The rise of content creators in Nigeria has reached an all-time high. These content producers have done the following for themselves: one, they have made names and become celebrities through their content; two, it is one of the easiest ways into Nollywood and other areas of the creative sector; and three, they have become micro-influencers engaged by brands to get their products to the various stakeholders.

Cisco has postulated that by 2022, online videos will account for more than 82% of all consumer internet traffic. More and more of this traffic is coming from social video platforms where video continues to evolve as a storytelling medium for brands, publishers, friends and families.

A platform like YouTube, which was born in 2005, has grown significantly. Currently, there are about 2 billion logged-in users each month. However, we need to know that it is possible to watch YouTube content without ever creating an account, so this “logged-in monthly users” likely underreports the actual number.

Also, Facebook videos attract 500 million unique viewers every day, and 82% of Twitter users watch video content.

As we can see today, other social media platforms such as Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat, TikTok, Video, and WeChat have integrated video into their platforms to engage various audiences. This means that good video content is not about creating a single piece of content for distribution on a single channel. Rather, the most effective video content will have the ability to live in many different places in multiple formats.

We can also see that newsrooms are engaging technical creatives and editors; for instance, Nigerian media houses like Punch, The Guardian, Vanguard, Nigerian Tribune, and others have started producing videos for news readers.

It is very important to note that “videos are remarkably versatile media that can be used to tell stories, share ideas and present information at all levels of complexity,” Dave Jackel, Partner, Shave Media.

Visual content does not need to be shiny, flashy, spiffy, or costly. People will take time to watch anything as long as it is packed with useful information. Interestingly, this valuable tool helps to convey the appropriate information to each customer segment.

Videos allow one to show it, rather than just saying it. The medium is particularly well-suited for conveying emotions, and it can do so in a matter of seconds. Online video content is how people will continue to consume news in the future.

As you build your personal and organisational content, you need to seize the opportunity to pitch your videos as part of your content distribution mix, as they will effectively engage your audience and easily prompt customers to take action.