Video is THE Medium of Our Era

Video is booming as a communication tool and information, education, and entertainment source for people of all ages. It’s taken the top spot as a content medium, and it’s not going to give it up.

In 2016, people watched one billion hours of video online each day on YouTube alone. That number is certainly higher today, and it has a lot to do with the proliferation of smartphones with high resolution screens and impressive cameras, the continued rise of “creator culture,” as well as with the roll out of tech like 5G that keeps us internet-connected at high speed at all times.

Video trends across all social media show the same upward slant. The estimated number of YouTube users is 2.6 billion, with TikTok at around one billion users and growing faster than any other platform. Video is now so popular that apps like Facebook and Instagram have begun to emulate TikTok’s short-form video format and algorithm. Even YouTube has ventured into the land of quick videos they call “shorts.”

Unsurprisingly, video has become the go-to medium for content creators and brands. Adweek tells us that social media videos are shared 1200% more than images or text, while Social Media Today tells us that tweets with video content get 10x engagement compared to those without it. Even a platform like Facebook, which isn’t focused on video, sees users watch an average of eight billion videos per day.

In the digital marketing space the story is the same, with an industry size that is already $135 billion. Survey data shows that 84% of marketers believe video helps generate leads, while 87% agree that video provides a positive ROI overall. That jibes well with other sources that suggest up to 90% of customers say that video helps them make purchasing decisions, as well as data that shows users spend 88% more time on websites that offer video content.

The trend line is clear. Video has taken over and is poised to remain the dominant information, education, and communication medium for the foreseeable future. People always preferred video for its high fidelity, its engaging content, and its dynamism – it was just held back by what was possible. Now we live in a world where our technology allows us to create, share, and consume video from anywhere. And do so we will.

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Image Credit: https://unsplash.com/@ltoinel