This past year proved to be an explosive year for video content on social media. Between 2016 and 2017, the number of views of branded video content grew by 99 percent on YouTube and 258 percent on Facebook. From a marketer’s perspective, video is one of your most powerful ways to engage your audience on social media. In fact, research shows that a video is six times more likely to be retweeted than an image.
Here are some additional statistics that you should know about video content on social media:
- More than 500 million people are tuning into videos on Facebook each day.
- YouTube has more than a billion people that actively use its video sharing social media platform.
- People are viewing more than 10 billion video clips each day on Snapchat.
The Key Players in the Social Media Streaming Space
Given that video and social media are a match made in heaven, it makes sense that social media video streaming would evolve. Outlined below are some of the key social media video platforms that are entering the video streaming space.
Facebook Watch
Facebook was one of the first social media networks to enter the video streaming space in 2017 with Facebook Watch. The rollout of Facebook Watch is the company’s attempt to provide episodic streaming video to users. Because Facebook has a wealth of information about its users, its video streaming platform is hyper-personalized in a way that no other video streaming service has been able to deliver. Facebook Watch users can receive recommendations for shows that are tied directly to their interests, which makes it easier to discover new content and creates a more personalized viewing experience.
When Facebook Watch first started, the only shows available to stream were exclusive to Facebook. However, Facebook is currently exploring the possibility of selling users an HBO package that they can watch through the Facebook app. If this deal goes through, it has the potential to make Facebook Watch a major player in the video streaming scene. As it is, Facebook says that more than 75 million users watch at least one minute of Facebook Watch content each day. However, will people really choose to pay to watch programming such as HBO through Facebook? Only time will tell.
Instagram’s IGTV
Instagram is another social media platform that is making waves in the video streaming space. Instagram TV (known as IGTV) is a new feature to the app where Instagram users can stream videos from creators that they already follow on the social media platform and discover new video content. What’s different about IGTV than videos that appear in the traditional Instagram feed is that the videos can be up to an hour in length. Also, unlike the content in Instagram Stories, IGTV videos don’t disappear after 24 hours. IGTV uses channels to make it easy for people to discover content.
IGTV is different than Facebook Watch in that the video content is created and uploaded by individual Instagram users rather than series of shows developed by Instagram. Therefore, IGTV can prove to be a powerful outlet for brands to truly tap into the value of video.
The Future of Online Video Streaming
We’ve talked about the rapid rise of video content in 2018. Today’s consumers are finding that it’s becoming more affordable and convenient to stream video content online versus paying for a traditional cable service.
With the growing number of consumers that own smartphone devices, we can expect that even more people will rely on their mobile devices to stream video content in 2019. In fact, it’s anticipated that video will be responsible for driving 78 percent of mobile traffic by 2021.
While no one can predict the future, the growing popularity of on-demand video streaming platforms like Netflix and the social media platforms that are starting to enter this space should be an indication to marketers that video is a wise investment.
How New York Ave Can Help
Our content creation team at New York Ave is dedicated to helping our clients to increase traffic and brand awareness with interesting and relevant content. Video is one of the most effective ways to engage your audience and spark conversations online. Contact us to learn how we can help you to take advantage of the latest social media video streaming tools to give your business an edge.
