Video marketing: Three trends in facts and figures

The video market is in a state of flux this year: the topic of “mobile” in particular is becoming more and more important. Meanwhile, Facebook is looking to steal viewers away from top dog YouTube with products like Facebook Watch and IGTV on Instagram. A look at the facts and figures in three major trends.

1. Video continues to grow

It is clear: Users still can’t get enough of video content, although this media sector has been growing considerably for years now. This is suggested by, for instance, the results of the report “The Future of Content Marketing” by HubSpot. According to this, sites like YouTube are even more popular than streaming services like Netflix.

71 percent of the participants in HubSpot’s global survey stated that they consume more video content than they did a year ago. 53 percent said they wanted even more videos. This figure has risen by a remarkable ten percentage points on last year. In the younger target group (ages 18 to 24) it is even clearer: 65 percent want more moving images. And good news for marketers: 54 percent of those surveyed explicitly want video content from companies. This puts the format in the number one spot ahead of newsletters (46 percent) and photos on the social web (41 percent). Videos on Facebook etc. are only in fourth place at 34 percent. But a lot can in fact be achieved with these – more about this under the next point.

Asked about the channels for video consumption, YouTube not surprisingly leads the way at 83 percent. Reading tip: In another article we already described how you can get more viewers for your videos on YouTube.

Facebook follows in second place with 67 percent, which is still far ahead of Netflix (39 percent). With the “Facebook Watch” service, which is now internationally available, the social network is looking to solidify this position. At the same time, Instagram’s IGTV is attacking the market for mobile video. Instagram is still in fourth place in this survey at 24 percent. Incidentally, you can learn more about the video platform duel between YouTube, Facebook and Instagram in a separate article.

2. Video pays off

The expenditure associated with video can be a deterrent. However, those who are not scared away can benefit hugely. Social analytics provider quintly, for example, investigated what triggers the most interactions on Facebook – known to be a key factor for greater organic reach. More than 2.3 million posts were analyzed at the beginning of the year. One result: On average, videos get over four times more interactions than pure status posts. Only photos are on an equal level. Link posts are in fourth place. But these account for the majority of the posts analyzed (52 percent).

According to the HubSpot survey quoted above, around half of those surveyed see videos on Facebook and YouTube as sources of inspiration for new trends, products and services. But be careful: 77 percent say they don’t like videos that want to sell them something. Instead, videos have to offer interesting content and be of high quality, say three quarters of those surveyed. And 61 percent prefer to watch videos posted by friends rather than companies. In this respect, videos are not a sure-fire success.

3. Mobile video is growing in importance

Aus der HubSpot-Befragung geht auch hervor, dass Mobile Video weiter wächst. 64 Prozent geben an, dass sie mehr Videos auf dem Handy anschauen als noch vor einem Jahr. Das deckt mich sich mit anderen Untersuchungen wie beispielsweise dem Global Video Index Report der Videospezialisten von Ooyala. Demnach werden drei von fünf Onlinevideos auf einem Mobilgerät angeschaut. Und während diese Zahlen international ein Plateau erreicht haben, ist im EMEA-Raum noch Wachstum zu verzeichnen: 22 Prozent mehr mobile Videoplays im Jahresvergleich.

Wie IGTV zeigt, müssen sich die Videomacher allerdings auf neue Nutzungsgewohnheiten einstellen: Kurze, unterhaltsame Videos im Hochkantformat dominieren hier derzeit. “Ich schaue lieber kurze statt lange Videos“ haben 81 Prozent der Befragten in Hubspots Report angegeben. Die Langform sollte man aber nicht ganz ausschließen: Laut Ooyala werden auch lange Videos zwischen 20 und 40 Minuten auf Handys zu immerhin 57 Prozent zu Ende geschaut. Bei mehr als 40 Minuten sind es noch 45 Prozent. Wenig überraschend sind diese Werte auf Tablets und erst Recht auf PCs deutlich höher.

The bottom line

Video is becoming more important, but above all more diverse. As with other types of content: you have to know your target group well. Because what they like to watch, when, where and on which device is varying more and more. Accordingly, it makes less and less sense to want to use video content across platforms, because they simply work too individually. And these differences are constantly growing.