpose of these videos is solely to entertain your audience, they can also help to emphasise your brand voice and create a sense of community. Skits, parodies, bloopers, pranks, and animal videos are great examples of entertainment videos. Social media platforms are the channel of your choice for entertaining video content.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Testimonials: These are one of the most impactful marketing videos, especially when your contact is at a crucial stage of their buying journey. They showcase satisfied customers using your product which helps create social proof and build trust among new audiences to get them over the line. These are especially important in the B2B space and even play an important role in influencer marketing.</li>
</ul>
<h3>5. Promote your videos</h3>
Sticking to social media video content? Then once you’ve created and published your video on your chosen platform, you may want to promote it so it reaches more of the right audience. You can optimise the text surrounding your video for SEO, craft alluring thumbnails, upload your videos on multiple platforms to maximise reach and pay for sponsorship if you're trying to grow your audience. Repurpose, cut or resize your video so that it is suitably adapted for each channel or platform, for example, you can upload a trailer video on Instagram stories to help promote your YouTube videos.
Want to promote your personalised video? Opt for a multi-channel approach, via email, SMS, an application or even integrate it into a key customer touchpoint so that it reaches them in the right space at the most opportune time.
<img src="https://8971965.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/8971965/4-Aug-03-2022-03-37-36-87-PM.png" alt="4-Aug-03-2022-03-37-36-87-PM" width="1024" loading="lazy" style="width: 1024px;">
<h3>6. Use analytics to measure the success of your video's performance</h3>
The last step in any marketing strategy is analysing and measuring performance. Views, average watch time, engagement, and video reach are great metrics to measure the performance of your video and see where improvements can be made.
At VideoSmart, we understand the importance in analysing the performance of your video campaign, which is why every single campaign we deliver has a personal dashboard where you can find your qualitative and quantitative results. Every day in marketing is a school day, so why stop at video?
If you need help creating <a href="https://www.videosmart.com/products/personalisedVideo" rel="noopener" target="_blank">personalised </a>and <a href="https://www.videosmart.com/products/interactiveVideo">interactive videos</a> for your business, or, if you would like to send <a href="https://www.videosmart.com/products/videoMessageApp" rel="noopener">1-2-1 video messages</a> to your clients and customers, then get in touch with us today and talk to our team of professionals at hello@videosmart.com.

Online videos make up more than 82% of all consumer internet traffic. So, how do you create a successful video marketing campaign for your business? Find out here.

