The internet is quickly reaching a point where small business owners need to embrace video marketing in order to survive. In just a few years, ignoring video content will be on par with not having a business website. To explain why this will be the case, we’ll let the small business video marketing statistics do the talking. Consider the following eye-opening statistics when weighing your options for incorporating video content in the year ahead.

The Unstoppable Popularity of Online Video

The first concept worth grasping is just how dominant of a media form video has become in the past few years. Thanks to our handy mobile devices, we can consume video anywhere at any time. Increasing bandwidth also makes video more viable than it’s ever been in years past. By looking at the following statistics, you can see just how high the demand is for video.

• Video made up 73% of global internet traffic in 2016; Cisco predicts it will make up 82% by 2021 (Cisco)
• By 2021, the equivalent of 5 million years of video content will be watched every month (Cisco)
• Live video will grow 15x by 2021, making up 13% of all internet traffic (Cisco)
• In 2015, US adults spent an hour and 16 minutes of every day watching video online (eMarketer)
• 69% of people worldwide watch video online, but 86% of those 18-26 do (eMarketer)
• 71% of teens 13-18 say they watch mobile video (eMarketer)
• The average person spends around 30 minutes watching video on their smartphones every day (Quartz)
• Mobile video use grew 35% in 2017 (The Drum)
• 55% of people watch a video online every single day (Forbes)

Social Media Is Driving Digital Video Consumption in Huge Ways

The big winners on the video scene are clearly social media platforms. Including Youtube, social apps take up the majority of our online time. They’ve also been driving huge growth in our video consumption, especially Facebook video.

• Youtube is the second-most popular mobile app; 71% of all mobile users have it installed (recode)
• Youtube claims that mobile video consumption increases 100% each year (Forbes)
• 300 hours worth of video content are uploaded to Youtube every minute (Statistic Brain)
• 8 billion videos — equal to 100 million hours worth of content — are watched on Facebook daily (Social Media Today)
• 500 million people watch video on Facebook each day (Forbes)
• Snapchat users watch 10 billion videos every day (Social Media Today)
• Over 500 million hours of video are watched on Youtube every day (Social Media Today)
• Twitter’s video views grew 220x between 2014 and 2015 (Social Media Today)
• 45% of people say they watch over an hour of video on Facebook or YouTube every week (WordStream)
• People upload more video content in 30 days than what has been created by major US TV networks in the past 30 years (WordStream)
• 92% of people who watch mobile video say they share videos with others (Forbes)
• Video content on social media generates 1200% more shares than text content and image content combined (Forbes)
• Since most videos autoplay on mute, and many people browse Facebook in a public setting, 85% of Facebook videos are watched without sound (Digiday)

Digital Video’s Effectiveness, and How Much People Prefer It to Other Content

As a result of our ravenous video consumption habits, people have come to expect a larger portion of content created to be video. When people do see video content being offered, they respond in favorable ways by engaging more readily. They are also more likely to convert to the next stage of a purchase after watching branded video content.

• 4x as many people would prefer to watch a video about a product rather than read about it (Social Media Today)
• When making a purchase decision, 4 in 5 millennials look for video content as a form of research (Social Media Today)
• 70% of millennials say they’re likely to watch a branded video while shopping for products online (Social Media Today)
• 96% of video viewers say they find video content useful when weighing a purchase decision (Vidyard)
• 75% of executives say they watch branded videos related to their job at least once a week, and 65% end up visiting the website of the brand after viewing (Vidyard)
• People are 10x more likely to engage with and share a post if it includes a video (Vidyard)
• 43% of people say they want to see more video content from marketers (Hubspot)
• Half of all internet users say they search for videos related to a product or service before visiting a brick and mortar store (Vidyard)
• One in four consumers say they lose interest in a business if it doesn’t have video content for them to watch (Vidyard)
• When asked about the type of marketing asset they’d like to see more of from brands, North American consumers ranked video #1 (Vidyard)
• 59% of consumers say video footage of testimonials help them decide whether they want to buy from a company (Vidyard)
• Over a third of video viewers watch the video in its entirety (Hubspot)
• 80% of consumers remember a video they’ve watched in the past month (Forbes)

Creating Video Content Leads to Higher ROI for Marketing Campaigns

Since people are eager to watch videos, and videos can be highly effective branding or selling tools, creating video assets can pay for itself in significant ways. By converting more people, earning more leads and reinforcing other marketing campaigns, video content helps business owners achieve better ROI.

• Adding a video to a landing page can increase conversion rates by 80% (Forbes)
• Companies that create video content earn 41% more traffic from search engine results than those that don’t (Forbes)
• Marketers using video earn 66% more qualified leads every year and earn a 54% higher lift in brand awareness (Optinmonster)
• 5% of small business owners and marketers get positive results from their video content campaigns (Optinmonster)
• 83% of business professionals using video assert that it gives them good ROI (Dreamgrow)
• 82% of businesses consider video a key part of their marketing strategy (Optinmonster)
• 97% of businesses that create explainer videos feel that leads understand their business better after viewing (Optinmonster)
• 81% of businesses say that video has helped them effectively increase sales (Optinmonster)
• Using embedded video on your website makes you 53% more likely to show up on the first page of search results (Dreamgrow)
• 61% of all businesses now use video content (Dreamgrow)
• Video spending increased 53% in 2016, and mobile video spending increased a staggering 145% (AdAge)
• Mobile video ad spending is predicted to surpass desktop video ad spending in 2018 (recode)
• 67% of marketers run video ads on YouTube, and 51% use Facebook video ads (eMarketer)
• 83% of marketers say they are “confident” that their Facebook video ads will help them earn more purchases (eMarketer)

The Power and Potential of Live Video Marketing Is Growing

For our final set of small business video marketing statistics, consider the power of live video marketing. Since Facebook and other platforms launched the ability to stream video live a few years ago, the format has taken off. Consumers adore live video for its immediacy and exclusive feeling. If you’re not watching the video live, you missed out. Marketers have been using this enthusiasm for live video to their advantage, helping them earn engagement and get conversions.

• People spend 3x more watching Facebook Live videos, on average, compared to a typical Facebook video (Facebook)
• Live videos earn 10x the amount of comments compared to pre-recorded videos (Facebook)
• 81% of people watched more live video in 2016 than 2015 (livestream)
• 80% of people would rather watch a live video stream from a business than read its blog (livestream)
• 87% of people want to watch more behind the scenes video content (livestream)
• 67% of viewers say overall quality is the most important component of a live video stream (livestream)
• 36% of internet users have watched a live video, but 63% of millennials have, and 42% have created their own live video stream (eMarketer)
• The live streaming platform Twitch has 665 million viewers — a bigger audience than subscribers to HBO, Netflix, and ESPN streaming services combined (The Motley Fool)
• Streaming service Twitch achieved a record 737,000 concurrent viewers in Q3 2017 (The Motley Fool)

Let These Small Business Video Marketing Statistics Inspire You to Create More in 2018

Video content, and especially live video, is set to grow and grow in the years ahead. Modifying your strategy and investing in video will therefore only pay bigger dividends. As you improve and audiences grow, you can achieve your marketing goals more easily than ever before while enhancing the performance of your other marketing channels. Now that’s something worth watching!