Video consumption in 2020 and other trends

Video content has always enjoyed high viewership online, but given the events of the past year and a half, the demand for and consumption of videos has further increased. HubSpot’s State of Content Marketing in 2021 report reveals that online audiences watched 12.2 billion minutes of video in 2020, up by 84.8 per cent since 2019.

A big chunk of this percentage increase can be attributed to a change in user behaviour due to the COVID-19 pandemic: that is, Internet usage increased drastically as the public stayed at home for months to avoid the threat of coronavirus. However, it is worth noting that video plays already rose by 31 per cent (YOY data) even before March 2020.

The HubSpot report cited data gathered by Wistia, a company offering video production software and platform. Here are some of their key findings:

• The average conversion rate from videos rose from 8.6 per cent in 2016 to 12.7 per cent last year.
• Interactive elements embedded at the beginning of the video had the most engagements in 2020. This is a reversal of the trend in 2019 where interactive elements at the end of the video had higher engagements than those placed at the beginning.
• Fifty per cent of audiences has been shown to stay engaged for the first three minutes, and the rate drops the longer the video gets.

How to leverage video for content marketing

The data above already offers a few insights on how to leverage video for content marketing and conversions from 2021 onwards.

First, the relevance of video in online content marketing is no longer up for debate. Any brand or company that forgoes video will be missing out on audience reach and the ability to promote, inform, and convert in a matter of minutes — passively, too, which is a luxury for any commercial entity.

Second, make your videos count. Although you don’t need an expensive production for every promotional video, you can’t hope that every amateurish video you produce will go viral or generate conversions (even if you do succeed with one or more). It’s better to be strategic, and that means investing in market research and finding out what appeals to your target market.

Apprehensions about market research during this period are understandable: 51 per cent of market research professionals in the UK believe that consumer behaviour will change once the pandemic is over. Even if this is true, we need to be mindful of two important things:

1. There’s still no telling when life will be “back to normal,” or what the “new normal” will be like after the pandemic.

Market research conducted now can inform short-term business decisions (which, considering the times, are just as vital as long-term plans).

Maximise the potential of video marketing with Vaccoda

Videos can take brands and businesses forward as they can communicate marketing messages effectively in minutes, even seconds. They can also shorten the conversion journey for website visitors, turning them from mere audiences who fit a marketing campaign’s target demographic to attentive admirers of a product or brand.

The effectiveness of marketing videos can be boosted by market research as its findings can inform which tone and content will work best on a specific audience.

Once the video is out, there’s also the matter of deploying it through channels where it can have the farthest reach. Vaccoda can come up with a cost-effective campaign strategy that will make the most of your videos. Whether you have a simple explainer video that uses graphics or a professionally produced advertisement, our online marketing team will design a campaign to help give your business maximum impact.

Get in touch with us today to talk about how we can help you with your video marketing.