Brett Lindenberg
Video marketing is taking over the digital space because that is where people now spend their online time, and platforms and ad budgets have followed them. In DataReportal's Digital 2026 report, 91.1% of internet users aged 16 and over said they watched online video in the past week, the most common weekly media activity in the survey. Marketers have moved with them: in Wyzowl's 2026 survey, 91% of businesses used video as a marketing tool, and the IAB expects US digital video ad spend to pass $80 billion in 2026, growing faster than the ad market as a whole. The same growth makes video crowded, so the advantage now goes to videos that hold attention and give the viewer a reason to act.
The numbers behind the shift
These are the most recent figures we could check at the source in October 2026. Survey figures describe what people and marketers say, so read them as signals of direction.
| What we measured | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Internet users who watched online video in the past 7 days | 91.1%, the top weekly media activity | DataReportal Digital 2026, GWI survey data (October 2025) |
| Internet users who watched online video in the past 30 days | 94.6% | DataReportal Digital 2026 |
| Daily time in social and video feeds | More than 2.5 hours per user, 18 hours 36 minutes a week | DataReportal Digital 2026 |
| Daily views of YouTube Shorts | More than 200 billion on average | YouTube CEO letter (January 2026) |
| Businesses that use video as a marketing tool | 91% | Wyzowl survey of 266 respondents (2026) |
| Content format marketers say returns the most | Short-form video, named by 49% | HubSpot State of Marketing (2026) |
| US digital video ad spend | More than $80 billion, growing faster than the overall ad market | IAB Digital Video Ad Spend and Strategy Report (July 2026) |
| Digital share of global ad spend | 74.4% in 2025, up from 72.7% in 2024 | Statista data in DataReportal Digital 2026 |
Sources: DataReportal Digital 2026 Global Overview Report, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan's 2026 letter, Wyzowl Video Marketing Statistics 2026, HubSpot marketing statistics, and the IAB 2026 Digital Video Ad Spend and Strategy Report.
Why video works for marketing
It is where your audience already spends its time
DataReportal reports that when YouTube and TikTok are added to social networks, the average internet user spends well over 2.5 hours a day in social and video feeds. Similarweb data in the same report shows that, among Android users in August 2025, YouTube took well over 50% more total time than WhatsApp, the next app in the ranking. YouTube also says it has been the top streaming service by watch time in the US for nearly three years, citing Nielsen.
That viewing has moved to the living room too. DataReportal notes that advertisers could reach 84.6% of YouTube's total US audience with ads on connected TVs. A video you make for YouTube can now play on a phone in a queue and on a television at home.
It explains a product faster than text
Video shows the product in use, the steps in order, and the result. In Wyzowl's 2026 survey, 63% of consumers said a short video was how they would most like to learn about a product or service, compared with 12% who preferred a text article. In the same survey, 85% of people said a video had convinced them to buy a product or service. Wyzowl is a video production company and the survey had 266 respondents, so treat its figures as one survey's view.
It carries trust cues that text cannot
A face, a voice, and an unedited demo give viewers more to judge than a product page. That cuts both ways: 89% of consumers in Wyzowl's 2026 survey said video quality affects their trust in a brand, so fix sound and framing before you spend on production. Our guide on how to build trust covers the trust side in more detail.
Search and platforms reward it
Google now reports on social video as part of search. In July 2026 it added platform properties to Search Console, which show which search terms lead people to your posts on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and X. YouTube has also widened what counts as short-form: since October 15, 2024, square or vertical uploads up to three minutes long are treated as Shorts.
It has become cheaper and faster to make
Most teams now make video themselves. In Wyzowl's 2026 survey, 59% of video marketers created their videos in house, 10% used only outside vendors, and the rest used a mix. AI tools sped this up: 63% of video marketers had used AI video tools to create or edit marketing videos, up from 51% the year before.
It shows you what people did
A page view tells you a visit happened. Video analytics add how long people watched, where they stopped, and what they replayed or clicked, which shows you which parts of the message land.
What has changed since we first wrote this post
We published the first version of this article in April 2022. Since then, the picture has changed in four ways:
- A 2021 DialogTech roundup of digital marketing statistics, citing eMarketer, expected global digital ad spend to reach $389 billion in 2021. By 2025, Statista estimated that digital channels took 74.4% of all ad spend worldwide.
- Wyzowl's 2020 guide to video on social media looked at branded video on YouTube and Facebook. Today, YouTube Shorts alone average more than 200 billion daily views.
- Short-form video leads. HubSpot reports that in 2025 short-form video was the content format marketers used most (60%), with long-form video at 38%, and that 37% of marketers plan to increase their video investment in 2026.
