How much of an impact does video have in the current digital environment? 93 percent of marketers claim that video has brought them new customers, according to a recent research.

Video is the most popular form of digital content on social media, with everything else comiin order to connect with their target audience on social media.

This strategy becomes more important for small businesses that use social media to expand their online presence. When 5G networks are deployed and speed is no longer an issue, video consumption will only increase in the years to come.

Consumers

The report that included more than 1,700 participants unveiled that 73 percent of consumers claimed they have been influenced by a brand’s social media presence while making a purchasing choice. 45 percent of respondents cited video as their preferred form of brand material, with photos at 22 percent, links at 13 percent, and text at 10 percent.

How do social media and television compare? The percentage of consumers who watch more video commercials on social media than on television falls to 46% among non-millennials.

Additionally, social media is what enables customers to find brands. This is primarily caused by the fact that 32% of respondents first check a brand’s social media pages before visiting its website.

45% of consumers cited it as their initial introduction to the company or product before making a purchase. Another 31% claimed it was based on suggestions from friends, followed by Facebook Groups at 30% and sponsored influencer posts at 29%.

Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram were the top three platforms for viewing social media videos from brands, in that order.

How-to videos, videos promoting sales and promotions, and top five lists are the top three categories of branded videos that viewers most enjoy.

Marketers

73 percent of marketers claimed to produce at least two videos every month specifically for social media marketing. 93 percent of those who create videos claim that doing so results in the acquisition of new clients.

For 63 percent of businesses, video production yields the best return on investment for their social media marketing efforts. Following this, 56% replied images/graphics, 25% said blog entries, 23% said texts/quotes, and 22% said infographics.

The time it takes to create the videos, the complexity of the tools used to create them, and the budget were cited by marketers as the top three difficulties with employing video.

The infographics below contain the remaining survey data for both the consumer and marketer perspectives.