How to Create a Successful Video Marketing Strategy in 2022

<h2 style="font-size: 18px;">Why is video marketing one of the most successful tools for engaging the 21st-century tech-centric audience?</h2>
In recent years, video has come out on top as the most powerful promotional tool for a business, all whilst marketing has become more and more saturated with new CRM tools, a multitude of channel options, and non-stop messaging through automation services. But what makes video marketing such an effective tool amongst all this noise?
When done right, the marriage of motion, music, and a great script is hard to beat when it comes to making a lasting impression on your audience. If a picture&nbsp;paints a thousand words, then imagine what a video can achieve? The effectiveness of video is behind why <a href="https://www.wyzowl.com/video-marketing-statistics/#stat-1-2">a huge proportion of marketers (92%) continue to value video as an ‘important part’ of their marketing strategy.</a>
At VideoSmart, we have gotten video down to an art, we live and breathe great video marketing. So, 6 years and 10 million minutes later; it’s only fair we share our best practices for you to follow to succeed in video marketing and get your audience hooked.
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<div></div>
</div>
<div>Our best practices to make your video stand out</div>
</div>
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<h3 style="font-size: 16px;">Understand your audience</h3>
Create a plan for your video that targets the viewer directly. How are they influenced? What are their needs? What do they value? All these considerations impact the tone and style of the video. The more you know about your audience the better... failure to do this may lead you to fall at the first crucial hurdle: relevance. A relevant video is an engaging one; great video marketing always provides value to the viewer in one way or another.
The best way to approach creating a video that is relevant to your viewer is to focus on them as an individual. Personalised video is tailored to each viewer; therefore, the consumer knows you are speaking to them on a 1-on-1 level, serving content that they either want or need. From addressing the viewer directly by their name, to provide valuable insights into their consumer behaviour. The value-offering is never questioned by the viewer with a personalised video… Furthermore, to really cement the effectiveness of personalised video, 93% of companies who use personalised video content experience an increase in conversion rates. <a href="https://econsultancy.com/reports/conversion-rate-optimization-report/">(eConsultancy)</a>
<h3>Make an impact in the first few seconds </h3>
The first few seconds are a crucial part of inciting and retaining viewer engagement in a successful marketing videoThe 21st-century audience’s attention span is only getting shorter as we are getting more and more bombarded with social media content, especially short-form video with the sharp rise of TikTok. <a href="https://www.wyzowl.com/human-attention-span/#:~:text=According%20to%20research%2C%20our%20attention%20span%20has%20markedly,on%20a%20task%20or%20object%20for%209%20seconds.">Wyzowl</a> states that “our attention span has markedly decreased in just 15 years. In 2000, it was 12 seconds. Now, 15 years later, it’s shrunk significantly to 8.25 seconds…” putting some truth to the saying ‘attention span of a goldfish’, which at 9 seconds long, now surpasses ours! At VideoSmart we know that personalised video is the ultimate way to overcome the attention span challenge and grab the watcher’s attention – making sure to increase watch time and drive click-throughs through the roof. In fact, <a href="https://www.kernel.video/">personalised videos have an 86% average click-through rate, compared with 34% in generic (non-personalised) videos</a>.
<img src="https://8971965.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/8971965/Untitled%20design-1.png" alt="Untitled design-1" width="663" loading="lazy" style="width: 663px;">
<h3 style="font-size: 16px;">Keep it short</h3>
Short-form content is on the rise, influenced by platforms such as TikTok and the new launch of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/creators/shorts/?gclid=CjwKCAjwk_WVBhBZEiwAUHQCmSBkyH-KROiGNfQb9MZOmqKDnfPvtDk7DZPi8etMiw6qMDoZieH2fxoCBUAQAvD_BwE">YouTube Shorts</a> in 2021 as a bid to keep up with video consumer trends. With our short attention span, streamlining your video is the only way to ensure that your message gets across. Industry analysts predict that in 2022 <a href="https://www.reelnreel.com/short-form-video-statistics-and-marketing/#:~:text=Short-form%20video%20will%20be%20the%20most%20popular%20type,18%20minutes%20worth%20of%20short-form%20videos%20per%20day">short-form video marketing will be more popular than ever, with over 70% of marketers using it</a>.
If you can effectively communicate your key messages in a shorter amount of time, then the general rule is that the audience will find it easier to digest. <a href="https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/video-marketing-statistics#sm.0000h4rgwfoa1fouwqm23llpma557">HubSpot reported</a> this year that “only the top 5% of video retain 77% of viewers on average till the last second.” So, you’d better get your message in when it counts!
<h3 style="font-size: 16px;">Create a good quality product</h3>
It is important to create a professional-looking video using reputable resources. We believe in using industry-leading voiceover artists, video editors, animators, and scriptwriters to create a product of the highest quality. When every moment of your video matters, this can make all the difference for the end viewer; leading to an increase in = view time, social media shares, and action rates. This gets your customer to where you need them to be in their journey with you or your business, effortlessly.
With even the smallest of creators filming great quality video content and recording clear and engaging voiceovers on the likes of TikTok and Instagram just using their phone, marketeers in the B2B and B2C space have no excuse to skimp on quality. Recording a clear, professional voiceover is vital to creating an accessible video, tone is also a great tool for conveying the more subtle messaging of your video, and it goes without saying, that every video should provide subtitles. <a href="https://www.newtontech.net/en/blog/23083-captions-increase-viewership-accessibility-and-reach/#:~:text=The%20survey%20involved%205616%20American,sound%20off%20on%20private%20places.">As many as 69% of people watch videos with the sound off when in public places.</a>
<h3 style="font-size: 16px;">Consider your delivery channels</h3>
Think strategically about the where, how, and why of the delivery of your video. The delivery of your video must be purposeful; it may very well be a key step in your customer’s journey. Will you embed your video into a branded landing page? Post it via social media? Host it on your App? Every step must be intuitive, for example, internally linking back to your core website via your video’s landing page can help promote your products and services, and even boost your website’s traffic. Want to progress them down the sales funnel naturally via your top-quality video? Get the most out of their engagement by using our interactive technology to build clickable call-to-action buttons linking to the next stage in the video itself.
<img src="https://8971965.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/8971965/Untitled%20(663%20%C3%97%20398px).png" alt="Untitled (663 × 398px)" width="663" loading="lazy" style="width: 663px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; display: block;">
<h3 style="font-size: 16px;">Video mobile optimisation</h3>
Always optimise your video and its delivery channel for mobile, in 2021 <a href="https://techjury.net/blog/mobile-vs-desktop-usage/#gref">55% of page views in came from mobile devices.</a> It is important to cater to today’s on-the-go audience. Notably, <a href="https://gs.statcounter.com/platform-market-share/desktop-mobile-tablet">mobile phones have a 59 % worldwide market share vs 38.65% for desktop computers</a>. Failure to make mobile optimisation a priority can detract from the video you have used resources to produce as it can run the risk of not looking professional. This can have a detrimental effect on the time the user spends on video. Use <a href="https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/">Google’s mobile-friendly test</a> to check if your website is optimized for mobile devices.
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At VideoSmart, we can help your business to navigate video marketing in a way that effectively engages your audience and promotes your products and services. Our team of experts and industry-leading marketing technology stack will create the best personalised video product available. Contact us today at <a href="mailto:hello@videosmart.com">hello@videosmart.com</a> for a no-commitment consultation on how to use video to drive results for your business.
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Whilst marketing has become more and more saturated with new CRM tools, a multitude of channel options, and non-stop messaging through automation services. What makes video marketing such an effective tool amongst all this noise?

