20 Interesting and Unobvious facts about video

With consumers going online more than ever before, video is becoming increasingly critical for effective marketing and communication. TikTok generated an estimated $1.9 billion in revenue in 2020, a 457% increase year on year.

According to a Statista report, 64% of respondents say they use YouTube more when confined to their homes and expect the trend to continue. This post looks at 20 of the most up-to-date video marketing statistics to emphasize their importance to your strategy.

A video on your landing page boosts conversion by up to 80%

Having a video on your landing page allows visitors to experience your brand and message with minimal effort after the initial click. Marketers can convey an idea that isn’t also apparent with pure text or images. River Pools and Spas use a short and intelligent video that talks about what we are all thinking when filling in a form, helping boost conversion rates.

One-third of ALL online activity is spent watching videos

Videos help people to communicate, engage and connect with others. 53% of people say they watch videos to be entertained and inspired, while 28% watch them to relax or escape. Marketers need to understand these reasons so they can promote and produce content their audience wants to see.

Viewers absorb 95% of the message while watching a video

Video improves the ability to remember concepts and details compared to only 10% when reading or listening. Having a video ensures your brand message is absorbed by the audience, outperforming other types of media.

84% of customers make purchases after watching an explainer video

Taking the video below as an example, the creators form brand appeal in just over sixty seconds of run-time. There is a warm message coupled with well-designed animations that resonate with human emotions. 

Johnson’s Baby uses a compelling narrative format to demonstrate its bubble baby bath and wash product to prospective customers. It speaks to the audience and highlights the key features of the product. 

93% of brands post at least one video each week on Facebook

With over 4 billion video views happening on Facebook each day and viewers watching over 100 million hours of content, it is no surprise that marketers see the platform as a lucrative channel.  Brands are posting videos on Facebook more than any other social media platform. It’s important to remember that 85% of Facebook users watch a video with the sound off, so brands must consider how they combine visuals and text for the best experience.

Animated video content increases knowledge retention by 15%

Animated video is excellent at improving information processing and absorption. There are three key reasons as to why.

1. A combination of words and images means people store data in different places within memory
2. Visual cues help to direct learner attention
3. Visual information is more effective at sharing complex ideas as we process it 60,000 times faster than text.

Starbucks is a reputable brand and uses animated video to teach customers about the feel and smell of dark roasted coffee. The warm music highlights how Starbucks base their strategy on the patron and consumer pride. 

Social video generates 1200% more shares than text and images combined

The viral impact of TikTok videos probably tells us all we need to know about this statistic. Chipotle is not always a brand that speaks to youth culture, but despite being new to TikTik, it has many followers, views, and shares. They do this through a superb strategy of combing their products with music and visuals that their audience can relate to. Watch the full video and make sure you have the sound on.

A business is 53 times more likely to appear on the first page of Google

Consumers are demanding more video content, and Google is responding with its search algorithms. Furthermore, a video increases the time someone spends on your pages, the quality of the content, and the likelihood of conversion, which are all SEO factors. Digital expert James Wedmore talks about how video must be part of your wider marketing plan.

“Stop thinking of video marketing as this separate entity that is optional for your business. Video is an effective form of communication that needs to be integrated into each and every aspect of your existing marketing efforts.” (James Wedmore)

By 2022, 82% of content creation will be video

Cisco reports that video is taking over content creation. Investing in video is becoming increasingly pivotal for future digital marketing success. Cisco also predicts that gaming traffic will grow nine-fold in the same period, accounting for 4% of overall IP traffic.

Visitors stay on a webpage for twice as long if it has video on it

Advance Auto Parts use instructional and how-to videos on its site and social media. Visitors who watch the video stay on the site twice and long and view twice as many pages compared to those that do not watch videos. Of course, by staying on the page, consumers find out more about the product and are more likely to convert.

