Video Marketing Statistics for 2023

Video Marketing

It won’t take a long time for you to come across a marketing video on the internet. In fact, online video marketing is one of the biggest methods used by businesses to acquire new customers, so it makes sense that the internet is packed with all sorts of video marketing content.

If you’re wondering exactly what it is, video marketing is the practise of using video content to promote or market a brand or product. It’s also a powerful tool to raise awareness of or engagement with your business.

Business presence experienced a massive shift during the COVID-19 pandemic. As physical business all but halted worldwide, businesses needed to ensure that their online presence was up to scratch. This online necessity applied to all aspects of a business, from customer service to sales, and indeed to the marketing of a business.

We won’t pretend that the pandemic is the only reason that video marketing is as big as it is. Obviously the internet has only grown as time has gone on, and this shift was inevitable. Still, it’s hard to argue that the pandemic didn’t accelerate this change. While the pandemic is somewhat in the past, its effects are here for the long run, and video marketing will be a staple marketing approach for many businesses. Consider outsourcing your social media management to keep your business on top of video marketing trends.

Key Video Marketing Statistics

Before we get into the specifics, let’s look at some broad video marketing statistics that can apply to most of your video marketing needs:

  • 84% of people say they’ve been convinced to buy a product or service after watching a brand’s video
  • TV is falling – YouTube reaches more 18 to 49 year olds than all of cable television combined
  • 89% of marketers claim that video marketing offers them a good return on investment
  • 86% of businesses use video as a marketing tool
  • Of the above 86%, 92% claim that video is a crucial part of their strategy
  • Measuring ROI can be tricky because 44% of businesses aren’t sure on the best way to gauge the impact of their videos
  • Google themselves say that video is an indispensable avenue for marketing

YouTube Marketing Statistics

YouTube is synonymous with online videos. It was the first major video hosting website and, unlike other internet giants, like Yahoo! or Facebook, it has yet to really drop off in terms of popularity. It still leads the way when it comes to video hosting, and hasn’t really faced a serious competitor to this day. For you to have an idea of its potential:

  • In a survey we conducted with 50 companies, 64% of respondents named YouTube was the most successful platform for video marketing
  • YouTube users stream 694,000 hours of content every minute
  • 500 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute, so you’ll need to do your best to stand out
  • 81% of internet users visit YouTube, making it the most visited social media site. Couple this with the fact that the internet is used by over 5 billion people, and you’ve got a massive potential audience.
  • YouTube is the second-most visited website on the internet
  • YouTube’s intake from ad revenue in 2021 was around $28.84 billion. Clearly they’re not going anywhere!

This makes it a no-brainer when considering where to post your content. There are two main options here:

  • Post the content of your business as standard videos
  • Pay for ads on YouTube

The first option means that you’ll take a lot longer to gain momentum with your content, especially if your YouTube channel is entirely new. However, it will mean that those who find your content are genuinely interested in it, and will allow you to make more longform videos, like explanations of your product or business. This also means that these videos can be easily posted somewhere else, like your own website.

The second option, paying for ads on YouTube, means that you’ll get a lot more eyes on your content, but there are some downsides to this. Firstly, this obviously costs money, which can eat into your marketing budget. Secondly, the audience for these ads will be a lot less willing to watch, which may cause them to skip through your ad as soon as possible, or play it in another tab while they look at something else.

Either way, YouTube is a good way of getting a large audience for your video content and, unlike Instagram reels or TikToks, it’s very conducive to more longform content.

TikTok Statistics

TikTok experienced an absolutely meteoric rise since its global launch in August 2018. In fact, TikTok has usurped Google as the most popular website, being 2021’s most viewed website. Here are some statistics you need to know about TikTok’s current prowess:

  • In a survey we conducted with 50 companies, 20% of respondents named TikTok the most successful platform for video marketing — second only to YouTube
  • TikTok has 1 billion monthly users
  • Just under 50% of TikTok users are under the age of 29
  • Around one third of TikTok users use the app every day, with this usage averaging at around 1.5 hours per day
  • Despite what you may think, longer videos on TikTok are rising in popularity, with the app allowing videos up to 10 minutes
  • People don’t just use TikTok to watch silly videos. People use it for career and technical advice, with Finance TikTok growing by 255% in 2021.

While the original impression of TikTok was largely dancing teenagers and re-enactments of scenes from movies, the platform has grown and evolved over the few years it’s been around, and is now home to a wide array of video types. Seeing this growth, many businesses have taken the initiative and launched marketing campaigns through TikTok.

