“The world in the future will be ruled by images.” ~Abraham Lincoln

Noah Kagan, co-author of The Rise of Visual Communication, argues that technology and the visual medium go hand in hand for better or worse. With the rapid pace at which technology is evolving and accelerating, this statement rings more true than ever before.

For those who are unfamiliar with Noah Kagan, he has received numerous awards for his expertise in the areas of branding, communications and social science, including the prestigious American Marketing Association (AMA) Communication Award and the prestigious Crain’s Business “40 under 40.” He also serves on the board of the National Association of Black Marketing Analysts.

We sat down with Noah to learn more about the importance of video content and Noah’s company, The Kagin Agency, and what it means for brands and business.

Why is the importance of video content increasing?

Video content is more important than ever. It’s a critical way to get your message in front of your audience. When I first started working with technology companies, clients were using video only sporadically, at best. It wasn’t viewed as an essential marketing tool. But now every brand is using video. There are so many different ways for people to watch it. Most people use apps in their phones and tablets. People get content through social media platforms and through smart TVs. There are now even VR glasses that broadcast video directly into a wearer’s eyes, so people can experience a message through video content in a whole new way. Everything is moving towards video because companies don’t want to miss out on the value of that channel.

What are some of the ways video content is changing right now?

As an industry, video content is undergoing a revolution. With video being so prevalent in any given area, it’s no longer a question of, “Is it necessary for me to create my own video content?” It is very common for every employee at a marketing function to have to put in their own time and effort to create their own content. It used to be that video was considered a luxury; there were a set of people hired to do that chore. Now video and content marketing is a necessity, and marketers have taken it upon themselves to learn it, and it’s become one of the most popular skills. The other change in the industry is how people view video and make a connection with it. We’ve gone from being content or producing, to being content creators. I would still say that video is as important as it has ever been, but the way you tell your story has changed.

How do companies utilize video right now?

There is so much that can be done with video, and the best companies have the most creative people working with video. They don’t just think about putting a video together. They have creative minds who are also experts in this medium. The best in this regard have great technical backgrounds, while also having a great understanding of how to connect to and build relationships with their audiences.

There are still people who don’t know how to do video or how to tell their story using video content. The Kagin agency has been seeing that from our clients lately. But now we also see those same creative thinkers who come to us and say, “I found an amazing video and it got a million followers on Social Media. I’ve never done anything like this before. Can you help me make my own video?” Those kinds of talents are rarer than ever before.

Video content can be used to get you into a lot of things and build awareness. From a brand perspective, video content has been successful for a number of reasons. We’ve got a brand with a product that has some very unique benefits. It has taken a niche market and turned it into an industry standard for many other products. We’ve also had other brands that have seen that product and want to take it to the next level and bring attention to their brand message through their own unique approach. That’s where we have seen our biggest success; people finding a message they want to share and then using video to pull it off.

How do you think video content is making brands more relevant?

When I started working in digital marketing, I saw a lot of great companies who were marketing to the community in a more authentic way. What I liked about the brands that were doing that well was they were making video content and they were using social media to promote it. People would look at the brand and then look at the content that was being published. It was just natural — the media was making the relationship.