Video Marketing Statistics 2021

The State of Video Marketing

We gathered the stats below by surveying 813 unique respondents in December 2020. Our sample included both marketing professionals and online consumers. We separated these groups with a preliminary question, ensuring that respondents were only asked to answer the questions relevant to them. Our trend data is based on 7 years of asking these questions.

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View past results here: 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015

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Section 1: Video marketing overview

Section 3: The ROI of video marketing

Section 5: Measurement of success

Section 7: Video platforms

Section 9: Year over year trends

Section 2: 2020 & the global pandemic

Section 4: Consumers and video

Section 6: Non-video marketers

Section 8: Usage & channels

01

Video marketing overview

How many businesses use video as a marketing tool – and how do they use it?

86% of businesses use video as a marketing tool. This was 85% in 2020, 87% in 2019, 81% in 2018, 63% in 2017 and 61% in 2016.
View trend chart

93% of marketers who use video say that it’s an important part of their marketing strategy. This was 92% in 2020, 91% in 2019, 85% in 2018, 82% in 2017, 88% in 2016 and 78% in 2015.
View trend chart

The number of businesses using video as a marketing tool has increased by 41% since 2016.

The most commonly-created types of videos are explainer videos (73%) social media videos (67%) presentation videos (51%) sales videos (41%) and video ads (41%).

02

2020 & the global pandemic

How have the unprecedented events of 2020 affected demand for video?

Around 40% of marketers say their plans around video marketing have been, or are being affected, by the coronavirus pandemic.

Out of those people, 74% say the pandemic made them more likely to use video, while 26% say it became less likely.

60% of marketers expect the pandemic to affect their video marketing budget for 2021. Of these, 7 out of 10 say their budget will increase, while the other 3 out of 10 say their budget is likely to shrink.

68% of consumers say the pandemic has impacted the amount of video content they’ve watched online, with the overwhelming majority (96%) saying this has increased.

91% of marketers feel video is more important for brands in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

24% of video marketers said they used video for the first time in 2020.

Of these, 51% said this was because video had become easier to create in-house.
47% said video was made necessary by new challenges, including the coronavirus pandemic.
44% said it was because video had become more affordable.
39% said it was because it had become quicker and less time-consuming to create video.
36% said it had become easier to convince others in the business on the value of video content.
19% said they had become clearer on the ROI of video and this had given them confidence to invest.

03

The ROI of video marketing

How do marketers feel about the return they get on their investment in video?

86% of video marketers say video has increased traffic to their website. (Down 1% from last year)

83% of video marketers say video has helped increase the average time their visitors spend on page. (Up 2% from last year)

94% of video marketers say video has helped increase user understanding of their product or service. (Down 1% from last year)

84% of video marketers say video has helped them generate leads. (Up 1% from last year)

78% of video marketers say video has directly helped increase sales. (Down 2% from last year)

43% of video marketers say video has reduced the number of support calls they’ve received. (The same number as last year.)

87% of video marketers say video, in general, gives them a good return on their investment. (Down 2% from last year.)

04

The audience view: Consumers and video

Putting aside what marketers think about video – how do their audiences feel about it?

96% of people have watched an explainer video to learn more about a product or service.

84% of people say that they’ve been convinced to buy a product or service by watching a brand’s video.

79% of people say they’ve been convinced to buy or download a piece of software or app by watching a video.

When asked how they’d most like to learn about a product or service, 69% said they’d prefer to watch a short video. This compares to 18% who’d rather read a text-based article, website or post, 4% who’d like to view an infographic, 3% who’d rather download an ebook or manual, 3% who’d rather attend a webinar or pitch, and 2% who’d like a sales call or demo.

People watch an average of 18 hours of online video per week. (This is an increase of 2 hours per week compared to 12 months ago, and a staggering 7.5 hour increase per week across the past 3 years.)

In 2018, people watched an average of 1.5 hours per day of online video. Our 2021 survey shows this has risen to an average of over 2.5 hours per day.

People are twice as likely to share video content with their friends than any other type of content, including social media posts, blog posts/articles and product pages.

05

Measurement of success

What are people trying to achieve through video – and how do they define success?

When asked how they measure success, video marketers responded as follows:

– The most commonly cited metric was video engagement (including shares, comments, likes, etc.) 63% of video marketers responded this way.
– Next up was video reach – determined by number of views – with 58%.
– Leads and clickthroughs were next, with 55%.
– Customer engagement/retention were a consideration for 43% of video marketers.
– Brand awareness/PR was next up with 42%.
– A surprisingly low 29% of video marketers said that bottom line sales were part of their evaluation of video ROI.
– 4% cited a range of other determining factors including employee onboarding quality, charitable donations received, sales calls booked and verbal feedback.

