The evolution of video content was a hot topic at this month’s Arival 360 Conference in Orlando.  Arival’s Vice President of Content, Stephen Joyce urged the experiences industry to “get serious about video”, after revealing that Gen Z is now spending 17 hours per week consuming video content on platforms such as TikTok and YouTube.

“Video is literally everywhere,” Joyce said. “It is not just content – we use it to communicate with each other.  We use it every day… and we use it to shop.  Video shopping is already a $370bn industry in Asia.  It’s now come to America via TikTok Live Shopping, where you can shop live in the app.”

Earlier in the show, Arival co-founder and CEO, Douglas Quinby, revealed how TikTok has become the second-most-used tool for18-34-year-olds doing their travel planning.  And recent data from Mastercard is showing a spending shift from things to experiences after January this year.

“It’s time to get serious about video,” warned Joyce.  “Gen Z’ers are spending more of their discretionary income than older generations… And platforms like TikTok are playing a huge role in this; 63% of 18-34-year-olds discovered a new travel brand on TikTok, 76% booked a vacation from a recommendation they saw on the platform, and 46% create travel related content themselves on TikTok.”

Joyce gives the following tips to experiences brands:

1. Get comfortable with video and get the basics right– you don’t need complicated equipment.  Videos are native – we all have the most powerful video device in our pockets.  Just get your lighting and your sound right.  Those are the two big things.
2. Understand your audience– know who they are and whether you are attracting them.  It’s not about who they are, it’s about what they want.
3. DIY vs Influencer– you need to decide whether you do it yourself or work with an influencer.  But if you do choose an influencer, pick them based on their audience.
4. Interact with your audience– make sure you use questions and polls, so that you can get answers and comments back from your audience.
5. Use a link in your bio– every social profile has a spot for a bio link – make sure you use it.  Direct people to your website if it’s mobile friendly, and take advantage of the many Link in Bio platforms there are out there.
6. Use clear calls to action in your video– ask your audience to do something in your video – ask them to like it, follow you, click on your link, sign up for your newsletter, or whatever it is that you want to get out of it.  Make sure you have a call to action so you can track how successful that video actually is.

“We no longer just mindlessly consume content,” Joyce concluded.  “It’s now about interaction.  Video, chat and commerce are all coming together.”