If you were to ask any good digital marketing agency about video marketing, they’ll tell you that it’s no fad. While marketing trends come and go, and some much faster than others, video marketing is bigger, stronger and more important than ever. It isn’t going anywhere in a hurry.
The COVID pandemic has significantly affected the amount of video content that people watch online. 68% of consumers say Covid has impacted the amount they’ve watched, with 96% of them saying this has increased. This has marketers feeling buoyant about the ROI offered by video as it continues to influence traffic, leads, sales, and audience understanding.
We can clearly see why marketers feel this way if research is any guide. Since 2016, an annual study has measured the responses of businesses and their attitude towards video marketing. In response to the question: Does your business use video as a marketing tool, here are the affirmative responses in percentage terms:
- 2016: 61%
- 2017: 63%
- 2018: 81%
- 2019: 87%
- 2020: 85%
- 2021: 86%
And in response to: Do you see video as an important marketing tool, here are the “Yes” responses, again in percentage terms:
- 2016: 88%
- 2017: 82%
- 2018: 85%
- 2019: 91%
- 2020: 92%
- 2021: 93%
And when it comes to Return On Investment, businesses were, yet again, highly positive when answering this question:
- 2016: 76%
- 2017: 83%
- 2018: 78%
- 2019: 83%
- 2020: 88%
- 2021: 87%
YouTube (89%) and Facebook (70%) are the most widely used platforms for video marketers, and that’s no surprise given their enormous global reach. But lesser-used video marketing tactics are also proving their worth. For example, 94% of consumers state that they watch explainer videos to learn more about a product, with 84% saying videos of this type persuade them to make a purchase. Meanwhile, nine out of ten people say they want to see MORE brand videos. And for a video marketing tactic straight out of left field, try this on for size: webinars are becoming an increasingly popular way to connect and inform, with 46% of marketers saying they used webinars in 2019, but in a 2021 survey, that number had risen significantly to 62%. Look for that figure to increase even more in the years ahead.
There is no statistic anywhere to indicate that video marketing has reached a peak and is on a downhill slope to anonymity. It remains a highly effective tool for any marketer and a very popular way for consumers to find out more about brands and products.