How a Personalised Video Message Can Boost Brand Engagement | VideoSmart

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The statistics for women in technology are low, as we work towards gender equality in the STEM (Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) field, women remain the minority in the tech industry overall. As it stands, just 19% of the tech workforce are women.

However, at VideoSmart, we stand at a 45% female workforce – believing that closing the gender gap in the technology sector is an important cause. To give you a bit of insight to life in the digital industry and to encourage more women to opt to learn digital skills in order to pursue a tech-based career, we asked a few of our female animators and developers to answer some questions about their experience in the industry:
<h2>Q&amp;A: Being a woman in tech</h2>
<img src="https://8971965.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/8971965/MainImage.png" alt="MainImage" width="760" style="display: block !important; height: 100%; width: 760px; margin-top: 10px; margin: 0 auto;">
Justyna Krzywda, Frontend Developer at VideoSmart
<h3>Introduce yourselves and a little about your role, what is a day in the life for you?</h3>
Justyna Krzywda, Frontend Developer at VideoSmart: “My name is Justyna and I am from Poland. I’m a Frontend Developer at VideoSmart in London. My daily work is mainly about coding, problem-solving, pairing &amp; communicating. That's all-in order to create awesome web applications so that a user can see and interact with them directly.”
Fion Tsang, Junior Animator at VideoSmart: “My name is Fion, a girl from Hong Kong. I have worked at VideoSmart as an animator for around a year and a half now. My main role is to create personalised videos.
Creating video/animation is my main responsibility, however, editing audio and a little bit of coding is also part of it. I start with a cup of hot tea every morning, then I create animation based on the client’s requests. If I get a request for a personalised video, I need to work with the development team because even a small change on a personalised video will affect the data processing on the development side. So good communication is very important between the two teams.”
Sara Costa, Software Developer at VideoSmart: “Hi, my name is Sara, I am a developer and I've been in this field for three and a half years. I work as a software developer at VideoSmart and my day usually starts with a short development brief meeting and then I usually start or continue one of the tasks on the board. I am more into backend development, so my tasks are more focused on those, and I always have a faithful cup of tea keeping me company.”
<h3>What got you interested in technology?</h3>
Justyna: “In my case, another woman encouraged me to try it. My sister is the one who showed me that it’s possible and can be quite fun! That's why during my studies, I started to learn coding in my spare time. I attended some coding meetups and got to know people who motivated me to learn more. So after I finished my studies, I found my first internship where I could start to expand my knowledge. I also wanted to live in London and have the opportunity to work abroad at some point, which fits in well with the technology industry.”
Fion: “From when I was young. The age-group of most new tech start-up companies is very young. (I think around 20-35yrs old, mostly.) Not like in big companies, with old-style company policies who aren’t willing to try new things. Working in a new technology company, you can have more opportunities to try new things - such as AR projection, VR, 3D printing and interactive video etc.”
Sara: “Well, I kind of started through my enjoyment of robotics, and I went to university thinking I would follow that - but slowly changed my path to web development. I would say I have followed the market and the opportunities I had until I got here.”
<img style="display: block !important; height: 100%; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin: 0 auto;" src="https://8971965.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/8971965/Imported_Blog_Media/Image_1-1.jpg" alt="Fion Tsang, Junior Animator at VideoSmart" width="1024" height="768">
Fion Tsang, Junior Animator at VideoSmart
<h3>What have the benefits been of opting for this type of career path?</h3>
Justyna: “I think that one of the biggest benefits of this career path is that you never stop learning and growing. It is an exciting industry because it’s always evolving and changing. There are a lot of opportunities to interact with new tools and learn new skills. Working in the tech industry is also very flexible and creative, you can work from anywhere, across the globe.”
Fion: “You learn a lot every day. I would say if I wasn’t working in (VideoSmart) a tech company, no one would teach me coding in an animator role.”
Sara: “I would say meeting some of the smartest people I know is what pushed me to self-improve, just to follow some of the conversations occasionally.”
<h3>What would you say to other women to encourage them to pursue a career in STEM? (Science Technology Engineering &amp; Maths)</h3>
Justyna: “I think the best piece of advice I can give to other women is to never be afraid to share your dreams and talk about what you wish to create and see in the world. It's not easy because sometimes we’re afraid that it might not work out, but if you never try, you will never know. It's challenging but, definitely worth it! So be brave, and never be afraid to ask for help. If not now, when? If not you, who?”
Fion: “Please do not be affected by the gender stereotype. Do what you want to do. Study what you’re interested in. The ratio of women and men in STEM is getting better in the 21st Century.”
