9 Crucial Social Video Stats to be Aware of in 2020
By Victor Blasco
It’s 2020, and let’s face it: video is everywhere. On websites and newsletters, yes, but mostly it’s in our social media platforms.
Social media users consume video content every day, which has made it the most efficient and effective way to receive – and convey – information online. In turn, social media platforms have learned to embrace video, as it brings with it high engagement.
So, nowadays, if brands want to make the most out of their social media strategies, they need to think about leveraging video pieces.
But just as any strategy-focused video production company will tell you, every platform interacts with video differently! Marketers need to learn and understand these differences if they want to get the most out of their strategy.
A great place to start? Looking at the hard data and metrics behind this interaction! Which is what we are going to do today.
Not using video on Facebook is not using Facebook to its full potential. On this platform, video is with no doubt the most influential type of content, and the fact that they have half a billion people watching videos each day makes this platform a fertile ground for your videos to catch a lot of views.
But how does video work on Facebook?
1. Facebook generates more interactions with videos
Historically, Facebook has been one of the pioneers in shifting their platform to have a more video-centric focus. They’ve improved the way users interact with video content by creating autoplay features, favoring native uploads and overall making video essential to the Facebook experience.
This is why, when it comes to generating user interactions with video marketing content, 39% of business owners agree that Facebook is the best social media channel to use to achieve this. (Source) Followed by Instagram in second place, and YouTube in third.
2. The best length for Facebook Video: One minute. No more, no less
On Facebook, users are looking for video content that’s long enough to give them something valuable (information, entertainment…), but that is also concise enough so that they can watch it and quickly scroll over to the next piece of content.
That’s why most Facebook users engage the most with videos that are around 1-minute in length. (Source)
Instagram started as an image-only platform, but over the years, it has incorporated many different channels to distribute and market through video. Whether it is on the feeds of its users, on Instagram stories, or as live-video; each one has its own ground rules.
That said, certain data can be gathered from the overall use of video on the platform. Let’s take a look.
3. Instagram usage is on the rise
During the last couple of years, Instagram has seen a rise in mobile video consumption. Users have found that it’s super convenient to access their favorite content just by using their phones, without having to be tied to a computer.
A survey conducted by Facebook IQ indicates that more than 45% of the Instagram users interviewed believe their consumption of mobile video will increase in the near future, so Instagrammers’ interest for mobile video doesn’t seem likely to stop anytime soon. (Source)
4. Video consumption on Instagram grows 80% each year
How much is video consumption on the platform growing exactly? Well, for the last few years, it has risen a whopping 80% year after year, and it doesn’t look like it’s stopping any time soon.
As consumption grows, production grows too. Instagram accounts are producing 4X more videos each year. This is given by the growing evolution of technology during the past decade, which helps people create video content just by using their phones, even with little to no experience. (Source)
5. Video has 38% more engagement than images
Which one wins the battle, video or images? On Instagram, it’s video.
Video content has the highest engagement rates, over 38% higher than image posts. Just by measuring comments alone, you’ll find out that video on Instagram statistically receives twice as many interactions as photo posts. (Source).
YouTube
There’s no doubt: YouTube is the undisputed king of video online. It’s the largest video-sharing social media site in the world, and it has almost as many monthly active users as Facebook.
Also, it’s not showing any signs of slowing down, which makes it all pretty clear: people all over the world love watching videos. From a promotional point of view, YouTube has a huge audience! So, having a solid YouTube strategy can help your videos reach more people.
6. The average user spends about 12 minutes per day on the platform
The average YouTube user has high levels of activity on the platform. They usually spend 11:50 minutes on the platform every day, and navigate around quite a lot, viewing around 6.7 pages per day. (Source)
For brands, this means that having different videos uploaded on the platform is a smart move, as users are probably going to navigate from one to the other, increasing the time a single user comes in contact with your brand’s content.
7. YouTube leads the charge for younger demographics
If you want to reach a teenage and young adult audience, YouTube is the place to be. A study by Statista says that 81% of Internet users aged between 15 and 25 are using the platform. (Source)
Yes, Twitter is not for everyone. For some brands, Twitter can be a risky platform: it’s the home of political polarization and snarky humor. But for the brands that actually ‘get’ Twitter, high rewards await.
Over the years, this platform has been focusing on improving its user experience, and making room for video content is a big part of that. So, how does video behave on Twitter nowadays?
8. Twitter ads with video are 50% cheaper in cost-per-engagement
Twitter is actively researching how video works for them, with organic and paid content. By analyzing 3.7 million accounts, they found that tweets with video attracted 10 times more engagement than tweets without it. (Source)
This is especially important for advertisements on Twitter. Promoted tweets that include video get all of the advantages of this increased engagement rate, as they save over 50% more on their cost-per-engagement numbers.
When marketers use video for their promoted tweets, they stretch their ad budget, helping them make the most out of it.
9. Watching video is the #3 reason people use Twitter
Video on Twitter might not be the main reason why people use the platform, but it’s getting there. It’s understandable, though, as the platform was originally intended to be a microblogging platform of just text updates.
Today, it has caught up with the needs and preferences of its users, and video content is now the third most stated reason for using Twitter (just behind reading the news and viewing photos), according to a study conducted by Statista. (Source)
Make video content tailored for each platform!
So as you’ve seen, video behaves differently on each platform. According to the stats, the way that audiences interact with video content is not the same for YouTube as for Twitter… and the way that you’ll create social video should vary accordingly.
You can’t create a video for your brand’s YouTube channel and then upload it on Instagram stories and expect it to have the same positive effect. If you’re going to make social video, you’ll need to take into account the specific needs of each platform.
So, what does work for each platform? Let’s take a quick look!
Facebook:
Short, but not too short: One-minute videos work perfectly.
Use a 4:5 aspect ratio if possible: This way, you’ll occupy most of the space on your users’ screens (especially on mobile!)
If you want to make the most of the platform, make sure that you upload your video natively on Facebook!
Twitter:
Make sure that you accompany your video with some text, but don’t make it too long. Video should be the star of your tweet!
Horizontal video is the way to go: Create videos with a 16:9 aspect ratio.
Just like on Facebook, make sure that your videos are uploaded natively!
Instagram:
Here, the platform will determine the length of your video: 15 seconds for stories, 60 seconds max on feed, and IGTV for longer content. Create your videos by taking those time frames into account, instead of trying to split longer content to fit those requirements.
YouTube:
On YouTube, make sure to take SEO into account: Use your video’s title and description to include the right keywords. That way, people will be able to find you!
Step into educational content: A lot of people go to YouTube to learn how to do stuff, so creating educational videos for topics related to your brand is a great way to attract new customers and engage your audience.
Quality is important: Unlike other social networks, on YouTube people are expecting to see high-quality video content! This means good lighting, clear audio, and nice image quality (or a good animation, if that’s the case).
Time to Create Awesome Video Content!
Using video in marketing strategies for social media is not just important, it’s vital! Video is one of the most important tools a marketer can have in their toolkit right now.
Social media platforms are evolving towards an all-video future, and the sooner your brand gets this, the sooner it’ll start making smart use of their social media budgets!
So, now that you have solid data on how users behave around video on each platform, you are better equipped to generate effective videos that help you achieve your marketing goals.
On your marks… lights, camera, action!
About Victor Blasco
Victor Blasco is an audiovisual designer, video marketing expert, and founder/CEO of the explainer video company Yum Yum Videos. Besides running the business, he’s a lifelong student of Chinese philosophy and a passionate geek for all things sci-fi.