Embracing the video-first future for brands and consumers

Five hundred million people are watching videos on Facebook every day—and they are not just viewing content from family and friends. Video has become a must-have for brand communicators, as new research reveals nearly two-thirds of consumers say video on Facebook has influenced their purchase decisions in the last month.

To help PR and marketers tap the strategic benefits from video, Animoto recently released a new report, The State of Social Video 2017: Marketing in a Video-First World, examining consumer habits launching us into the golden age of online video—and uncovering how marketers are reacting to social video watching habits, optimizing campaigns, and investing budgets as a result.

The report illustrates that a big market is emerging in promoted video content, as consumers respond positively to the branded videos they view on social networks like Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.

According to the survey, 60 percent of consumers say they watch branded videos on Facebook every day. What’s more, these videos are driving engagement and influencing buying decisions—64 percent of consumers say watching a marketing video on Facebook has influenced a purchase decision in the last month.

Marketers are responding to this consumer trend towards branded social video, with 47 percent of those surveyed publishing 4 or more marketing videos in an average month. To meet the demand for increased video content, 92 percent of marketers are repurposing assets they already have for video creation.

The report was compiled from an online survey of 1,000 consumers and 500 marketers that work at companies that have produced at least two videos in the past year.

“We are living in a video-first world, and you need to look no further than your Facebook News Feed for proof that video is now the most popular form of communication online,” said Brad Jefferson, CEO of Animoto. “Businesses need to learn to ‘speak video’ fluently if they want to connect with their customers on social media. Our study shows that marketers recognize the importance of prioritizing video marketing on social networks, and are taking the steps they need to succeed in reaching their customers in the most engaging and authentic way.”

Social video is mobile video

Facebook reported 1.74 billion mobile monthly active users in February 2017.  Survey results proved that consumers are watching more video content than ever on social platforms from their mobile devices, and marketers are adapting their strategies to ensure their videos perform well on mobile.

• 84 percent of consumers say they watch social video content on mobile devices.
• 81 percent of marketers say they optimize their social videos for mobile, which includes things like planning for sound-off viewing.
• 39 percent of marketers create videos in square and/or vertical formats.

Facebook and YouTube still lead for marketers when it comes to social video

While consumers are adding new platforms to the mix of places they’re watching videos from brands, Animoto’s 2016 Social Video Forecast saw marketers investing heavily in video on Facebook and YouTube; that trend continues in 2017.

• According to the 2016 Social Video Forecast, 44 percent of marketers said they planned to pay to promote video content on Facebook in the next year. The social network outperformed this expectation by a long shot in this year’s survey: 67 percent of marketers said they paid to boost or advertise video on Facebook in the last 12 months.
• Marketers say that Facebook videos drive more views, engagement and purchases than videos on any other social network; YouTube is a close second.
• Only 25 percent of marketers are investing in video advertising on Instagram and Twitter, but more than half of marketers say they plan to increase investment on these two channels next year.

Social video drives brand engagement and sales

The majority of marketers are confident the video content they are creating will drive views, purchases, and engagement, with good reason. Social videos are engendering trust, loyalty, and driving sales.

• 83 percent of marketers are confident that the marketing video content they are creating for Facebook will drive purchases.
• 64 percent of consumers say they have made a purchase after watching a marketing video on Facebook in the past month.
• Authenticity was ranked as the number 1 quality that leads consumers to trust a brand; 53 percent of consumers said that the way to create an authentic video was to have a clear, cohesive narrative.

Animoto surveyed a representative sample of U.S. adult marketers at companies that have created at least 2 videos in the past year and adult consumers to learn about social media and video marketing practices. The web-based survey was fielded April 6, 2017 through April 11, 2017 with a sample size of 1,000 consumers 18 years or older and 500 video marketers (at companies of 3 or larger). For the consumer survey, the margin of error was 3.0%; for the marketer survey, the margin of error was 4.1%.