by We all know that short-form video is all the rage on TikTok and Instagram but there’s a bigger trend many marketers might be overlooking.
In this analysis, you’ll uncover the growing importance of longer videos, which platforms are a sure bet, and why you should start planning your video strategy now.
Television-Viewing Trend Data
According to our research, most social marketers aren’t using video that’s longer than 1 minute. On Facebook, only 44% of marketers are regularly publishing native video and only 6% are on Instagram. And only half of marketers are publishing videos on YouTube.
The data below reveals a macro-trend that could benefit marketers from two different angles: content creation and running ads against longer-form videos.
First, let’s explore television-viewing trends.
According to Nielsen, as of June 2021, consumer adoption of streaming services like Netflix, YouTube, and Hulu is slightly more than 1 in 4 people, making it the second-largest category of TV streaming behind cable.
The pandemic has shifted people to streaming content and it’s unlikely many will ever go back.
When you wrap your mind around the streaming wars and the companies battling for eyeballs, there’s no question that broadcast and cable television will become obsolete over the next few years.
According to eMarketer, people plan to carve out more of their day watching digital video in the coming years. After all, there are only 24 hours in a day, so if the average person sleeps for 8 hours, that leaves only 16 hours for everything else. By 2023, 15% of our waking time will be spent watching digital video!
So here’s what we know so far—people are watching and will continue to watch more online video content.
Social Media Starts Looking Like Television
The major social media platforms are well aware of this trend and have been leaning into longer-form video.
Snapchat announced scripted, unscripted, and docuseries originals in May 2021. So far, they’ve created 128 different shows targeting Gen Z.
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TikTok is investing $1 billion on video creators. The platform recently announced it’s supporting 3-minute videos.
Facebook announced a $1 billion creator fund and you can bet they’re looking for video creators.
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YouTube is also seeing mass adoption in an unexpected place—television screens. Nearly 40% of YouTube’s U.S. ad impressions now occur on TV screens, up from 12% just 2 years ago, according to The Information.
What about streaming on mobile devices? App Annie’s recent study on mobile video revealed that YouTube is the top-ranked streaming app by time spent.
Today, YouTube is the dominant social platform for longer-form video.
Video Adoption by Platform
For more data on marketers’ video use, the Sprout Social Index revealed how marketers in 17 different industries are using video on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
So What Does All This Data Tell Us?
Here are a few take-home points.
1. The social platforms know that longer-form video is a huge opportunity. They’re working to attract creators so they can tap into some of the marketing dollars that come from video.
2. YouTube is the frontrunner. They’ve been doing long-form video the longest and have the best ad platform. You can jump on this trend today by advertising on YouTube.
3. You can start planning a longer-form video strategy with the understanding that the algorithms across social platforms are being tuned to display longer videos.
Get More Advice on Video Marketing
- Structure marketing videos for success.
- Script videos for social media.
- Create videos people will click on, watch, and share.
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