65+ Statistics That Prove Video Isn’t Dead

Let’s face it, brand communication and marketing tactics are in a constant state of evolution. It can be hard to keep up. It’s not uncommon to regularly receive news of an emerging trend that will change marketing forever, a new strategy that produces unprecedented results, or even, the declaration that a once-effective tactic has become outdated, obsolete, or “dead”.

Even the effectiveness of video, a tried and true marketing staple, has been called into question.

Sometimes, these major claims prove to be correct, but we’re here to tell you this: video is far from dead. In fact, it’s only becoming more effective at generating results for modern businesses. And, that’s not just our opinion — we’ve got the numbers to prove it.

In today’s blog post, we provide you with more than 65 statistics that prove video isn’t dead, but is in fact thriving. Keep reading, and we guarantee you’ll never question the effectiveness of video as a viable marketing tool again.

The State of Video

Video marketing is always changing. Each year, we see new trends emerge and begin to reshape the landscape of online video. Let’s start by looking at some key statistics about the current state and potential future of video as a business tool.

87% of businesses now use video as a marketing tool. This number is up from 63% in 2017 and 81% in 2018 (source).
Video is expected to make up 82% of internet traffic by 2021 (source).
88% of marketers plan to increase spending on video in 2019 (source).
91% of video marketers consider video to be an important part of their marketing strategy. That’s an increase from 82% in 2017 and 85% in 2018 (source).
99% will continue to use video in 2019, with 88% saying they’ll spend more than they did in previous years (source).
88% of marketers plan to increase spending on video in 2019 (source).
By 2022, online videos will make up more than 82% of all consumer internet traffic — 15 times higher than it was in 2017 (source).
25% of companies publish videos every week (source).
Digital video marketing is a $135 billion industry in the U.S. alone (source).
Businesses in high tech and professional services industries are publishing the most new videos on a monthly basis (source).

The Demand for Video

There’s only one way for video — or any other kind of marketing content for that matter — to maintain its effectiveness. Simply put, customers must want to see more of it. Here are some statistics that point to the demand for video content among modern audiences, from the average consumer to more executive decision-makers.

68% of people say they’d prefer to learn about a new product or service by watching a short video. This makes video more popular as a learning tool than text-based articles (15%), infographics (4%) presentations and pitches (4%) ebooks and manuals (3%) (source).
71% of people watch more video than they did a year ago (source).
87% of consumers say they’d like to see more video from brands in 2019 (source).
When asked to identify the type of video content they’d want to see more from brands, 39% of people cited explainer videos; 20% want entertaining ‘viral’ videos; 12% want to see more product demo videos; 10% want more video blogs; 9% want more interactive videos (source).
6 out of 10 people would rather watch online videos than television (source).
59% of senior executives favor video over text (source).
90% of users report that product videos are helpful in the decision process of the buyer’s journey (source).
56% of consumers believe that a company should have video content on its website (source).

The Effectiveness of Video

If you’ve made it this far, you understand that video isn’t going anywhere, and audiences want to see more videos from the brands they interact with. But the real question you’re likely asking is this: what kind of results do videos generate? The following statistics will provide the answers you’re looking for.

79% of people say a brand’s video has convinced them to buy a piece of software or app (source).
84% of marketers say video has helped them increase traffic to their website (source).
Including a video on your landing page can boost your conversion rate by up to 80% (source).
Adding video to your emails can increase click rates by 300% (source).
81% of marketers say video has helped them generate leads (source).
64% of consumers will make a purchase after watching branded videos on social platforms (source).
80% of marketers say video has increased dwell time on their website (source).
41% of marketers say that video has helped them reduce support calls (source).
52% of marketing professionals worldwide said video is the type of content with the best ROI (source).
Marketers who use video grow revenue 49% faster than non-video marketers (source).
A website is 53 times more likely to reach the front page of Google if it includes video (source).
65% of executives have gone to the marketer’s site and 39% have called them on the phone after watching a marketing video (source).
On average, people spend 2.6x more time on pages with video than without (source).
93% of businesses reported gaining a new customer as a direct result of a video posted on social media (source).
Because of its visual nature, 80% of users can recall a video ad they’ve seen in the past 30 days (source).
46% of users take action after viewing a video (source).
When users enjoy video ads, their purchase intent is increased by 97% (source).
Video marketers get 66% more qualified leads per year (source).

