When it comes to hosting and posting videos as a part of your digital marketing efforts, most people would be inclined to claim that YouTube was the only place to easily get video content hosted. But the truth is, there are any number of platforms that can provide excellent results for your social media marketing and video marketing needs.
We surveyed 600 small business owners and marketers on social media, video marketing, content marketing, and small business consultation. Their responses and feedback resulted in a deep dive into the top video marketing platforms for engagement and profit, and offers a number of terrific insights and options for you to consider.
The Basics of Video Marketing for Small Businesses
First, we wanted a sense of how many of our experts were currently engaging in video marketing efforts in general. Whether creating brand awareness content for eCommerce purposes, utilizing video content on LinkedIn, or making videos for other social media platforms, 100% of the small businesses we spoke to are incorporating video into their marketing channels. Considering how strong a marketing tool video has become, it is no surprise that so many SMBs would be focused specifically on video marketing.
When it comes to hosting and posting videos as a part of your digital marketing efforts, most people would be inclined to claim that YouTube was the only place to easily get video content hosted. But the truth is, there are any number of platforms that can provide excellent results for your social media marketing and video marketing needs.
We surveyed 600 small business owners and marketers on social media, video marketing, content marketing, and small business consultation. Their responses and feedback resulted in a deep dive into the top video marketing platforms for engagement and profit, and offers a number of terrific insights and options for you to consider.
The Basics of Video Marketing for Small Businesses
First, we wanted a sense of how many of our experts were currently engaging in video marketing efforts in general. Whether creating brand awareness content for eCommerce purposes, utilizing video content on LinkedIn, or making videos for other social media platforms, 100% of the small businesses we spoke to are incorporating video into their marketing channels. Considering how strong a marketing tool video has become, it is no surprise that so many SMBs would be focused specifically on video marketing.
Next, we wanted to get a sense of where our experts were posting their content. And, as we mentioned at the start, YouTube is the most commonly used platform among SMBs for video marketing. 86% of SMBs use YouTube for video marketing (in addition to other platforms), and for good reason. YouTube is still the biggest player in the online video space, and they do make the process of hosting and sharing or embedding videos fairly straightforward.
26% – YouTube
5% – Vimeo
20% – Instagram
20% – Facebook
11% – Twitter
17% – TikTok
1% – Other
Even for those 86% of respondents, YouTube is still only one piece of their overall video marketing approach. Among the other outlets that were chosen as part of our panelists’ video marketing strategy, two-thirds of SMBs are currently using Instagram for video marketing, and two-thirds are using Facebook for their video marketing as well.
While still relatively new, 55% of SMBs have already embraced TikTok for their video marketing efforts, and that number continues to grow as the popularity of TikTok explodes.
In terms of reaching potential customers and converting new customers, small business owners clearly understand the importance of video content for lead generation. Additionally, customer retention and many other areas are benefiting from video content such as live video, tutorials, product demos, explainer videos.
Video Marketing Budgets and Spending
When it comes to dollars and cents, there was a noticeable change in responses. While 100% of our respondents are creating video content for their businesses, not everyone is putting their marketing budget toward paid video marketing. 30% of SMBs spend less than $1,000 on video marketing annually, and a small percentage are currently spending no money on their video marketing.
2% – $0
15% – $1-$499
15% – $500-$999
20% – $1000-$4999
14% – $5000-$9,999
12% – $10,000-$24,999
6% – $25,000-$49,999
5% – $50,000-$74,999
4% – $75,000-$99,999
5% – $100k-$249k
1% – $250k-$499k
2% – $500k-$999,999
1% – $1m+
One-fifth of SMBs currently spend between $1,000 and $4,999 on video marketing annually, and two-thirds of SMBs spend less than $10,000 on video marketing each year.
So while everyone is aware of the benefits of video content and the fact that it is a necessary component of virtually every marketing campaign or initiative nowadays, small business owners are still having to find the right balance when allocating marketing budgets to various efforts.
Looking at where small businesses are spending their advertising dollars specifically for video, YouTube was again the clear leader, though not as strong a leader as in other categories. 70% of SMBs pay to advertise their videos on YouTube right now, and nearly half of SMBs pay to advertise their videos on Facebook. Similarly, almost 50% of small businesses are paying to advertise their videos on Instagram.
