Videos are quickly overtaking all other forms of content on social media.

They’re dynamic, engaging and drive incredible results. In fact, 87% of marketers report a direct increase in sales through video.

It’s no wonder video is becoming a staple in most brands’ marketing strategies. If you’re still not making the most of this medium, you’re missing out big time.

In this article, we’ll share top social media video statistics from reputable sources to update you with the latest video marketing trends and highlight the true value video offers.

Table of contents

Social media video marketing statistics

Anyone who’s scrolled through Facebook, Instagram or Twitter recently knows that videos play a major part in your experience with these social media networks.

Video has been a buzzword in marketing for years, and today brands are using it to carve out devoted followings on social media. Did you know users will retain 95% of a message watched on video as opposed to only 10% read in text?

For brands and marketers, choosing to ignore video’s massive role would be a big mistake. If you want to truly connect with your audience where they’re spending time, you have to speak their language—video.

But just throwing any videos out there won’t cut it. That’s why understanding the latest data and trends is so important for an effective video marketing strategy. It’s about knowing what kinds of videos truly stop the scroll, spark engagement and drive results.

  1. Nine out of 10 businesses are using video for marketing in 2024.
  2. Short-form video delivers the highest ROI compared to other marketing trends, and will secure more investment in 2024 than any other format.
  3. Eighty-one percent of consumers want to see more short-form videos from brands in 2024.
  4. For US adults, video’s share of the average daily social media time is plateauing.
    A graph by Insider Intelligence showing video consumption is plateauing
  5. Sixty-six percent of viewers will watch the entirety of a video if it’s less than 60 seconds long.
  6. Users watched an average of 17 hours of online video content per week in 2023, down from 19 hours a week in 2022.
  7. Sixty-nine percent of US consumers prefer watching videos on a smartphone, making it the top device for digital video consumption.
  8. Eighty-six percent of consumers spend a quarter or more of their time on social media watching videos
  9. Eighty-four percent of people said they visited a website after watching a video ad about the brand’s products or services.
  10. Seventy-five percent of video marketers have used AI tools to create or edit marketing videos.
  11. Video production is the most common service social media marketers outsource.

What this means for your social media marketing video strategy

Video continues to dominate social media, especially short-form video. Marketers need to double down on snackable videos optimized for mobile. However, since overall video consumption is plateauing, brands need to work harder to create content that stands out. Be consistent, track your performance and experiment to see what resonates with your audience. Also, consider using AI tools and outsourcing video production to speed up content creation time without sacrificing quality.

Bonus resource: We created a guide and worksheet to help you extend the life and value of a branded video by turning it into a suite of teasers, clips, GIFs and more. Download it today to ensure you’re getting the most out of your video assets.

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Facebook video statistics

Over the past few years, Facebook has expanded its suite of video options. Today, the Watch tab allows users to view and engage with focused video content. Stories offer a chance for brands to connect and interact with their audience.

Additionally, Facebook Live allows brands to host live events, give a peak behind the scenes or engage in real time with their audiences. The following statistics highlight opportunities for social media marketers to optimize their Facebook marketing strategy with video.

  1. Over 2 billion people stream videos on Facebook each month.
  2. Facebook users spend 50% of their time on the app watching videos.
  3. Live video currently dominates Facebook, garnering 3x the median interactions compared to carousels, the next most engaging post type.
A horizontal bar graph from Emplifi showing the top performing post types on Facebook worldwide
  1. Eighty-six percent of marketers use Facebook for video marketing, making it the second-most popular platform for that purpose.
  2. Seventy-one percent of marketers find Facebook to be the most effective video marketing channel, after YouTube.
  3. Facebook videos have an average engagement rate of 0.06%, making them the third-most engaging post types on the platform.
  4. Mobile-first video ads are 27% more likely to drive brand lift and 23% more likely to drive message association compared to video ads that are not optimized for mobile.
  5. Three-hundred million people use Facebook Stories every day.
  6. Eighty percent of Facebook Stories that have sound or voice-overs drive better lower funnel results.
  7. The vast majority (74%) of Facebook videos are watched without sound.

What this means for your Facebook video marketing strategy

With Live video winning on the platform, marketers should prioritize real-time, interactive sessions with their audiences. When it comes to paid media, creating mobile-first ads can boost Facebook video metrics. Finally, since a big chunk of users are watching Facebook videos without sound, brands should focus heavily on visual storytelling and use captions and text overlays to make their content more accessible.

Instagram video statistics

​​Instagram offers a wealth of video marketing opportunities. With formats like Reels, Stories and posts, marketers have a great deal of choice when it comes to sharing Instagram content.

However, it can also be overwhelming for those less experienced with the medium. The following social media video stats shed light on where brands should focus their efforts on Instagram for maximum impact.

  1. Fifty-three percent of consumers prefer Instagram Reels over TikTok and YouTube Shorts for watching short-form videos.
  2. More than half of Instagram users watch stories on a daily basis.
  3. Fifty percent of Instagram users have visited a website to buy a product/service after seeing it in Stories.
  4. Instagram Reels generate twice as much reach on Instagram compared to other post types.
A bar graph from Socialinsider that shows Instagram Reels have 2x higher reach than other content types on the platform.
  1. More than half of Instagram users like, share or comment on a reel at least once a week.
  2. Reels make up over 50% of the content reshared in direct messages (DMs).
  3. Fifty-six percent of industry professionals increased their video activities on Instagram in 2023.
  4. Influencers find Instagram Reels to be the most engaging types of social media posts, followed by Instagram static posts then Stories.
  5. In 2023, Instagram Reels saw a nearly 50% drop in reach for accounts with 50,000 to 45 million followers, while those with under 500 followers experienced a decrease of over 75%.