While others reported that video ROI was entirely anecdotal, and/or not measured at all.

06

Non-video marketers

Of those marketers who don’t currently use video, the reasons are diverse…

19% of non-video marketers say they don’t use video for marketing as they don’t feel it’s needed.

17% of non-video marketers don’t use video for marketing because it’s too expensive.

17% of non-video marketers don’t use video for marketing as they don’t know where to start.

16% of non-video marketers don’t use video for marketing as they lack time.

7% of non-video marketers don’t use video for marketing as they say they’re unclear on the ROI of video.

5% of non-video marketers say they don’t use video because they’re unable to convince key decision-makers to use it.

However, 69% of non-video marketers say they expect to start using video as a marketing tool in 2021.

07

Video platforms

Which platforms do video marketers use – and which ones do they find most effective?

For the seventh consecutive year, YouTube remains the most widely used platform for video marketers – with 87% of video marketers having used it this year (up from 85% last year).

87% of video marketers said YouTube had been an effective channel for them – up from 83% last year.

Webinars were the video success story of 2020. In 2019, just 46% used webinars – but in 2020, this rose significantly to 62%.

91% of webinar marketers say they’ve been a success – an increase of 10% from 2019 – making it the most effective video marketing channel of all those listed.

2020 was, in some ways, a breakthrough year for Tiktok – although overall adoption remains low. The number of marketers using TikTok as a marketing tool doubled from 10% in 2019 to 20% in 2020 – although only 67% of these people reported that it’s effective.

08

Looking forward: Usage & channels

How do marketers plan to use video in 2021?

More than 99% of people who use video for marketing say they’ll continue using video in 2021.

And 96% of people will either increase (67%) or maintain (29%) their spend.

89% of video marketers plan to include YouTube in their 2021 video marketing strategy. (+1% from last year)

70% of video marketers plan to include Facebook in their 2021 video marketing strategy. (-6% from last year)

63% of video marketers plan to include LinkedIn in their 2021 video marketing strategy. (-3% from last year)

58% of video marketers plan to include Instagram in their 2021 video marketing strategy. (-7% from last year)

53% of video marketers plan to include webinars in their 2021 video marketing strategy. (+11% from last year)

31% of video marketers plan to include Twitter in their 2021 video marketing strategy. (-7% from last year)

28% of video marketers plan to include Facebook Live in their 2021 video marketing strategy. (-4% from last year)

27% of video marketers plan to include InstagramTV in their 2021 video marketing strategy. (-1% from last year)

24% of video marketers plan to include interactive video in their 2021 video marketing strategy. (+3% from last year)

20% of video marketers plan to include TikTok in their 2021 video marketing strategy. (+5% from last year)

12% of video marketers plan to include 360 degree video in their 2021 video marketing strategy. (-3% from last year)

12% of video marketers plan to include VR in their 2021 video marketing strategy. (+1% from last year)

6% of video marketers plan to include Snapchat video in their 2021 video marketing strategy. (-3%)

85% of people would like to see more video from brands in 2021.

09

Year over year trends

We’ve conducted an annual survey every year since 2015. What does comparing our data, year over year, reveal about the general trajectory of video marketing?

Does your business use video as a marketing tool?

% of people who agree

The number of businesses using video as a marketing tool, overall, has increased from 61% to 86% since 2016.

Is video an important part of your marketing strategy?

% of people who agree

The perceived importance of video as a marketing tool has significantly increased. In 2015, around 78% of video marketers told us they believed video to be an important part of their marketing strategy. Now, as we enter 2021, that number has increased to 93%.

Does video give you a positive return on investment?

% of people who agree

There has been an almost unfaltering rise in the number of marketers reporting a positive ROI from video. Back in 2015, only a third said they got a good ROI. That number more than doubled in the following 12 months, and has since seen further increases, peaking in 2020 at 88% and settling in 2021 to 87%.

Has your video marketing reduced the number of support calls you’ve received?

% of people who agree

The number of marketers associating video with a fall in support queries experienced phenomenal growth between 2015 and 2017. Although this growth has slowed, the number is still a significant increase from 2015.

Has your video marketing led to a greater understanding of your product or service?

% of people who agree

Video has held consistently strong as a tool for building understanding. When we first asked the question back in 2015, 80% of marketers told us they felt they’d increased understanding of their product or service using video. Now, that number has increased to 94%.

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