In our last post, we outlined some of our predictions for the biggest digital and marketing trends this year. But one of these deserves an essential mention- we can’t ignore the fact that video is going to be one of the most crucial aspects of a brand’s online marketing strategy in 2015.

Currently the second-ranked search engine, YouTube is expected to overtake Google as the biggest this year, meaning a greater number of people will seek and receive information in video format. In 2015, 57% of total Internet users are expected to be more interested in video than any other form of online marketing content. With this positive figure in mind, marketers can look forward to utilising YouTube, Instagram, Vine and Snapchat to greater effect. Especially as the mobile trend continues to skyrocket, videos on these platforms will likely be short and punchy, with frequent postings and targeting capabilities.

And just this week, Facebook published a press release outlining its growth in the video sector. In this, it stated that the number of video posts per person have risen by 75% worldwide, while its users watch a minimum of one video per day. The article went on to reveal that since June of last year, Facebook had achieved in excess of 1 billion video views to its users each day. Shortly after this, Facebook announced its acquisition of QuickFire Networks, a video start-up which enables viewers to watch high definition videos without this affecting bandwidth too greatly. We’ll be interested to see how Facebook puts its new purchase to use, and the company’s wider plans for the video sector.

But Perhaps the most significant new channel for this year will be Twitter’s rumoured native video service, Video Player, which the company announced would be launching early this year. With many referring to it as a rival to YouTube, the new service will allow users to post videos up to 10 minutes in length of unlimited file size, meaning high-res content can be expected. Twitter Video Player will not support YouTube URLs, so all videos will have to be uploaded to and hosted by Twitter. We’re excited to see this new development from the platform, as earlier announcements such as the site’s in-line video feature launched last year, which let users post video clips, hinted at bigger things to come. This, plus the success of Vine, clearly has Twitter thinking about how it can occupy a greater position in the video market.  The new Video Player should hopefully be user-friendly, as creators will eventually be able to record, edit and share their own videos natively, and tweet them to followers, although for now, there’s no external analytics support.

So how can we expect businesses and influencers to get on board with the new service? For some brands, video already occupies a primary role in their marketing strategies, and so these are the ones who will likely adopt Twitter’s feature. Go Pro, PlayStation, Warner Bros. Pictures and Sony, for example, all have YouTube at the heart of their marketing strategy, boasting the most active fan bases- perhaps these are the kinds of companies who will look to utilize Twitter Video Player in conjunction with their existing channels. And for advertisers, the new feature should be lucrative, as the platform will display ads to its viewers- however as of now, only brands partnered with Amplify, Twitter’s advertisement platform, will be able to advertise.

Where do you see video heading in 2015? Do you think we’ll see video content overtaking image-based and written content? We’d love to hear your thoughts, so please tweet to us @PracticeDigital, and share your comments on our Facebook page.