Sara: “These are the best fields if you like logic problem solving, continuous learning and lots of “googling”.”
<h3>What is the biggest misconception about careers in technology?</h3>
Justyna: “Very often social media shows programmers working alone, in the dark, with headphones, while they’re writing code. This stereotype is absolutely outdated! The engineers at my company work in a team, discussing how to solve problems and create new product features. They try and change things, they pair programs, they work together to come up with great solutions, and they teach each other. No one on the team cares about whether the engineer is male or female. They just want to work with other people who have ideas and are fun to work with.”
Fion: “That you need to be very smart to join a technology company. To be honest, my school grades were not very good when I was little. I am more interested in watching cartoons rather than reading books. But that’s why I became an animator. So, you don’t need to be incredibly smart to join the tech industry. Because if you are doing something that you enjoy, you will get good result.”
Sara: “That you will do the same thing for the rest of your career, I had this belief before I started. It’s not true at all, unless of course - you want to. Usually, companies are accommodating to your preferences if you tell them and put the effort in, and there are different career paths to take where you choose.”
<img style="display: block !important; height: 100%; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin: 0 auto;" src="https://8971965.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/8971965/Imported_Blog_Media/Image_2-1.jpg" alt="The office, VideoSmart Ltd" width="1024" height="768">
The office, VideoSmart Ltd
<h3>In your opinion, what kind of things can other businesses and educational institutions do to better educate women about the opportunities a career in technology can bring and to encourage them to opt to learn digital skills?</h3>
Justyna: “A good place to start with can be hiring more females in the technology industry, trying to improve diversity among the tech team. That can also serve as a great example for other companies. Secondly, companies can also encourage women to attend their webinars and speaking at conferences.
This type of support can help increase awareness. Women can show their credibility whilst illustrating to others how they've grown in their field.”
Fion: “I think big companies need to improve the ratio between men and women in tech departments. The more equal the ratio is, the more the stereotypes will start to disappear. Especially for countries with more gender inequality.”
Sara: “That’s a hard one. I would say starting with middle-schoolers by giving them opportunities to interact with tech-related activities, whether that be at a robotics club or trying gaming development. At these ages, you don’t yet differentiate between what society deems as a woman’s/man’s job and you’re less afraid to try new things.”
<h3>Are you a tech enthusiast outside of the workplace? Do you have any tech-related hobbies others should get into?</h3>
Justyna: “Yes! Mostly at the beginning of my career when I attended many coding meetups with other developers. These were kind of tech workshops where other experienced developers came to teach the juniors. This can be really helpful, especially if you don't know anyone who can help you get started.
Plus, it was always a very fun experience, with good food and the opportunity to meet new people in the tech industry!”
Fion: “I don’t have tech-related hobbies. I would say it’s good to have other types of hobbies. Because we already work in tech during the week, it’s good to do something else during the weekend.”
Sara: “I wouldn’t consider myself one. I enjoy the talks I usually have with my friends who are in the field on the latest technologies each of us is using, but those usually organically happen during dinners. I would describe myself more as a photography newbie or a book-lover outside of the workplace.”
<img style="display: block !important; height: 100%; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin: 0 auto;" src="https://8971965.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/8971965/Imported_Blog_Media/Image_3-1.jpg" alt="The team, VideoSmart Ltd" width="1024" height="768">
The team, VideoSmart Ltd
<h3>Find out more about STEM careers and closing the gender gap…</h3>
Want to find out more about the women in tech movement, find job opportunities and join a network of women pursuing STEM careers? Then check out the <a href="https://www.womenintech.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">womenintech </a>website. To learn more about statistics on closing the gender gap in the tech industry, all information was sourced from <a href="https://www.pwc.co.uk/women-in-technology/women-in-tech-report.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">PWC’s ‘Women in Tech Report’</a>.
To find out more about VideoSmart and our company culture, check out our <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/videosmart" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LinkedIn</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/videosmartldn/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram </a>or <a href="https://twitter.com/VideoSmartLdn" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter </a>(you may even see a job opportunity or two pop up).
For communications strategy and delivery, and to enhance your business offering using <a href="https://www.videosmart.com/solutions/personalisedvideo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">personalised </a>or <a href="https://www.videosmart.com/solutions/interactivevideo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interactive video</a>, contact us at hello@videosmart.com.