Only 12% of marketers are using video for customer onboarding

Despite video improving retention and conversion rates, only a small number of people are taking advantage of the media for customer onboarding. Helpful demos and how-to videos are a great way to get a customer to understand your products and services. Airtable demonstrates several use cases to attract different types of customers in a fantastic onboarding video. 

Robert Weiss, President of MultiVision Digital talks about why businesses like Airtable love online video, saying;

“Business decision-makers love online video because it gives them the most amount of information in the shortest amount of time.” (Robert Weiss)

Livestream videos provide the highest level of engagement out of all video formats

Livestreaming is one of the best ways to connect with an audience, allowing personalization and interaction that you cannot achieve with other forms of media. It is projected to be a $70 billion industry by the end of 2021.

Kohl’s and vlogger ItsJudyTime use live streaming to promote their Black Friday sales. Judy posts how easy it is to get everything in a single store, generating traffic during the holiday weekend. Videos achieve over 200k views.

37% of the average video keeps viewers all the way to the end

Although consumers demand video, that doesn’t mean marketers can throw anything together and expect viewers to respond. Only over a third of videos keep viewers to the end, showing they need to be high-quality and relevant. Take Buzzfeed as an example. They often use a video list format to keep viewers engaged until reaching number one.

60% of people prefer online content to TV

Is TV dead? Although people still watch televisions, the number of cable and satellite subscriptions is dropping in favour of new media. There is so much video content online now that people don’t need older technologies.

By 2022, 1 million videos will be watched per second

Although many videos will be from streaming services, there is a large amount of marketing material. YouTube and Hulu, amongst others, have many advertisements within their streams and a growing volume of sponsored content. In 16 Tips for Successful Online Video Marketing, Amy Portfield says,

“Social media sites and video go hand-in-hand, and most sites encourage video posting and sharing. The viral video opportunities are endless when you use the right strategies to create and post your video online.” (Amy Porterfield)

 

41% of survey respondents say video reduces customer support calls

In simple maths, if 100,000 calls at $20 per call come in each quarter, decreasing those by 10% saves you $200,000 every three months. A complex product or service can leave customers with many questions that you can avoid by using a how-to or demo video. 

The Ring’s Door View Cam video shows viewers what the product can do and how people are using it to negate any questions and potentially costly service calls. A few good explainer videos solve a lot of problems.

82% are put off when a video is not optimized for their device

Depending on your product or service, consider how people are most likely to watch your video. Whether they view it vertically or horizontally can vary depending on the type of audience. For example, YouTube has a full-screen feature which is excellent for horizontal viewing. 

Instagram is based around vertical viewing and won’t be as well suited to long landscapes. Always think about the audience and platform to optimize content for every device.

75% of viewers prefer watching videos horizontally

Following on from the previous statistic, three-quarters of people prefer to watch videos horizontally. This may be why YouTube and Facebook are more popular viewing platforms than Instagram at the moment. According to science, horizontal videos are better as we spend our lives on a horizontal plane, hence why movies and TV are always horizontal.

Laughing customers have a 92% increase in purchase intent

Simply Perfect Marketing Services uses the video below for advertising its services. 

They create a video that makes us laugh and engage with the brand without any fancy graphics or words. How many people say they’ve bought from someone because of the salesperson? Probably most of us. Creating laughter through videos generates rapport which is one of the best ways to sell a product or service. That’s not to say every video you launch needs to be hysterical, but be sure to give the customer something to laugh about.

Personalized video increases retention by 35%

Personalization is not new to the world of marketing, but you might not always connect it to video. Video personalization can be simple, like below.

Cadbury, the international confectionery company, ran a campaign for Facebook fans to create a personalized video for their loved ones by simply entering a name. 

Personalization can take time, but the rewards can be huge.

Summary

After reading all of these statistics, you shouldn’t ask whether video is beneficial to your business but how much video content you can create. The consumer preference for video is not going anywhere, and marketers need to make it a focal point of their digital strategy.