Social Media Marketing Video Statistics

It’s no secret that social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter have skyrocketed in popularity and effectively taken the lion’s share of all Internet traffic. It goes without saying that the rise of social media has had a major impact on the state of video. Let’s look at some statistics concerning the production and consumption of videos on social media platforms.

Facebook is the most popular platform for businesses to share video content (81%), followed by YouTube (62%), Instagram (57%), and LinkedIn (32%) (source).
On Twitter, 82% of users watch video content (source).
Nearly half of Facebook and YouTube users consume more than an hour of video per week (source).
Social media posts with video have 48% more views (source).
Social video generates 1200% more shares than text and image content combined (source).
Video campaigns on LinkedIn have 50% view rates (source).
81% of businesses prefer to use Facebook for their video marketing (source).
Facebook has over 8 billion video views per day (source).
Over 1.9 billion people, roughly one-third of the Internet, use YouTube (source).
Consumers engage with branded videos the most on Facebook (49%), followed by YouTube (32%), then Instagram (24%) (source).
Sponsored video content views on Facebook has jumped 258% since 2016 (source).

Mobile Video Statistics

While there’s no basis to the claim that video is dead, there is strong evidence that video is going mobile— and fast. The following statistics speak to the increasing percentage of users who consume videos on mobile more than any other device.

Mobile video consumption rises by 100% every year (source).
75% of all video plays are on mobile devices (source).
92% of users watching video on mobile will share it with others (source).
People are 1.5 times more likely to watch video on their mobile phones (source).
90% of Twitter video views happen on a mobile device (source).
48% of Millennials are watching video exclusively on mobile devices (source).
Mobile video ad spend is expected to be around 72% of the total digital ad spend this year (source).
The average mobile-viewing session on YouTube lasts more than 40 minutes (source).
Mobile viewers now watch over 40 minutes of video on their phones every day (source).
Video will account for 78% of mobile data traffic in 2019 (source).

Live Video Statistics

Last but not least, we want to provide you with some statistics concerning one of the hottest trends in the world of video — live streaming. Keep reading to learn about the popularity of live video, its distinct advantages, and why marketers believe live streaming is a uniquely effective way to engage with their audience.

Streaming video accounts for over two-thirds of all internet traffic and is expected to jump to 82% by 2020 (source).
Live video is more appealing to brand audiences: 80% would rather watch live video from a brand than read a blog, and 82% prefer live video from a brand to social posts (source).
63% of people aged 18-34 watch live streaming content regularly (source).
47% of live streaming video viewers worldwide are watching more live videos compared to a year ago (source).
Viewers are likely to watch a live video approximately three times longer than a pre-recorded one (source).
79% of marketers say live video facilitates a more authentic interaction with an audience (source).
67% of audiences who watched a live stream purchased a ticket to a similar event the next time it occurred (source).
63% of marketers say live video brings a human touch to digital marketing (source).
Live content on Facebook receives 10x more comments than regular videos (source).
61% of marketers say a benefit of live video is that it creates content that can be viewed or repurposed later (source).

Final Thoughts

If the above statistics are any indication, it’s safe to say video is alive and well. Given its popularity among audiences across the world, video will never “die” — but of course, it will evolve. The way people consume videos ten years from now will look very different than the way they engage with them today. So, keep investing in video if you want to maximise business growth — but make sure you keep your ear to the ground and stay up-to-date on the latest shifts and trends in the world of video.

About the Author: Sam Holzman is a Content Marketing Manager at ZoomInfo, a leading B2B contact database that helps organizations accelerate growth and profitability. He regularly covers topics related to sales, marketing, and recruiting and likes to write about sports and travel in his free time.

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