At VideoSmart, we stand at a 45% female workforce – believing that closing the gender gap in the technology sector is an important cause. To give you a bit of insight to life in the digital industry and to encourage more women to opt to learn digital skills in order to pursue a tech-based career, we asked a few of our female animators and developers to answer some questions about their experience in the industry:

Being a Woman in Tech: A Behind the Scenes Interview at VideoSmart

Have you ever sat down in front of a camera, and filmed a video CV? Well, that is exactly what TikTok is asking you to do.

In recent news, <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2021/07/07/tiktok-resumes-job-applications/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TikTok announced the debut of its latest program</a>: #TikTokResumes. This latest project encourages TikTok users to submit a video resume on the platform using this hashtag to get noticed by the employers participating in the program, including Target, Chipotle, Shopify, and more.
<img style="display: block !important; height: 100%; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin: 0 auto;" src="https://8971965.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/8971965/Imported_Blog_Media/Image_2-2.jpg" alt="Person with a phone in their hand with Tiktok app open" width="1024" height="768">
They can also upload these video resumes and search for various opportunities on <a href="https://tiktokresumes.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tiktokresumes.com</a>. Users are encouraged to be as creative as possible in displaying their skill sets via video. So, with the rise in the popularity of video content, are video resumes the natural next step from traditional recruitment?
<h2>Why video?</h2>
From the total and sudden social media domination of the short-form video platform TikTok, to video calling applications now becoming a constant in the workplace. Video hasn’t just grown in popularity, it has become an absolute necessity to go about our day-to-day lives.
Even longstanding social media platforms such as Instagram are looking at new ways to incorporate more video into their offering. Instagram head recently shared a video via Twitter explaining that the social media app will be focusing on four key areas in future, most notably: video.
He says:&nbsp;“Video is driving an immense amount of growth online for all the major platforms right now… We’re no longer a photo-sharing app…TikTok is huge, YouTube is even bigger… We’re also going to be experimenting with how do we embrace video more broadly…mobile-first video.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Changes are coming to video on Instagram 📺 At Instagram we’re always trying to build new features that help you get the most out of your experience. Right now we’re focused on four key areas: Creators, Video, Shopping and Messaging. <a href="https://t.co/ezFp4hfDpf">pic.twitter.com/ezFp4hfDpf</a>
— Adam Mosseri 😷 (@mosseri) <a href="https://twitter.com/mosseri/status/1410297743285829632?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 30, 2021</a></blockquote>
So, with higher engagement, and an increased sense of authenticity – video content wins. Why not implement it into your job search (or recruitment strategy) also?
<h2>What are the statistics?</h2>
First and foremost – video is the most engaging form of media there is. In fact, in 2020 video stayed on top as the #1 content-type two years in a row. (<a href="https://www.hubspot.com/state-of-marketing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HubSpot</a>)
Furthermore, by 2022, online videos will make up more than 82% of all consumer internet traffic — 15 times higher than it was in 2017. (<a href="https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/collateral/executive-perspectives/annual-internet-report/white-paper-c11-741490.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cisco</a>)
And lastly, viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video, compared to just 10% when reading it in text. (<a href="https://www.insivia.com/50-must-know-stats-about-video-animation-marketing-2013/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Insivia</a>) So perhaps TikTok is onto something with their new video resume project…
<img style="display: block !important; height: 100%; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin: 0 auto;" src="https://8971965.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/8971965/Imported_Blog_Media/Image_3-2.jpg" alt="Illustration of people communicating" width="1024" height="768">
<h2>How do I film a video resume?</h2>
It can be a daunting task to film yourself for a video CV. Whether you’re camera-shy or a TikTok pro – transforming a paper CV into a video showcase takes more thought and preparation than you might anticipate.
Thankfully, at VideoSmart we are experts not just in video marketing – but video messaging also, thanks to our in-house built <a href="https://demo.videosmart.com/121demo/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">1-2-1 video messaging portal</a>. As both creators and frequent users of the portal – we know exactly how to stand out from the crowd via video:
<ol>
<li>Revamp your CV. It goes without saying that your 600-word CV won’t translate all that well off the bat from paper to video. So go through it section by section, and pick out those key areas you want to showcase to your future employer.</li>
<li>Write a script(-ish). No one has ever sounded natural reading out a script on camera. And natural = confident. Rather than writing a full script, create a bullet-point list of what you need to cover in your video, in order. That way you won’t get flustered once that camera presses record.</li>
<li>Find a well-lit, quiet area to film. All that background noise can be a distraction both to yourself and the recipients of your video. And unless you’re an adobe pro editor like our team, you should pre-emptively make sure that your recording is as clean and easy to edit as possible.</li>
<li>Keep it under 2 minutes long. All the research points to the sweet spot for engagement being under 2 minutes. With engagement rates dropping from 70% to 50% once you pass that 2-minute point. (<a href="https://wistia.com/learn/marketing/optimal-video-length" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wistia</a>)</li>
<li>Be your best self. Most importantly, remember that this video is showcasing you! So don’t let humility stop you from being a little self-promotional. And smile! Fundamentally, this is a sales video – and you are the commodity. Every salesperson will know the <a href="https://blog.thecenterforsalesstrategy.com/body-language-tactics-for-the-sales-pro" target="_blank" rel="noopener">7-38-55 rule</a>. This means that 55% of your sales message is nonverbal (visual) communication; so pay attention to your body language – it is how you are communicating, after all. The 38% is tone of voice (so be positive), and the 7% is the actual words you are delivering.</li>
</ol>
<img style="display: block !important; height: 100%; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin: 0 auto;" src="https://8971965.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/8971965/Imported_Blog_Media/Image_4-2.jpg" alt="Man and a woman shaking hands." width="1024" height="768">
<h2>How do I recruit through video?</h2>
So, what about video recruitment? Should recruitment agencies be considering reaching out to prospects via video? Or incorporating video into their interview process for candidates? Definitely.
In fact, ‘recruitment agencies are already reporting 800% more engagement with job ads that have video embedded’. (<a href="https://blog.firefishsoftware.com/recruitment-video-stats" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Firefish</a>)
Video is a great way to attract candidates for a job, in under two minutes you can display to a prospect the information that usually would have taken them a considerable amount of research &amp; reading to discover, such as company culture, job perks and job requirements.
Due to the high engagement rate of video, it’s also a great way of filtering out those applicants who apply without having read the job spec. When your applicants are actually engaged with the job specification via a video, they will know exactly what is required of them before they decide whether to apply.
You could even include a little reference for them to include in their application, indicating that they watched your video in full. No more generic emails en masse from applicants who aren’t right for the role.
Lastly, remember when creating your video job ad that 82% of candidates now search for jobs on mobile (<a href="https://blog.firefishsoftware.com/recruitment-video-stats" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Firefish</a>) – so make sure you are optimising everything to be mobile-friendly. Job postings with video have a 34% greater application rate than postings without videos (<a href="http://hiring.careerbuilder.co.uk/hubfs/Resources/Downloads/Whitepaper_-_Peak_posting_performance.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Career Builder</a>) – so video is a great way of attracting more, better-informed candidates for your role.
So, from TikTok video resumes – to video CV’s and using video to attract potential job candidates; video is the future of recruitment. Long-gone are wordy, jargon-filled paper CV’s – making room for a digital-first approach to the jobs sector. For more information on how our <a href="https://www.videosmart.com/solutions/videomessaging" target="_blank" rel="noopener">121-video messaging portal</a>&nbsp;can benefit your business – contact us today at <a href="mailto:hello@videosmart.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hello@videosmart.com</a>

