New Datafication series report on social video adoption among Australian consumers finds brand engagement rises with video over static images
Marketers are failing to take advantage of the rising engagement opportunities available to them via social video channels such as Vine, Instagram Video and Snapchat, a new report claims.
The Secret Life of Social Video report produced by Sydney-based advertising agency, The Works, and the University of Technology Sydney, has looked into how Australians are using social media video by analysing more than 3.2 million geotagged images and videos from Instagram and Vine, as well as a survey of 4000 Snapchat users.
The study is part of the Datafication series into how Australians are using social media channels.
The report found there are 1.4 video posts made on Instagram per week, compared with 2.8 images per week, and predicted 800,000 Instagram Videos will be posted this year. The peak usage time for Instagram Video was 9pm on Sunday, while for Vine it’s 11am on Saturday.
According to the report, women are the more active users across all platforms when it comes to video. They represented 70 per cent on Vine, 61 per cent on Snapchat, and 58 per cent on Instagram Video. The authors also reported 47 per cent of Snapchat users were between 16 and 25 years of age.
Popular content on these social sites varies depending on platform, with video music and dance content proving most common on Instagram. Funny videos were the top choice on Vine and Snapchat, followed selfies and family/friends related content.
The report also looked into how consumers were engaging with branded video content and claimed Australian brands that have invested in the channel are showing signs of increased engagement over pure image-based interactions.
The top 50 social pages listed by Social Bakers were analysed with a brand engagement score for each created. This score was a combination of the number of Likes a post received to that of any comments, divided by the number of followers.
Woolworths topped the brand engagement index, followed by Pizza Hut, Xbox Australia, KFC, Flight Centre and Vegemite. When engagement levels for images and videos were separated for Woolworths and Pizza Hut, their videos showed greater brand engagement.
Read more: SingTel-owned Amobee buys Adconion, Kontera to boost digital advertising might
Creative partner and leader of the Datafication project, Douglas Nicol, said the findings should be a wake-up call to marketers looking to better engage with consumers.
“It is ironic given the high penetration of mobile devices in Australia that marketers are underexploiting social video as a means to interact with consumers, particularly the highly sought after younger demographic,” he commented.
“Social video is marketing Viagra. It allows social sharing, content and messaging meaning brands can have a one-to-one relationship with consumers. It’s still early days, but evidence from both Australia and overseas shows those investing in social video are reaping the rewards with greater engagement levels.
“The message… is clear: Marketers and brands need to back social video or risk falling behind those already dipping their toe in the water.”
Follow CMO on Twitter: @CMOAustralia, take part in the CMO Australia conversation on LinkedIn: CMO Australia, or join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CMOAustralia
In the third and final episode of our 3-part CMO50 video series exploring modern marketing and why it’s become a matter of trust, we’re delighted to be joined by Telstra’s former CMO and now digital services and sales executive, Jeremy Nicholas, and Adobe VP Marketing Asia-Pacific and Japan, Duncan Egan.
Flash back to the classic film, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Television-obsessed Mike insists on becoming the first person to be ‘sent by Wonkavision’, dematerialising on one end, pixel by pixel, and materialising in another space. His cinematic dreams are realised thanks to rash decisions as he is shrunken down to fit the digital universe, followed by a trip to the taffy puller to return to normal size.
Why is it there is no shortage of leadership development materials, yet outstanding leadership is so rare? Despite having access to so many leadership principles, tools, systems and processes, why is it so hard to develop and improve as a leader?
As a nation united by sport, brands are beginning to learn money alone won’t talk without aligned values and action. If recent events with major leagues and their players have shown us anything, it’s the next generation of athletes are standing by what they believe in – and they won’t let their values be superseded by money.
