In today’s digital landscape, video has become a leading language of online engagement. According to Wyzowl’s 2024 report, 89% of consumers say they want to see more video content from brands, suggesting that businesses may need to evolve to stay competitive. Whether through social media, landing pages, or email, video has become an increasingly essential pillar of modern outreach.

The Shift to Video-Centric Engagement

How audiences consume information has shifted dramatically. Attention spans are shorter, and expectations for fast, engaging content appear higher than ever. Short-form videos, particularly those under two minutes, are often considered the most effective format, preferred by 73% of consumers.

But it’s not just about consumption—it’s about influence. Research indicates that 82% of people report having been convinced to purchase a product or service after watching a video. In the B2B world, where decision-making cycles are longer, the ability of a short, well-crafted video to convey value quickly can be more important than ever.

Why Traditional Outreach Isn’t Cutting It

For years, marketers leaned heavily on text-heavy emails, static images, and templated outreach. While these methods still have a place, their impact seems to be declining. Consumers are overwhelmed with bland, impersonal messages, making it easy to tune out. Some studies have shown that attention spans have dropped to eight seconds, shrinking nearly 25% in just a few years.

People are increasingly easily distracted:

• An office worker checks their email inbox 30 times every hour.
• The average user picks up their phone more than 1,500 times a week, spending an average of 3 hours and 16 minutes a day on it.
• Internet users spend six hours and 48 minutes per week watching online videos.
• Users will read at most 28% of the words during an average webpage visit.
• Users often leave webpages in just 10-20 seconds, making the average page visit time less than a minute.

In his article “The End of Linear Storytelling,” Ethan McCarty explains, “In our world of digital experiences, linear narratives no longer bring in the crowds, much less compel them to action. We have to rethink the value we place on stories and embrace new areas of opportunity for sharing and engaging through experiences.” Creating engaging, authoritative, and thought-provoking content can be critical for readers to feel a deeper connection.

Videos tend to be effective in driving engagement and creating memorable experiences. Studies suggest that viewers retain 95% of a message when played in a video, compared to 10% when read in text. Additionally, video has shown potential as a conversion engine. WebFX reports that including a video on a landing page may boost conversions by up to 80%, representing a significant return for a relatively small change in format.

Enter Interactive and Personalized Video

So, how do brands adapt to this new reality without seeming gimmicky or intrusive? The answer often lies in personalization and interactivity, two pillars that have gone from “nice-to-have” to increasingly essential.

Platforms like Blings aim to address this need. The platform specializes in data-driven video personalization at scale, allowing companies to produce interactive videos tailored to the user’s profile, behavior, and preferences. The potential benefits include higher engagement, more relevance, and an experience that feels like a one-on-one conversation rather than a broadcast.

Imagine a marketing video that changes its messaging, visuals, and even call-to-action based on who’s watching. Whether a first-time buyer, returning customer, or a high-value lead—that’s the kind of flexibility Blings strives to offer.

And it’s not just about superficial personalization like inserting a first name. Blings focuses on delivering contextual relevance. A video can dynamically reflect a user’s past behavior, geolocation, or buying history, turning passive content into an active, personalized conversation.

Blings also offers seamless integration with CRMs, marketing automation tools, and analytics platforms, making it a potentially useful solution for teams looking to add intelligence to their outreach without a massive technical lift. Because these videos are rendered on the fly, there’s no need to create hundreds of individual files.

What the Future Looks Like

Customer outreach is increasingly no longer about who can shout the loudest, but who can listen best and respond with precision and personality. With increasing privacy regulations and AI-driven content saturation, the brands that are likely to stand out are those that humanize their message using technology.

Personalized and interactive videos can help create a bridge between data and emotion. Platforms like Blings aim to enable companies to walk that bridge without requiring a huge budget or data science team.

The rules of customer outreach have changed. Static content is becoming less dominant, and personalization is increasingly expected. Video isn’t just a tool; it’s often the channel. To keep up with customers who want to engage, businesses may need to embrace formats that are not only visual but adaptable, authentic, and personal.

Because in a world that watches before it reads, your next customer could just start with “play.”

Published by Jeremy S.