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Video is a highly effective form of content and its popularity has gone hand-in-hand with the rise of social media. Despite the fact that so many of us consume online videos on a daily basis, many marketers still aren’t using video as part of their digital marketing strategy or aren’t seeing the best results.
In order to inform your marketing strategy and help you get the best possible ROI from campaigns, we’ve compiled some video marketing statistics that could help you get to grips with video.

In 2020, 92% of marketers say that video is an important part of their marketing strategy. This has grown from 78% in 2015, showing that the importance of video is only growing.
So what is it that makes video so important? Well, according to 88% of marketers, video marketing provides them with positive ROI. When you consider that only 33% said the same in 2015, it shows that consumer sentiment toward videos is much stronger now.

As well as more brands looking to utilize videos, consumers are now watching more videos than ever before. It is estimated that the average person will spend 100 minutes every day watching online videos in 2021. This is a 19% increase compared to daily viewing minutes in 2019, which stood at 84.
Jonathan Barnard, Head of Forecasting at Zenith, said of this trend: “The consumption of online video is growing rapidly, and the average person will spend half as much time viewing online video as they spend viewing conventional television this year. This fast-expanding supply of audiences is fuelling rapid growth in demand from advertisers, making online video the fastest-growing digital channel by advertising expenditure.”

With the ROI of online videos increasing along with the amount of time consumers are spending watching them, it’s hardly surprising that 99% of the marketers who are currently using videos will continue to do so in 2020. On top of this, 95% of these marketers expect to increase or maintain their current spend on video marketing.
In terms of those marketers who aren’t currently using videos, 59% expect to start doing so this year.
While this shows that video needs to form part of your digital marketing strategy, it also means there will be a lot more competition to deal with. In order to stand out from competitors, you should make sure you understand consumer expectations around video, as well as the big video marketing trends for 2020.

As well as being entertaining, videos can form an important part of a consumer’s decision-making process. However, in order to get a customer to convert after watching a video, you need to ensure you are meeting their expectations.
In terms of the ideal qualities that consumers look for in order for videos to be valuable to their decision-making process, 48% want videos to reflect the specific products and services they own or are interested in. A further 43% want interactivity, with the ability to decide what information they want to view and when they want to view it.
However, extreme personalization isn’t really sought after, with just 12% saying they want videos to use their name and information within the content.

Although the common feeling is that consumers’ attention spans are getting shorter, it seems that this isn’t the case when it comes to video advertising. In Q3 of 2019, 66% of video adverts were 30 seconds long, climbing from Q3 2018’s 55%, showing that longer ads are being seen as effective.
Just 1% of video ads in the same period were six seconds long, with another 1% being 60-second ads. The second most popular ad length during this quarter was 15 seconds, accounting for 32% of ads.

Although video is a powerful B2C tool, especially when teamed with social media, it is also being used more by B2B companies looking to increase leads and conversions. In fact, 41% of B2B marketers are interested in exploring how videos can be added to their marketing and sales strategies in 2020.
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With videos being a great way to share product information, utilizing them throughout the buyer journey can help to further qualify B2B sales leads.
It’s also worth noting that 22% of B2B organizations are interested in exploring the opportunities provided by podcasting and live streaming, suggesting that there may be opportunities in these areas too.

Online videos are particularly of interest to younger demographics with 66% of teens (13-19-year-olds) and 56% of tweens (8-12-year-olds) in the US reporting that they watch videos online every day. This represents huge increases in video viewing for these age gaps compared to 2015.
Not only do these age groups watch videos online a lot, but they also enjoy the videos they watch, suggesting that video content has improved. However, this also means that there is a lot of competition for those marketing to these age groups.

57% of marketers use live video
The rise of social media has meant that there are more types of videos to share than ever before. As a result, 57% of marketers now use live video within their strategies. Over a third (34%) of marketers are making use of Facebook’s live streaming options, creating in-the-moment videos that allow viewers to react in real-time. Instagram is the second most popular option, with 13% creating live videos on the platform.
Live videos are an effective way to create conversations and build a community around your brand. However, they may not be effective for every type of business, so it is worth assessing what your competitors are doing and researching what your audience wants.
By Dave Chaffey
Digital strategist Dr Dave Chaffey is co-founder of Smart Insights and creator of the Smart Insights RACE Planning Framework. 'Dr Dave' is known for his strategic, but practical, data-driven advice. He has trained and consulted with many business of all sizes in most sectors. These include large international B2B and B2C brands including 3M, BP, Barclaycard, Dell, Confused.com, HSBC, Mercedes-Benz, Microsoft, M&G Investment, Rentokil Initial, O2, Royal Canin (Mars Group) plus many smaller businesses. Dave has contributed his expertise to many of the templates, guides and courses in our digital marketing resource library used by our Business members to plan, manage and optimize their marketing. Free members can access our free sample templates here. Dave is also keynote speaker, trainer and consultant who is author of 5 bestselling books on digital marketing including Digital Marketing Excellence and Digital Marketing: Strategy, Implementation and Practice. In 2004 he was recognized by the Chartered Institute of Marketing as one of 50 marketing ‘gurus’ worldwide who have helped shape the future of marketing. His personal site, DaveChaffey.com, lists his latest Digital marketing and E-commerce books and support materials including a digital marketing glossary. Please connect on LinkedIn to receive updates or ask Dave a question.
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