In recent news, TikTok announced the debut of its latest program: #TikTokResumes. This latest project encourages TikTok users to submit a video resume on the platform using this hashtag to get noticed by the employers participating in the program, including Target, Chipotle, Shopify, and more.

From TikTok to job interview: Is video the future of recruitment?

Whether you like it or not, our fashion choices are informed by countless years of trends, industry research, and marketing. As The Devil Wears Prada’s Miranda Priestly infamously once, “blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs and it’s sort of comical how you think that you’ve made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact, you’re wearing the sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room from a pile of stuff.”

The fashion world is a multi-billion-dollar industry and is not to be underestimated. By its very nature, it is an industry that thrives on change and transformation; so it is unsurprising to witness how it has taken on the next challenge faced by all businesses and companies in the most recent years: technology.
On average, <a href="https://www.consultancy.uk/news/26372/covid-19-has-accelerated-digital-transformation-by-seven-years?utm_content=149438472&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=linkedin&amp;hss_channel=lcp-123746" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Covid-19 has pushed digital transformation by seven years</a>. So, if it was not apparent to you before, it is unmistakable now: most, if not all industries must make their product or service adaptable to the online world. The key to this? Getting ahead of the trend. And that is exactly what fashion is doing.
From brands allowing you to virtually try-on their products, to a surge in in-app shopping, to the luxury sector investing in expanding their eCommerce. Fashion is taking on digital transformation. Here are the biggest steps in technological innovation in the fashion industry:
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<h2>Augmented Reality: Virtual Try-On Tech</h2>
Long gone are the days of swatching a shade of eyeshadow on your hand or trying a pair of jeans on in the fitting rooms. Although the Covid-19 pandemic, alongside health and safety restrictions brought on by this has restricted our ability to do so in more recent times – the ability to virtually try on a cosmetic product or item of clothing is moreover to enable consumers to make these purchasing decisions online, from the comfort of their own homes – without ever physically touching the product. Hopefully, the days of ordering the wrong foundation shade are long-gone.
A great number of big-name brands have jumped on board with the virtual try-on feature. L’Oreal has its <a href="https://www.loreal-paris.co.uk/virtual-try-on" target="_blank" rel="noopener">‘Tap &amp; Try’</a> feature, enabling users to try a variety of products virtually, from hair dyes to makeup, all through an uploaded selfie or live through your camera. L’Oreal isn’t the only one to take on this AR technology, with Garnier, Mac, and Maybelline all taking on virtual try-on tech, just to name a few.
At the very forefront, <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2020/12/17/google-now-lets-you-virtually-try-on-makeup-using-ar-shop-from-influencer-videos/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Google has launched its version of virtual try-on of cosmetics</a>, powered by AR by seamlessly allowing you to try on any of these brands within its Google Search using your front camera. Google partnered with both ModiFace and Perfect Corp to create this feature. This comes after YouTube launched its AR <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2019/08/15/youtubes-new-ar-feature-lets-you-virtually-try-on-makeup-while-watching-videos/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">‘Beauty Try-On’</a> feature within the YouTube app, allowing the platform to make the most of the popularity of makeup tutorial videos, where viewers can virtually try-on products being featured in the beauty guru's video themselves.
Virtual Try-On isn’t exclusive to the beauty industry, however. With Amazon developing its own image-based AR clothing try-on <a href="https://venturebeat.com/2020/06/05/amazons-new-ai-technique-lets-users-virtually-try-on-outfits/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Outfit-Viton</a>, and big brands like Adidas and Tommy Hilfiger partnering with augmented reality technology company <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/07/09/virtual-try-ons-are-replacing-fitting-rooms-during-pandemic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Zeekit to allow virtual trying-on of their products</a>.
<img style="display: block !important; height: 100%; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin: 0 auto;" src="https://8971965.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/8971965/Imported_Blog_Media/Image_3.jpg" alt="Person drawing clothes with a pencil" width="1024" height="768">
<h2>Fashion-meets-gaming and the rise of the digital-only product</h2>
The world of virtual clothing and accessories does not begin and end with augmented reality. The virtual experience is a fast-growing industry, with virtual fashion products targeting a large chunk of the potential revenue.
<h3>An unlikely match? Gaming and fashion</h3>