What this means for your Instagram video marketing strategy

With Stories, Live streams, Reels and in-feed videos, Instagram offers a variety of options for social media marketers to consider. However, with so many available video options, the key is not to pigeonhole your brand into using only one. Provide value by using videos across the network to find your ideal audience regardless of the tab they frequent the most.

X (Twitter) video statistics

If you’ve scrolled through your X (formerly Twitter) feed lately, you know video is integral to the network’s appeal. Whether it’s a glossy brand announcement, a blockbuster movie trailer or a recording of your neighbors’ kid snuggling their cocker spaniel, X users engage with videos more than any other content type. The social media video statistics below offer insights into how brands can jump on the bandwagon and use Twitter for marketing effectively.

  1. People watch 2 billion videos on Twitter daily.
  2. Posts with a video get 10x more engagement than those without video.
  3. Adding a website button to your Twitter video ad can drive a 2x higher clickthrough rate.
  4. Ninety-three percent of Twitter videos are watched on mobile devices.
  5. Videos with minimal copy versus longer copy have a 13% higher recall and overall view time.
  6. Twitter videos that don’t require sound to be understood (with closed captions or text overlays) gain 28% more view time and 1.8 times the return on investment.

What this means for your Twitter video marketing strategy

While not all of your videos should be product-focused, these Twitter video marketing statistics do showcase that users are not opposed to a sales message when it’s delivered through a well-crafted video. Of course, your brand’s specific mix of entertaining, educational and product-centric content will depend largely on your industry’s standards and your audience’s preferences. But, as you define that blend, consider sprinkling in a few videos that highlight your products in a positive way to drive sales, brand awareness and Twitter engagement.

YouTube video statistics

As the second-largest search engine (behind Google), YouTube is more than just a network where you can watch dog videos after work. YouTube allows brands to showcase their unique value propositions in an engaging way.

But because video is the only kind of content supported, it can also be a bit resource-intensive for many marketing teams. These next few statistics lay out some insights to help brands optimize their YouTube marketing efforts.

  1. More than 500 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute.
  2. Users are twice as likely to buy something if they saw it in a YouTube video.
  3. Seventy-five percent of users report that YouTube makes them more aware of new brands.
  4. Viewers rate YouTube as the #1 platform for delivering personalized video content.
  5. Seventy perecnt of users say they made a purchase after seeing the brand on YouTube.
  6. Social media users are 4x more likely to use YouTube to research a brand, service or product than other platforms.
  7. Globally, YouTube Shorts see an average of 70 billion views each day.
    A bar graph from Statista showing the average daily views on YouTube Shorts worldwide in the last three years.
  8. Forty-seven percent of social media users follow brands on YouTube.
  9. 88% of marketers plan to increase or maintain their investment in YouTube in 2024.

What this means for your YouTube video marketing strategy

YouTube is where consumers are going to learn more about your brand—what you stand for, what you do and how you do it. And those users are clamoring for more video content from the brands they follow. This presents a major opportunity for businesses that aren’t already active to jump in. Or for those who have only dipped their fingers to consistently execute and promote their YouTube video ideas.

TikTok video statistics

TikTok is a relatively younger platform compared to giants like Facebook and YouTube. But its short-form, vertical, sound-on format has thrown brands into a new era of viral video marketing.

However, with trends evolving at breakneck speed, marketers need to have a data-driven pulse on what performs on TikTok and how their audience is using the platform. The social media video stats below will help you keep your TikTok marketing competitive.

  1. Half of TikTok users bought something after watching TikTok LIVE.
  2. Seventy-four percent of Gen Z users would seek more information about a product after seeing a Dynamic Showcase Ad on TikTok.
  3. The number of TikTok shoppers in the US increased by 72.3%, totaling 23.7 million.
  4. US adult users will spend a total of 4.8 billion minutes daily watching TikTok videos in 2024.
A line graph showing the average daily minutes US adults spend on TikTok
  1. Over 71% of TikTok users made a purchase after seeing the product/service in their feed.
  2. Based on video views, TikTok’s average engagement rate stands at 4.07%, which indicates a YoY drop of 20%.
  3. Shorter is not always better. TikTok videos that generated the highest number of views in 2023 were over 54 seconds long.

What this means for your TikTok video marketing strategy

TikTok is not just for dance challenges and crazy viral videos. It’s increasingly becoming Gen Z’s go-to platform for product research, shopping and more. Brands targeting younger audiences, should prioritize TikTok for product promotion—leverage formats like LIVE and dynamic ads, and create engaging content that highlights your products/services without being salesy.

Using social media video in your marketing

Looking at the social media video statistics above, one thing is clear. Consumers are asking brands for more video presence, and you must give it to them. With so many choices for how to present your brand via video available, you’re sure to find a good fit for you and your audience.

An important first step is to develop clear goals for your social media video strategy so that you have benchmarks to measure against as you track your progress.

If you’re looking for a starting point, download our social media video metrics and ideas cheat sheet. In it, you’ll find recommended indicators to track along each stage of the marketing funnel, content ideas and relevant examples from brands that are winning with social video.