In the midst of our fast-paced lives and the increasing buzz of information, the popularity of social media and streaming platforms, the time spent watching various types of videos has been increasing for years. Videos are more engaging, memorable and shareable than other forms of content. It’s high time for you to start doing video marketing too.
Recent data reveals a significant shift towards online video consumption, with people watching an average of 17 hours of online videos weekly, and 91% of consumers preferring to watch more brand-created video content instead of reading product descriptions. Videos boast high engagement rates (videos are 51% more likely to be shared compared to other content types). Furthermore, 92% of video marketers attest to the great return on investment offered by videos.
The Most Popular Formats and Platforms
According to HubSpot Blogs’ research, consumers turn to videos primarily to relax, laugh, or be entertained. Short clips, especially those under three minutes, are the most popular, and based on their experience, the vast majority of marketers even favor videos of less than 60 seconds. Videos are frequently consumed on smartphones. Notably, YouTube, the leading video platform, captures a staggering 70% of all video views.
When deciding on a channel for your video marketing efforts, understanding your target audience’s preferences is paramount. Here’s a breakdown of the most viewed platforms based on general user data:
- YouTube: Boasting over 2.6 billion users, with 122 million active daily users, YouTube is a powerhouse for video content. 1 billion hours of videos are watched every day, totaling around 5 billion videos. On average, users spend nearly 20 minutes daily on the platform.
- Facebook: As the world’s most utilized social media platform, Facebook records over 3 billion active monthly users. Almost 50% of the time spent on Facebook is dedicated to video watching, making it the second most popular platform for video marketing. You can use both pre-recorded and real-time videos, the latter generally have better results in terms of engagement. Since many people watch videos in crowded places, consider optimizing for muted viewing.
- Instagram: With approximately 1.3 billion users, 91% of whom watch videos on weekly, Instagram is known for its visual content. It accommodates short video clips in the main stream, Stories and IGTV (Instagram TV), and is particularly popular with younger audiences.
- TikTok: With 1.6 billion users, TikTok holds the attention of users for an average of 55.8 minutes daily, surpassing even YouTube (47.5 minutes). TikTok is primarily popular among younger millennials and Generation Z, but increasingly also among older users (read more about TikTok in our previous blog post).
- Snapchat: This platform, known for disappearing photo and video messages and stories, boasts nearly 600 million users, with more than half being daily active snappers. Users send 2.4 million messages every minute. The platform is especially popular among Generation Z.
While platforms like X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and Pinterest also have their share in video marketing (and it’s growing), they still trail significantly behind the top five platforms.
Tips for Creating Effective Marketing Videos
Once you’ve identified your target group, and selected the appropriate channel(s) for posting your videos, it’s time to focus on content and presentation.
• Clearly define the purpose of your video. Would you like to promote a product, communicate company culture, educate the audience or achieve another objective?
• Craft a compelling story. Don’t forget that people mainly want to relax while watching videos. Therefore, tell powerful stories to engage viewers emotionally, making your videos sharable and memorable. For example, showcase the people behind your brand, share real use cases, etc., which helps build trust. You can also communicate with people through videos, inviting them to publish their own content, for example about their experience using one of your products.
• Keep it concise and engaging. Create short, attention-grabbing videos. Use compelling visuals, music, and graphics to capture attention within the first seconds and maintain interest.
• Highlight product or service value. Focus on the benefits your product or service provides to the customer, not just its features.
• Ensure high-quality visuals and sound. A professional-looking video reflects positively on the brand. Don’t forget to incorporate your brand elements such as logo, colors, and style.
• Include a clear and short call to action (CTA): visit the website, subscribe to the newsletter, place an order, etc.
• Optimize for the chosen platform(s), and don’t forget to be mobile-friendly. If you feel confident enough, consider experimenting with live broadcasts as well.
• Add subtitles or text highlights to get your content across without sound.
• Test before uploading. Share the video with a small group for feedback, and imagine yourself as a busy person watching the video.
• Once you’ve published the video, be sure to monitor the engagement metrics (views, shares, comments), and leverage this data to create your future videos. Remember, videos can also improve your company’s visibility in search engines. Namely, their algorithm prefers video content, and users watching your videos on different social media channels gives you an advantage.
Thus, it’s high time to start doing video marketing or give it a boost. However, when creating videos, remember that authenticity and value to your audience should be at the forefront of your video marketing. Effective videos tell a story that resonates with viewers and prompts them to take a desired action.
If you need help planning your video marketing strategy or content creation, feel free to reach out to our team.