With <a href="https://econsultancy.com/why-luxury-fashion-brands-using-gaming-drive-revenue-marketing-opportunities/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">90% of Gen-Z</a> reported to be gamers, and with a purchasing power of an estimated <a href="https://econsultancy.com/why-luxury-fashion-brands-using-gaming-drive-revenue-marketing-opportunities/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$44 billion</a> – it’s a match made in heaven.
Fashion has made its subtle cross-over into gaming and esports with the rise of a new product: designer ‘skins’ for gaming avatars. Branding power has taken its next step. Industry great and designer for both Off-White and Louis Vuitton Virgil Abloh recognises the potential in this crossover, reporting that his <a href="https://www.voguebusiness.com/technology/virgil-abloh-on-the-future-of-fashion-and-gaming-my-brain-is-turned-on" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“brain is turned on” onto the future of fashion and gaming.</a>
Louis Vuitton has already taken several steps into the world of gaming and the virtual experience. In 2019 the fashion powerhouse partnered with esports brand Riot Games’ League of Legends to create a capsule collection titled <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/louis-vuitton-clothing-league-of-legends-2019-12?r=US&amp;IR=T#this-look-with-league-of-legends-character-qiyana-printed-on-a-t-shirt-has-a-more-clear-connection-to-the-game-the-tee-jogging-pants-hoodie-sneakers-and-watch-make-this-look-8890-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LVxLOL</a> to be made available in both real life and on the gaming platform in the form of digital skins. Items that would normally cost within the thousands were made available digitally for around $10.
The fashion brand took another type of step into the gaming world with the launch of their retro-style video game <a href="https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/virgil-abloh-louis-vuitton-endless-runner/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">‘Endless Runner’</a> inspired by Abloh’s Men’s Fall-Winter 2019 show for the brand.
Another gaming-fashion collaboration that has made waves of impact across the fashion industry, is Nintendo’s ‘social simulation’ game, Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The feature of this game that is so valuable to the fashion world? Users’ ability to extensively customise their characters’ clothing. Many brands have taken advantage of this, such as <a href="https://www.nylon.com/fashion/fashion-gaming-crossover-in-2020" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marc Jacobs and Valentino recreating their iconic looks within the game as a kind of social marketing</a>.
A big player in the virtual ‘skins’ selling game is Fortnite, most notably during their April 2020 Travis Scott <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/games/2020/apr/24/travis-scott-concert-fortnite-more-than-12m-players-watch" target="_blank" rel="noopener">‘Astronomical’ concert</a>, where the rapper put on a live performance on the gaming platform, watched by more than 12 million players. The virtual concert put out merchandise in the form of ‘skins’ made available for players to buy as memorabilia for the online concert.
Still not sure of the potential of this gaming-fashion crossover? <a href="https://www.nylon.com/fashion/fashion-gaming-crossover-in-2020" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to WGSN</a>, these virtual ‘skins’ accounted for 80% of a massive $120 billion spent on digital gaming in 2019.
The rise of the digital product isn’t constricted to the world of gaming. With L’Oreal leading the way in digital beauty, the cosmetic powerhouse launched a line of <a href="https://www.loreal-paris.co.uk/signature-faces?utm_source=Membership%3A+Technology+Edit+%28paid%29&amp;utm_campaign=056798d166-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_11_05_04_42&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=0_80cb403190-056798d166-" target="_blank" rel="noopener">virtual-only makeup products</a> in 2020. Not feeling like putting on a full face of makeup for that Zoom meeting? Well, L’Oreal has you covered.
<img style="display: block !important; height: 100%; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin: 0 auto;" src="https://8971965.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/8971965/Imported_Blog_Media/Image_1.jpg" alt="Shopping for clothes on the mobile phone" width="1024" height="768">
<h2>In-App Shopping, E-Commerce, and Social Media Marketing</h2>
If you haven’t noticed it already, almost all of your social media platforms have one thing in common: they want you to buy. 2020 saw the rise of social media as an official shopping destination. Over the course of the year, we saw the launch of the <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2020/12/10/instagram-launches-shopping-in-reels-its-tiktok-rival/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram shopping feature</a>, <a href="https://www.videosmart.com/blog/post/youtube-shopping-destination-video-next-major-shopping-platform" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shoppable videos via YouTube</a>, and <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2020/10/27/tiktok-invests-in-social-commerce-via-new-shopify-partnership/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TikTok’s partnership with Shopify</a>.
