Survey: Video is the Most Thoroughly Consumed Form of Content Marketing

According to a new HubSpot survey, video appears to be the most favored form of content by customers and prospects as marketers turn to a wide variety of assets to achieve their objectives.

The data revealed that videos are the most thoroughly consumed form of content (55 percent), followed by social media posts (52 percent), news articles (49 percent) and research content (47 percent).

The survey results also suggest that customer demand is shifting. Nearly half (45 percent) of the respondents said they would like to see more social media content in the future. Videos took third place, with 43 percent of the vote. However, this does not mean that marketers should place less of a priority on one form of content over another, according to the researchers.

“Because most online browsers voraciously consume all content formats, this isn’t a call to abandon certain content types,” wrote the researchers. “Rather, marketers should focus their content to reflect the reading or skimming habits of their audience. Blogs posts should be digestible. Long form content needs to have clear headlines and structure to allow for skimming. If you want to make a big impact and keep people’s attention, video is the best place for you to make your case.”

Combining Video with Social Media Marketing Efforts

To make the most of their use of social networks, marketers are now more commonly delivering videos to customers and prospects on these websites. Specifically, research shows that they are taking advantage of live video features.

In fact, the “2016 Social Media Marketing Industry Report” from Social Media Examiner discovered that 39 percent of marketers intend to increase their use of live video before the end of the year.

Approximately 60 percent said they already use video as a part of their marketing strategy, and 73 percent want to increase their use of it in the future.