In June 2016, Hubspot published a survey that named video as the “most thoroughly consumed form of content marketing,” with 55% of viewers saying they would watch it thoroughly, and 32% admitting to merely skimming it.
Surprisingly – given the amount of social media platforms we have right now – social media posts came in second, with 52% consuming it thoroughly and about 39% of users skimming through it. Blogs came in pretty low on the list – 29% read thoroughly, 43% skimmed – followed by pop culture long form content and podcasts.
CHANCE FOR CHANGE?
When asked what content types they wanted to see more of in the future, social media posts garnered 45%, followed closely by news articles at 44%, and videos at 33%. These are the top three most thoroughly consumed forms of content, and people still want to see more of them in the future.
TIME SPENT ON VIDEOS PER PLATFORM
The same survey asked people how much time they spent each week on average watching videos on Facebook and on YouTube. 44% polled responded that they spent less than 1 hour a week watching videos on Facebook, and 10% admitted to spending over 4% on the site watching videos.
YouTube was a different story. Only 34% agreed they spent less than an hour a week watching YouTube videos. 28% said they could spend 1 to 2 hours a week on the site, 14% for 3 to 4 hours, and a good 19% admitted to spending over 4 hours of their week on YouTube videos alone.
VIDEO MARKETING = SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGNS?
While using a video in your marketing campaign doesn’t automatically guarantee you an ROI, the data suggests your chances are pretty good. A study conducted by Firebrand Group shows that 84.9% of marketers have seen a positive ROI from their video marketing efforts. 90% of them use videos to boost brand awareness, while 56% use them to drive conversions as well.
While 85% may already seem like pretty sweet odds – and they are – there’s no sense in tipping the scales in your favor just a little more. Using video, you can raise your chances of getting positive ROI on your campaign by analyzing trends, charts, and other forms of updated data. For instance:
CHOICE PLATFORM
The Hubspot survey listed Facebook and YouTube as the two biggest video-hosting social media platforms, with 9% more people admitting to watching YouTube videos for more than 4 hours compared to Facebook.
However, Firebrand Group’s survey revealed that Facebook as the “platform of choice” for marketers, with a whopping 80.2% of study participants revealing that they achieved their greatest positive ROI through Facebook. YouTube, surprisingly, had only 9.9% marketers list it as their prime ROI source.
TRENDS: JUMPING THE BANDWAGON
According to an article in KoMarketing, 68% of marketers include video promoted via social media as part of their company-specific marketing campaigns and video marketing strategies. However, of this number, less than half of them – about 32% — are using it consistently. This means that only 32% of marketers experience the benefits of video marketing every week or every month.
VIDEO: THE VERDICT
It may seem like there are too many articles out there, praising the power of video as a content marketing tool. However, words are nothing without undoubtable, empirical proof. Statistics such as the ones presented above seem to do nothing more than solidify video as the best form of marketing content.
