Social Media Is Becoming THE Place For Video Discovery, And That's Great News For Brands

Cooper Smith

Nov 20, 2013, 22:45 IST

BI Intelligence

People don't look to the TV Guide anymore or flip around on the remote control. Nowadays it's all about seeing what videos friends have posted on social channels.

For brands, that means the potential for "earned media" is significant. If a video is compelling enough, they won't have to pay to show it to consumers; consumers will do that sharing themselves on social channels. Moreover, consumers are more likely to remember the brand involved if they came across it thanks to a social media recommendation.

In a recent report from BI Intelligence, we look at the power of social video and its growth trajectory, examine social video audiences and their demographics, analyze how marketers and advertisers are getting into the mix, compare the major social video platforms, and detail how social is influencing video as a content medium.

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Here are some key developments in social video:

Social media-influenced video has eclipsed non-social video on the Web in terms of audience size: Online video audiences are expected to double in 2016, reaching 1.5 billion globally, according to Cisco. A majority now, and an increasingly significant portion of them in the future, will discover or watch video and TV content on social media platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and new mobile-focused social video apps like Vine.
Teens, a sought-after demographic, love video: While data on the demographics of social video are scarce, teens seem to be highly represented. Vine is believed to have a very teen-oriented user base. BuzzFeed chose a small sample of 152 videos on the app and discovered that 80% of them were posted by teens.
Social media is having a profound effect on the video medium: Video length is shrinking, in part to accommodate the preferences of social media audiences who like to snack on video. The intersection of mobile devices and social media will likely be crucial to video's future. Videos are increasingly discovered and shared on mobile devices, but through social media channels. Video content that is well-suited to small screens and social contexts will do well.
Advertisers want to be associated with social video: 85% of the U.S. Internet audience viewed online video in April 2013, and video advertising is now up to 13.2 billion monthly views in the U.S. alone. Data shows that consumers are more likely to enjoy a brand video and remember the brand involved if they come across it thanks to a social media recommendation. Also, socially-referred video starts are more likely to be completed than non-social video, according to Adobe.
And social is key to the all-valuable viral video: Brands are keen to spur video virality. The push for "earned media" is driving this. For a brand, a video that goes "viral," and earns millions of views on YouTube means that a brand has earned millions of impressions that it didn't have to pay for. Brands are experimenting with cracking the code to videos that will tap the right emotions and trigger mass sharing.