The general demographic for TikTok is quite young, as you might expect, so some businesses will have a fair bit more skin in the game than others. But any business that caters to younger people, whether male or female, would benefit from making a TikTok account.

The general vibe of TikTok is a bit more light-hearted and playful. Injecting a bit of comedy into a TikTok video is crucial, even if it’s just an instructional tutorial on how to use your product.

And while TikTok has recently been leaning into longer video content, allowing videos of up to 10 minutes, a general rule of thumb is that the shorter the better. The attention spans of today are notoriously low so, if you’re trying to catch eyes, it’s a better idea to keep it snappy.

Other Social Media Video Marketing Statistics

TikTok and YouTube are obviously sites focused entirely on video content, but that doesn’t mean video marketing can’t be used on other platforms, such as Twitter and Instagram. Video marketing can be applied to all of the social media platforms. Whether it’s Snapchat, Facebook, Pinterest, or something even smaller, most platforms will have a way for you to share and show off your videos.

  • Facebook has three billion monthly active users as of June 2023
  • 67% of Facebook users are daily active on the platform
  • In the US, both Facebook and Instagram users spend an average time of 30 minutes on each platform every day
  • Facebook was used by 89% of marketers worldwide to promote their brands, being the social media most used to that end. Instagram and LinkedIn followed suit, being used by 80% and 64% of marketers, respectively.
  • Instagram has two billion monthly active users as of January 2023 is the most downloaded app in the world
  • Reels make up for 30% of the time users spend on Instagram
  • 91% of users watch videos on Instagram weekly

Instagram’s relatively recent development of reels and stories has put it at the forefront of the minds of a lot of video marketers. Instagram is so massive that there’s no real demographic to focus on. Whether you’re marketing toward teenage gamers or middle-aged homeowners, Instagram is a great platform, especially if they’re already a fan of your product or service, because they’ll be able to see your stories and posts without much digging.

Twitter is a nice and simple one. While Twitter experimented with their own story-like feature, it died pretty early on. This means that video marketing is just done through standard tweets. It makes this process a lot easier for the marketer, and ensures that people will see your tweets as long as they’re just scrolling down their feed. And, like always, you can pay to promote your tweets.

Many say that Snapchat has had its day, but it’s still worthy of comment, if for no other reason than because of how different it is. Firstly, Snapchat deserves credit for the creation of the concept of stories. Instagram adopted this concept, and Twitter and Facebook both tried and failed. Secondly, the Snapchat Discover page allows for a lot of variation in the topics that are posted to it, which means that any business can find a niche within.

We can’t cover every single social media platform, but they should all be equipped to handle video-based posts. It also pays to know which social media platform fits which niche. For example, Pinterest’s main demographic is women between 25 and 34 years old, so if your business caters to them, it’s a good idea to post there.

The good thing about video content is that you won’t have to change the file much at all to post it on various channels. The same video can be posted on your Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and everywhere else, with minimal (if any) changes.

How Has Video Marketing Helped Real-Life Businesses?

Throughout this article we’ve seen multiple quotes from small business owners who use videos for their own marketing. Here are a few more examples of people who have had their businesses improved through use of video marketing.

“We do have some advice for small to medium-sized businesses looking to start their own video marketing campaigns. First and foremost, it’s important to have a clear and concise message that you want to communicate to your target audience. Once you have that nailed down, you can start to develop a creative and engaging video that will capture their attention and deliver your message in an impactful way.

“It’s also important to consider what platforms you want to distribute your video on. YouTube is a great option for many businesses, but there are also a number of other social media and online video platforms that can be effective. Do your research to see which platform will be most effective for reaching your target audience, and then make sure to create content that is optimized for that platform.”

– Brandon Wilkes, marketing manager of The Big Phone Store

Of course, marketing is only one step on the customer journey. The other end – customer service – still has a lot to gain from your video resource. For example, showing your customers how to use your product is a crucial part for a lot of businesses.

