The global pandemic shifted the way we communicate, work, study, and entertain ourselves within the safety of our homes. If the rise in popularity of video calls, online teaching, and VOD platforms have taught us something, it is that there’s no other medium with the potential and effectiveness of video.

And, the same goes for brands! Marketers worldwide are leveraging both live-action and animated video production, in order to discover new ways to engage with their customers and reach new clients. Nowadays, compelling video content is everywhere.

So, if you’re thinking about investing in video marketing this coming year, and want to justify your decision-making with hard data, then you’re in the right place.

In this piece, we’ll talk about some crucial video stats and trends, and discuss how you can use them to boost your marketing strategy in 2022. Let’s get started!

 

Graphic dashboard

Will video take over the internet?

We can begin with a simple-yet-vital fact: video traffic is growing year by year.

According to Cisco’s latest Visual Networking Index, video will account for 82% of global IP traffic by 2022. At first, this prediction may sound like too much, but it’s simply part of an ongoing trend. The amount of bandwidth will continue to grow as more video is consumed and higher-quality videos are watched.

As a brand, this is a stat you just can’t ignore. If video isn’t an essential part of your future marketing efforts, you should rethink your strategy altogether.

Video is the undisputed king of content

HubSpot’s Annual Marketing Report placed video as the #1 form of media used in content strategy, overtaking blogs, eBooks, and infographics.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise! Video can communicate concepts and ideas faster than image or text. In just a few seconds of video, you can cram large amounts of information that could take the audience minutes or even hours to read. By using colorful animation and other visual resources, you can take full advantage of video as a medium.

 Video ads are your brand’s best ally

But the preference for video content isn’t restricted to entertainment purposes: it works in favor of brands and businesses as well!

According to a study made by Hubspot, 54% of consumers want to see more video content from a brand they support.

During the global lockdown, people couldn’t go shopping, or find out about new brands and products at stores. Therefore, ads such as explainers or whiteboard videos help users to learn about the products and services they were interested in before making a purchase. Video content is an option that brands can no longer ignore in the eCommerce realm.

Illustration of people thinking

Video + social media = engagement

A study made by Marketing Dive reveals that 53% of users engage with a brand after watching a video on social media. And when it comes to millennial users, that figure scales up to 66%!

It’s a well-known fact that social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have become modern marketplaces: a platform where people around the globe gather to learn, laugh, and shop. Using video for your social media presence will give your brand a chance to stand out from the crowd and let your voice be heard.

So, offer your followers and new visitors cool and valuable content that isn’t solely trying to sell them something. There’s a reason helpful videos such as tutorials and customer testimonials have the potential to become viral: they focus on your clients and not just on your products or services.

Native uploads provide a considerable edge in exposure

And while we are on the topic of social media, it’s worth noting that native videos can give you a significant advantage in terms of user engagement. According to Outbrain’s data, native videos get an average of 50% completion rate, as well as a 60% average when it comes to viewability!

It’s only natural to consider that every platform benefits from keeping users in their own ecosystem. Since most social networks tend to weigh their algorithms to favor natively uploaded content, you can get a lot more eyes on your videos by leveraging native uploads.

One-third of the internet is on YouTube

YouTube reported that more than 2 billion users log in monthly to watch over a billion hours of video and generate billions of views. Plus, 70% of viewers say YouTube makes them aware of new brands. There’s simply no other video platform that can compete with that!

If you’ve produced videos for your brand before, you probably have a YouTube channel where you upload your content. But now it’s time to step up your game! You can create thumbnail images for your videos, use search keywords, and optimize your titles and descriptions so that your videos reach audiences.

In a way, YouTube is just like any other social media platform: consistency pays off. Create videos on a regular basis (or even start a video series!) to gain more subscribers and strengthen your online presence.

Create video for the smallest screens

That same YouTube report has one more piece of valuable insight: more than 70% of YouTube watch time comes from mobile devices. This coincides with another bit of data from Cisco’s Visual Networking Index: by 2022, nearly half of total devices and connections will be video capable.

Creating content specifically designed for mobile users sounds like a tricky assignment, but it’s not! You should mainly consider that most people watching videos on their phones have sound turned off, especially if they are scrolling through social media content. Make sure you have captions; otherwise, you’ll be speaking to a wall.

Man watching videos

Exploring new territories

When thinking about social media platforms to distribute your video content, you’re probably going to invest most of your focus on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. But there are other opportunities out there…

According to a report made by Postclick, 25% of marketers began exploring TikTok as an advertising channel in 2021. This is because TikTok remains largely untapped since only one in every ten video marketers has given it a shot in the past.

As a digital marketing rule, your brand should have a strong presence in every social media channel possible. Each platform offers new challenges for your brand, and it’s an opportunity to evolve into something better. Even if you think your audience doesn’t use TikTok, you’ll be surprised!

Parting words

Among many other lessons, the pandemic has taught us that some things just come out of nowhere, and you are left to deal with them as effectively as you can. And when it comes to marketing trends, hard data and statistics offer a reliable place to start, and they all point to the essential value of video content in 2022.

Hopefully, you’ll use these stats to rethink your strategy ahead, explore new alternatives you haven’t considered before, and create valuable video content that makes a difference in your customers’ everyday lives.

Start on Depositphotos for FREE. Get 10 downloads! Start Free Trial

Read top articles of the month!