Video has become an increasingly popular marketing channel for businesses. According to some studies, between 45 percent and 55 percent of businesses now use video to promote their products, services and brand. It’s a deeper and more meaningful way to present content and connect with your target audience.
But video has evolved over the past few years, and it’s important for business owners to understand these changes. So, if you’re thinking about using video as part of your business’s marketing strategy, check out our State of Video report below.
Video Usage Stats
To better understand the importance of video in business marketing, look no further than these statistics.
YouTube, the world’s most popular video sharing platform, currently boasts more than 1.3 billion active users. In terms of popularity, it’s considered to be the second largest search engine, only behind its parent owner, Google. Furthermore, these users watch approximately five billion videos every day. — and that’s only a single video platform. There are dozens of other video hosting and sharing platforms from which to choose.
Statistics show that 78 percent of people watch online videos every week, and 55 percent watch videos every day. A survey conducted by HubSpot in 2016 also found that 43 percent of consumers want to see more video content.
Some business owners wrongfully assume that viewers will stop watching their videos after just a few seconds, so they refrain from using this marketing channel. The truth, however, is that 65 percent of viewers watch at least three-fourths of a video. Statistics such as these attest to the marketing power of video.
Mobile vs Desktop
The advent of faster and more reliable broadband Internet has changed the way in which users watch video. In the past, videos were typically viewed strictly on desktop computers. With the mobile revolution now upon us, more and more users are watching videos on smartphones and tablets instead.
According to a report by Ooyala, more than half of all video viewing originates from mobile devices. More specifically, researchers found that mobile video grew by more than 233 percent from the third quarter of 2013 to the fourth quarter of 2016. Surprisingly, most of this traffic comes from smartphones (85 percent), whereas only about 15 percent comes from tablets.
Social Media Video
In addition to YouTube, another common platform on which videos are watched is social media. Reports indicate that more than 8 billion videos are watched on Facebook every day. Of Facebook’s 1.6 billion monthly users, roughly 500 million watch videos. These numbers will likely grow, however, as Facebook continues to improve its video technology with the addition of Facebook Watch.
Facebook is particularly effective at reaching a larger audience with videos. When compared to YouTube, Facebook videos reach 10 times more users, allowing business owners and advertisers to get a better bang for their buck.
Twitter is another common platform on which videos are watched. While the Big Blue Bird has a smaller user base than Facebook, a larger percentage of its users watch videos. In fact, well over three-fourths of Twitter users watch videos on the platform. And according to Twitter’s own insight, 90 percent of these videos are viewed on mobile devices.
Even Snapchat is being used to consume video. Snapchatters watch roughly 10 billion videos every day.
Video Marketing Effectiveness
How effective is video marketing from a business perspective? Whether your business revolves around business-to-consumer (B2C) or business-to-business (B2B) sales, it’s arguably one of the most powerful channels on which to promote your business.
Digital Information World reports that 75 percent of business executives watch videos every week. And according to Forbes, 59 percent of decision-makers prefer watching a video over reading an article or blog post. This same source also claims that 64 percent of consumers are more likely to buy a product or service after watching a video about it.
Additionally, studies show that video is a powerful tool to enhance email marketing campaigns. When video is added to a marketing email, it increases average click-through rates (CTRs) by 200 percent to 300 percent. This, of course, is likely attributed to the fact that music, sound effects and narration make a short video easier to absorb, whereas conveying the same content in text may require several pages; thus, users are more likely to watch a video in an email than read several pages of text.
The Future of Video for Businesses
As you can see, video is a powerful marketing tool for businesses. While 2017 has been dubbed “the year of online video,” experts predict online video usage and consumption will continue to increase. In fact, a Cisco study predicts that 80 percent of all Internet traffic will be video by 2020.
The bottom line is that video is here to stay — and the sooner you get on board, the better. So, whether you’re looking to drive sales, increase brand recognition, establish your business as a leading authoritative figure or a combination thereof, makes video is a fundamental component of your business’s marketing strategy.