“Our approach with video marketing is to utilize it to promote our products and create visual guides to help our users use the app to their full advantage. Video is a great medium for step-by-step guides, and our data shows that it helps us reach and retain new users. We are also using video marketing to create short promotional videos about our app, and it’s a great way to pique interest and get people to try our app. We use video a lot within our app, and we don’t focus as much on YouTube/social media.”
– Ouriel Lemmel, CEO of WinIt

How to Start Video Marketing

Even if a business fully intends to start their own video marketing campaign, it can be tricky to know where to begin. To help you out, we’ve compiled this 7-step guide:

Video Marketing Starter Pack: Our Step-by-Step Guide

  • Step 1: Set your branding, messaging, and tone of voice before producing anything
  • Step 2: Choose the online platforms you’ll be producing content for and understand what works for each
  • Step 3: Define different video types you’ll aim to produce
  • Step 4: Organise a production schedule (and stick to it)
  • Step 5: Start shooting with your phone and refine your gear over time
  • Step 6: Publish and promote your videos
  • Step 7: Analyse metrics — such as impressions and engagements — so you can shape the future of your strategy

For starters, you’ll need to be attuned to what makes your brand special and what is the unique selling point of your products. Don’t be afraid to spend a considerable amount of time brainstorming and ideating, so you can arrive at the shooting stage with clearer ideas about your style and messaging.

Once the initial decision making process is done and you’re ready to begin shooting, your smartphone can be a great ally to get you started.

Most current smartphones are able to capture high-definition video that can get your point across in online platforms. Audio capture can be a bigger issue, so buying (or borrowing) a microphone compatible with your smartphone is a solid initial investment.

As your business grows and you aim to expand your reach, you’ll need to amp up your production values, which will require more sophisticated gear. If a high-quality camera is outside your budget at this stage, then it’s worth looking into rental services, or even companies or studios that will help shoot a video. This will keep the price low, while also resulting in a high-quality product.

However, just because the video quality needs to be relatively high, it doesn’t mean businesses need to master their video tone on their very first try. Just like filmmakers and poets, it can take time to fully find the perfect voice and method when marketing your business.

“However, creating video content doesn’t have to be a time-consuming and extensive process. Start casual. You can create talking-head style videos educating your clients on the industry and your offerings. You can also respond to the most common questions. You can also demonstrate your product if it lends itself to it. Finally, add a little humor to your posts. We have noticed that relevant tasteful memes do wonders for organic engagement.
“Just make sure that your video has good, natural lighting and clear sound (an empty room will do). Plus, take advantage of all the free video editing apps available today. A lot of them offer Reels templates that make creating video content approachable and fast.”
– Lesya Liu, owner and CEO of Boundless Agency

In Summary

Video marketing is one of the best ways for a business to convey its message. Whether that message is something as simple as a sale, or how a specific product works, the only limit to your video marketing approach is your own creativity!

As mentioned, a business can take some time to find its footing when it comes to its video marketing, so there’s no shame in playing with the format and the type of content you produce until it’s perfected.

FAQs

What is the best platform for video marketing?
This will depend on what you’re trying to achieve through your marketing. For example, if you’re looking to target younger generations, TikTok and Snapchat are the best choices. But if you’re looking for a more niche audience, Pinterest is a great choice. And, of course, YouTube is a great place to host your videos if you want to post them on your own site.
What percentage of marketing is video?
Video makes up an absolutely colossal 86% of current-day marketing methods. This has been slowly climbing over the past decade, and shows no sign of slowing down. The biggest leap was between 2017 and 2018, growing from 63% to 81%, but it has still been consistent in its growth to this day.
Are videos the most popular form of content?
Absolutely! In 2020, 96% of consumers drastically increased their consumption of video content, with 9/10 viewers saying that they were open to more videos from businesses. The versatility, quick consumption, and overall variety of marketing videos means that every consumer has something to gain from the right video method.
What is video marketing's return on investment?
Video marketing’s ROI (return on investment) is very reliable, with 89% of video marketers saying that video marketing has lead to good ROI. It’s hard to measure the exact ROI for something as nebulous as a marketing campaign, but most marketers claim to see good lead generation and engagement from their efforts.
Written by:
Duncan Lambden
Duncan (BA in English Textual Studies and Game Design) is one of Expert Market's local Software Experts. His articles focus on ecommerce platforms and business software that allows small businesses to improve their efficiency or reach, with an emphasis on invoice financing, project management, and customer relations.
Reviewed by:
Robyn Summers-Emler, Grow Online Editor, Profile Picture
Robyn started working on Expert Market in 2021 as a specialist in business websites and digital marketing. As the Grow Online Editor, she ideates, commissions and optimizes content on Expert Market that helps businesses thrive in online spaces and maximize their ecommerce potential. Covering everything from choosing a website builder to scaling a social media marketing strategy - Robyn uses her expertise to help startups, SMBs, and larger businesses realize digital growth in an increasingly competitive landscape.