The biggest media jump in the pandemic era is in video. According to recent research, watching movies or funny videos was right behind looking for COVID news and listening to music, for greatest digital media increases during the quarantine. Then there is the massive rise from TikTok to around 24 percent of the U.S. population and more than doubling it's U.S. footprint since last October. 

Fret not about the political and legal issues, YouTube, Facebook video, Twitch and other entities also show skyrocketing usage, which means video should be watched. 

The excuses for not doing it aren't terrible:

Don't miss out on video killing the display star. Everyone can try these types: Demos, expert interviews, how-to, explainers, case studies, live. 

And don't over-produce. Just give it some thought, possibly script it, and mitigate lighting and sound issues. Beyond that, do it, test it and learn. 

SOCIAL: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn require a different writing style. MORE ... The next iteration of social as virtual reality? Hmmm. Not so sure. MORE ... It's risky but some brands are taking stands on social issues to their benefit. MORE ... Want a basic understanding on the algorithms in social media? MORE ... "Working with influencers is relatively new for many B2B brands. So there are misperceptions about how it works, lack of documented strategy, and low adoption rates of technology." Lee Odden, CEO and co-founder of TopRank Marketing. MORE ... Where to start? Have a goal, an influencer profile and a reason for influencers to work with you. MORE ... AgoraPulse and MeetEdgar are two Swiss army knife tools for social. MORE

SEARCH: Even if the algorithms and priorities change often, there are some basics to accomplish in SEO. MORE ... How do you intelligently start the keyword research part of SEO? Check out this 5 chapter help center. MORE ... High volume, low competition sounds awesome, but you shouldn't always go there in SEM. MORE

PROGRAMMATIC/DISPLAY: Contextual is the focus for those confused about the cookie-less future. MORE ... Programmatic spending is up 11 percent over last year. MORE ... The Motley Fool still believes in programmatic, specifically The Trade Desk. MORE ... Apple is close to releasing its next software update, which will include the Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA). MORE ... Should Google's ad market be regulated like the stock market? It's not as crazy as it sounds. MORE

MOBILE: If you own an app and expect to offer advertising, get to know the previously ignored SKAdNetwork from Apple. MORE ... The hassle is mostly at the deep, technological level

CONTENT MARKETING: Business has changed over the past few months, so your communication to them should also change. MORE ... Plan and build a multimedia approach for your content. MORE ... It may be uncomfortable, but you have to have to have to sell your high level of expertise. MORE ... Your content isn't just enhanced with images, it exponentially increases its value. MORE ... Here's a new tool to check out to help animate your images. MORE ... Tie your SEO/SEM tightly with content and you will be generating intent-driven content, especially for long-tail key phrases. MORE ... Thought-leadership is build by material that is educational, accurate and targeted. MORE

VIDEO: Connected television has exploded in audience use, which expands its reach. MORE ... Generation X have significantly increased their television and video consumption during the pandemic. MORE ... YouTube interest has increased greatly during the pandemic. MORE ... Use the right equipment, lighting, make eye contact, be patient while learning and test and get better. MORE ... Stuck on what to produce? Demo videos, brand videos, expert interviews, case study videos. Just make them. MORE ... Even Twitch usage has grown substantially during the pandemic. MORE ... Video rightfully made one marketer's trends list. MORE

EMAIL: Inline is the way to go if using style sheets in email. MORE

WEB SITES: Redirects are usually only notable when they don't work. But, here's a little more detail about them. MORE

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: Asset management is a perfect area for AI ... we haven't exactly done a great job of it on our own, right? MORE ... "The greatest and most visible impact will be customer support and the customer experience." author Seth Early. MORE

DATA: Building a strong data infrastructure requires input from sales, marketing and IT and should have a guiding goal. MORE ... Next year could see big moves in the tech stack arena. MORE ... There's a lot that goes into a strong data architecture. Most have the pieces, it's working them together that matters. MORE

ANALYTICS: Is 15 seconds on a page the optimal number? We've pushed for length but I wonder if there is also a "too long to be real engagement" metric that should be considered, as well. MORE

PRIVACY: Here is a great overview of where things stand on the post-cookie/privacy front. MORE

FRAUD: You aren't fully protected from piracy and fraud, and it's a growing problem. MORE

PODCASTING: Despite the pandemic-led decline in digital audio and podcast listening, eMarketer believes podcasts, specifically, will bounce back strongly next year. MORE