Overall, fashion went online. Last year, we saw a $52 billion jump in eCommerce, which accounts for an estimated <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkoetsier/2020/06/12/covid-19-accelerated-e-commerce-growth-4-to-6-years/?sh=124268e4600f" target="_blank" rel="noopener">acceleration of 4 to 6 years</a>. High-end fashion houses are seeing the necessity of becoming part of this growth. <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/72351461-2938-431f-bc1e-35d18c327a72" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gucci is reported to be partnering with eCommerce giant Alibaba</a> in creating two online stores in China, counting on a boost in luxury sales post-Covid.
Lastly, fashion is being revolutionised by social media marketing. Miranda Priestly’s quote from the 2006 film may appear a little outdated when placed in today’s influencer and ‘creator’-heavy world in terms of fashion trends.
No longer are your fashion aesthetic choices solely designed by ‘the people in this room’ to which she refers, but are increasingly motivated by social media creators.
This is especially true for Gen Z, where social media puts the power of trends and virality in the user's hands – are we now dictating the popularity of a style or an aesthetic on our own terms? <a href="https://www.voguebusiness.com/fashion/from-tiktok-to-depop-fashions-new-trend-funnel?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=linkedin.company&amp;utm_campaign=postfity&amp;utm_content=postfityc194a" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vogue Business</a> reports that “the trend funnel moved from runway to rack, with some help from popular culture along the way” in 2020. They account this to the success of TikTok, where style and niche aesthetic videos gain great traction.
For example, the TikTok aesthetic ‘cottagecore’ has had over 4.6 billion views on the platform, which translated into an increase of 900% in it being searched on the Gen Z focused shopping app Depop (Gen Z accounts for 90% of its users).
Social media has made way for consumer-led trends in fashion. Slow to the jump, luxury brands are now seeing the capabilities of this, with 66% of luxury brands now using influencer marketing to advertise. With an average of businesses making $6.50 on each dollar spent on influencers, it's easy to see why.
Unequivocally, fashion is embracing the technological revolution and taking on the transformation from fashion houses solely dictating trends to the consumer via social media platforms.
With great household brands like L’Oreal taking on innovations to stay ahead of the tech-curve and their Global Chief Digital Officer Lubomira Rochet stating that <a href="https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/intl/en-cee/future-of-marketing/digital-transformation/how-loreal-preparing-next-evolution-digital-marketing/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“Digital is the future of beauty”</a> it is evident that brands are recognising that these changes are here to stay.
Their core value “saisir ce qui commence” or “seize what’s starting”, is what motivated them to go ‘all in on digital’ since 2010 despite being founded in 1909. This meant that ‘digital constituted <a href="https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/intl/en-cee/future-of-marketing/digital-transformation/how-loreal-preparing-next-evolution-digital-marketing/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">38% of L’Oréal’s overall media spend</a> in 2017.’ If a century-old company can embrace the digital revolution, what excuse can any brand or business find to resist this change?
However, clearly not all brands are taking digital transformation in their stride. Last years’ newspapers were dominated by an ever-growing list of fashion retailers who suffered the impact of Covid-19 and the high street shut-down.
The biggest story by far was Arcadia Group’s collapse into administration during November of last year. The company owned Topshop, whose failure to change with the times has been underpinned by the likes of ASOS, PrettyLittleThing, and Boohoo, all comparable to Topshop, all with a seismic difference in online presence to the retailer.
Can the company’s failure be attributed to its lack of digitalisation and shift to online? Quite possibly. Many will be quick to blame its collapse solely on the restrictions brought on by the pandemic, however, it is arguable that Covid-19 and the pressure it put on high-street retailers only sped-up this process.
High-street retailers who have gone into administration over the last year, such as Topshop, Peacocks, and Bonmarché have been lagging in digital progress for years – where rivals such as Zara have been “investing in digital solutions in recent years - such as <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-54959881" target="_blank" rel="noopener">giving consumers online access to stock levels in-store</a>.”
Covid-19 was simply a catalyst for the breakdown of retailers who did not embrace the digital change several years ago.
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From brands allowing you to virtually try-on their products, to a surge in in-app shopping, to the luxury sector investing in expanding their eCommerce. Fashion is taking on digital transformation. Here are the biggest steps in technological innovation in the fashion industry:

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