8 Reasons Video is SO Important in the Digital Space
It’s 2023, and people are watching more videos than ever. Video is now the main way that the world consumes content. Video has become an effective strategy tool due to its increasing popularity over the past decade. Digital video can also be used to engage and capture an audience, build user trust, increase awareness, engage people and promote conversions (especially when combined with other digital formats). It is cost-effective and reaches more people.
It is not surprising that video has been the hottest trend in digital marketing over the past decade. This is especially true with the increased focus on mobile marketing in recent years.
Video is now the main media format people use to consume content. More people are now viewing videos online than ever before. Globally, people are watching around 84 minutes worth of videos every single day. What’s more, people in China and Sweden watch the most videos daily at approximately 103 minutes. In 2022 people are watching, on average, 19 hours of online video per week. That’s a huge jump from 2018 when people were watching 10.5 hours of video.
Video continues to gain popularity, importance, and demand. These are the top reasons video is important.
Video is a Favorite of Many People
If video content were food people would eat it at every meal.
- Over a billion people view YouTube content every day.
- YouTube users 18+ spend approximately 42 minutes per day on YouTube
- Every day, there are nearly two billion videos on Twitter
- Tweets with video receive 10 times more engagement that tweets without video
- Facebook receives more than 8 billion video views per day
- These videos can be viewed with no sound in 85% of cases.
- On average, people spend 58 minutes per day on Facebook. Facebook enthusiasts spend 2 1/2 hours each day.
- Every day, Snapchats are sent to more than 210 million people
- Although video is not always 100%, it is still the most popular and widely used tool on the platform.
- In 2018, more than 1 million TikTok videos had been viewed every day in the year that it was launched.
- It’s now the most downloaded app since 2020. Recent (unconfirmed) reports suggest that there are over 1 billion video views per day on TikTok
- TikTok has 689 million monthly active users.
- More than 1 billion videos get viewed each day on TikTok.
- Instagram
- The average user spends less than 50 minutes per day and approximately 7 hours per week on Instagram.
- One in four Instagram ads are video ads
- Live streams of IGTV, Stories and now Reels IG video get 21% more engagement than photos
- Instagram users are 80% likely to follow a brand
- 96% of active IG users watched an explainer video
- 79% of IG users believe a video ad made them convert to IG or make a purchase.
Video Attracts Eyeballs, Grabs Attention
A feed can make videos captivating and catchy. Videos are more interesting than text, slides, and stylized images.
- It takes just a few seconds to grab a person’s attention and make them stop scrolling.
- The first few seconds of any video are critical to creating engaging video content that engages and grips viewers
- Sometimes, creative and stylized photos are not enough
- According to reports, videos hold people’s attention five times better than still photos.
Video Can Boost Conversions
Whether it’s an explainer video or a customer testimonial, webinar or announcement video (via Stories Reels Shorts Spotlights, etc), a 2-minute email video, long-form IGTV, Facebook Watch, etc., there are many video formats that offer benefits that can increase conversions and positively impact a product or business.
- 90% of users say videos aid them in making buying decisions
- There’s a greater chance that people will buy products and services if they see them in video.
- Video can be beneficial to keep visitors on a site for longer periods of time. It is also great for people who don’t like reading product descriptions or looking at info.
Videos Can Explain Things Better
- Video Promotes higher-level information retention
- Video viewers retain 95% of the message, whereas text-only users only retain 10%
- a person’s brain processes visual information 60,000 times faster than text
- Animation explainers and videos are an excellent tool for explaining complex concepts and processes. They can be used instead of slides, images, and text.
- Video can provide more value to customers than text content when launching a new service or product. People are more likely to understand a product or service if they can see how it works. They also have a greater chance of conversion.
Google Often Prefers Video Content
- Videos encourage visitors to spend more time on your site
- Video links are rewarded with prime placement and Google highlights websites as more relevant and engaging.
- Video can boost SEO by embedding video on a website
- YouTube is owned by Google, which means that YouTube can have a significant impact on search engine rankings and how they affect videos.
Video is in High Demand
- The top ten most-downloaded apps in 2021 include TikTok and Facebook. All of these apps (except the chat-based messaging apps) are focused on or emphasize video.
- Similar results can be observed with the most visited website (with the exception of Wikipedia).
Video Encourages Website Engagement
- Videos account for 80% of all internet site traffic
- In 2021, live video will make up 13% of all internet traffic
Videos are great for SEO & Search Engine Rankings
- Google encourages video content, which is why website videos are a benefit for rankings.
- Videos can increase organic traffic to SERPs by 15%
- While videos don’t directly affect rankings, they can help a website improve its chances of ranking.
- Google considers the time spent on a website by visitors to be a ranking factor. Captivating videos can keep visitors on your website for longer periods of time, positively impacting Dwell Time.
- Similar to bounce rate, a video can grab people’s attention and promote deeper dive websites. This can lower the bounce rate.
These trends and factors are why video is so important for any business or organization. Video is a key part of our daily lives and will continue to play a vital role in the future. To grow and develop, it is important to keep up to date with the latest platforms, tactics, best practices, and social media channels. Video is becoming easier to access, more affordable and easy to use in digital spaces across social media channels and websites. Contact us today to learn more about working with our professional video team to create your next video.