- Marketers report results across the funnel. In Wyzowl's 2026 survey, 93% of video marketers said video helped increase brand awareness, 85% said it helped them generate leads, 83% said it directly increased sales, and 82% said it increased web traffic.
The catch: more video means more competition for attention
Video's success has made it crowded, and results are not automatic. In Wyzowl's 2026 survey, 82% of marketers said video gave them a good return, down from 93% the year before. And 17% of marketers did not track how much they spent on video at all.
Most viewers also leave before the end. Across 8.07 million views of 18,315 Mindstamp videos (2018 to October 2026), the average view played 46.5% of the video. These are mostly training, marketing, and sales videos made by our customers, so the figure is not a benchmark for all video, but it shows the pattern: on average, more than half of each video goes unplayed.
The common measure of success makes this hard to see. Wyzowl found that 67% of video marketers measure return through views, the first item on its list. A view count tells you how many people pressed play. It does not tell you who they were, what they understood, or what they wanted to do next.
How to stand out when everyone uses video
Put the point in the first seconds
State the problem or show the result before anything else. Show your product or logo early, so even a short view leaves a brand impression. In Wyzowl's 2026 survey, 71% of marketers said videos between 30 seconds and 2 minutes were the most effective, and a short cut can lead to a longer version for people who want detail.
Make one video for each question your buyer asks
One general brand video tries to answer everything at once. A set of short videos, each answering one question ("How long does setup take?", "Does it work with our CRM?"), gives search engines and sales teams something to match to each moment. Our video marketing strategy guide walks through planning that set.
Cut each video for the platform it plays on
Make a vertical cut for Shorts, Reels, and TikTok and a horizontal cut for your website, and add captions to every version. Our guide to video marketing for social media lists current specs for each platform.
Give viewers something to do
Another way to stand out is to let the viewer respond. With an interactive video, the viewer can choose a path, answer a question, or click a product without leaving the player. In Mindstamp you can add:
- questions that pause the video and record each viewer's answer
- buttons that open a link, jump to a section, or start a branch
- hotspots that make a product in the frame clickable
- branching that shows each viewer the section that matches their choice
- lead capture forms before the video, at a set time, or after a specific click
Be realistic about where this fits. In Wyzowl's 2026 survey, 31% of video marketers used interactive video and 20% rated it effective, far behind YouTube at 69%. Interactive video does not bring an audience on its own. It earns its place where you need a response from people who already press play: a product finder, a demo that lets the buyer pick features, or a campaign video that qualifies leads. In Mindstamp's platform data, videos where viewers took more than three actions per view averaged 51.8% watched, compared with 43.9% for videos where viewers took no action. Many factors differ between these videos, so treat this as a pattern, not proof. For techniques and examples, read our guide to interactive video marketing or browse our interactive video examples.
Measure what viewers did, not only how many watched
Track watch progress, drop-off, clicks, and answers, and connect them to the people who watched where you can. Mindstamp's per-viewer reports show what each viewer watched, answered, and clicked, and the Google Analytics integration sends progress events at 10, 25, 50, 75, 90, 95, and 100% of a video to your existing analytics property. If your goal is reach, our guide on how to increase brand awareness covers the awareness metrics to watch alongside video data.
Common questions
Is video marketing still worth it in 2026?
For most businesses, yes. Nearly all internet users watch online video each week, short-form video tops HubSpot's 2026 list of formats marketers say return the most, and 92% of marketers in Wyzowl's survey planned to spend the same or more on video in 2026. The falling share of marketers who report good returns (82%, down from 93%) is a warning that publishing more video does not guarantee results. Plan each video around one audience, one question, and one next step.
Is video taking over social media?
Video now accounts for much of the time people spend in feeds. DataReportal reports that internet users spend just over 1 hour a day on social networks such as Facebook and X, and that adding video platforms like YouTube and TikTok takes the daily total to well over 2.5 hours. YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok each also have a feed built for short vertical video.
What type of video marketing works best?
Marketers in HubSpot's 2026 report named short-form video (49%), long-form video (29%), and live-streaming video (25%) as their top formats for return. Wyzowl's 2026 survey found social media videos (69%) and explainer videos (68%) were the types video marketers had made most often. The best format is the one that answers your buyer's question in the place they look for answers. For campaign examples, see marketing video examples.
What comes next for video marketing?
The figures in this post point to more viewing on TV screens, more AI in production, and more video in search results. We cover these trends in our predictions for the future of video marketing.
Start with one video and one question
Pick the question your buyers ask most often, record a short video that answers it in its opening seconds, and add one question or choice for viewers. Publish it where your buyers already watch, then read who responded and what they chose before you make the next one.
