Companies that haven’t incorporated a video strategy into their marketing efforts might want to reconsider their position now that YouTube may be more popular than traditional television.
According to a survey by digital marketing firm, Adroit Digital, 68% of respondents watch YouTube videos compared to 51% who watch live TV and 49% who watch video streaming service, Netflix.
Two thousand American adults (18 years old or older) participated in the survey which took place over the phone in April 2014. All respondents owned the technology necessary to watch videos and TV programs (a computer, television and smartphone).
Technology has impacted people’s viewing habits, according to the survey. Traditional TV viewers often watch their shows on-demand, with 36% using on-demand for more than half of their TV viewing and 13% using on-demand more than 75% of the time.
Streaming video was also really popular, with 28% of viewers watching more than 15 hours of streamed content per week. Respondents between the ages of 35-44 were the largest consumers of streamed content with 33% watching 15 hours or more of streamed content each week.
For businesses, this survey may provide some insight into the most effective ways to use video. For example, 68% of respondents said that a short video would influence them more than a text-focused ad for getting information on a product.
Majority of respondents (56%) usually skip online ads that play before videos. Twenty-four percent decide whether or not to watch the ad based on the content and 20% don’t skip most online ads.
Respondents also indicated a preference for shorter ads. Fifteen seconds or less was considered the ideal length for a video ad by 46% of respondents. Thirty-five percent said the optimal length of ads should be 16-30 seconds and 19% said 31 seconds or longer works best.
When asked what time of the day respondents were most likely to watch video-based content, 67% said between 4 p.m. to 12 a.m., with 30% preferring to watch from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. and 37% from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m.
