The Future of Instagram (and Social Media Altogether) is VIDEO!

By now you’ve probably heard the message:  “INSTAGRAM IS NO LONGER (JUST) A SQUARE PHOTO-SHARING 📸 APP.” Algorithmic priority has adjusted (and will continue) to favor:

• Creators (i.e., producers of engaging content; influencers)

• Video Content (i.e., short or long runtimes, horizontal and/or vertical aspect ratios)

Put ‘em together and it reads like this:  𝙲𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚜 𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚟𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚘 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚐𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚖𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚣𝚎𝚍.

And it isn’t just Instagram! Case in point, the very reason for Instagram to have made this pronouncement was due to the competitive pressures it felt from TikTok and YouTube — both of which, obviously, run on nothing but video.

My point is:  everything that can be video, will be video!

For example, just look at the impact of video on other popular marketing channels, such as email and blogging/SEO:

• 📧 Video can increase open rates by 19% and click rates by 65% while reducing unsubscribe rates by 26%. (Campaign Monitor)

• 🔎 Video is 50x more likely to get organic ranking than plain text results. (ImpactPlus)

• 🎥 Video is the #1 form of media used in content strategy, overtaking blogs and infographics. (HubSpot)

• 🔗 Posts with videos earn more backlinks and see a 157% boost in search traffic (Search Engine People)

Pure and simple—if video isn’t the centerpiece of ALL your marketing activities—candidly, your marketing is out of focus.