28% – YouTube
5% – Vimeo
19% – Instagram
20% – Facebook
9% – Twitter
16% – TikTok
1% – Other
2% – None of the above
As with the general use of video platforms and posting, the paid promotion and advertising of videos is being done across a blend of outlets and platforms. For example, the 39% of SMBs who pay to advertise their videos on TikTok are likely also paying for video promotion on the other platforms.
The division of how much is being spent on each platform will likely differ depending on business needs and type of content, but video ads are being produced and utilized across multiple platforms.
Video Ads and Engagement Rates
Whenever any budget is involved, small business owners and marketers alike are concerned with one thing: metrics. We have to know that our efforts are having an impact—not only to feel good about what we’re creating—but also to learn how and where to put our efforts in order to maximize the return.
The difference is the various nuances between business needs and goals. Are you focused more on click-through rates, or are you looking strictly at conversion rates? Are you driving traffic to landing pages, or are you simply interested in growing your target audience across various demographics?
No matter what, measuring engagement is a key component of marketing efforts, and as such is a big part of the choices that our experts make in terms of what videos to create and where to share them.
When it comes to which platforms are providing small businesses with the best return for their efforts, 39% of SMBs get the most video engagement on YouTube as compared to other video marketing platforms. On the other end of the spectrum, SMBs are getting the least amount of video engagement on Vimeo.
39% – YouTube
2% – Vimeo
17% – Instagram
19% – Facebook
3% – Twitter
20% – TikTok
1% – Other
Meanwhile, one-fifth of small businesses are getting their most video engagement on TikTok, while 19% of SMBs are seeing Facebook as their top platform for video engagement. And, while it is a very capable and useful platform for hosting video, SMBs are getting the least engagement on Vimeo when compared to other video marketing platforms.
Getting into specific measures of engagement, a majority of SMBs receive fewer than 1000 likes on their top performing videos, regardless of platform. 22% of small businesses are seeing higher engagement, with somewhere between 1000 and 5000 likes on their top performing videos.
4% – 0-49
7% – 50-99
18% – 100-499
19% – 500-999
22% – 1000-4999
11% – 5000-9,999
10% – 10,000-49,999
6% – 50,000-99,999
4% – 100,000+
While likes are just one measure of engagement, they are an important indicator of how high-quality the video content is, whether your video content is making it through the algorithms of the various sites and social networks, and even whether your video content is capturing the attention span of your intended audience.
Of course, the ideal result from any marketing effort is a direct impact to your bottom line—in other words, driving profit. Our respondents were asked which video platform was providing the best results in terms of profit from either ad revenue or conversions, and once again YouTube came out on top.
YouTube is the most profitable video marketing platform for SMBs, while nearly half of small businesses make the most profit from ad revenue and/or conversions on Instagram.
42% – YouTube
2% – Vimeo
16% – Instagram
17% – Facebook
3% – Twitter
17% – TikTok
1% – Other
4% – None of the above
Not surprisingly, perhaps, Vimeo and Twitter both came in at the bottom of the results, as the two platforms were the least profitable video marketing platforms for small business owners.
As for real profit numbers, 45% of SMBs earn less than $5,000 annually from their video marketing efforts, and one-fourth of small businesses are earning anywhere from $5,000 to $25,000 annually.
Not all of the news is disappointing, though. Some 12% of SMBs earn greater than $100,000 each year from their video marketing efforts, which is a very significant figure no matter what industry you are in.
Finally, when asked about how they feel in regards to the success of their video marketing efforts, 98% of small business owners consider their video marketing efforts to be either somewhat successful or very successful.
Video Content Types and Uses
Whether creating organic content for social or for business pages or paid uses, we wanted to get a better understanding of just what types of video content small businesses are posting. According to our results, over 60% of small businesses use video marketing to advertise their products or services, with the second most common type of video content being reviews.
More than one-third of SMBs are creating videos that are inspired by current trends and trending topics, much of which is likely tied to the prevalence of TikTok and the potential audience there.
The three most common types of video content being posted by small businesses are advertisements of products or services, product or service reviews, and product demonstrations or testimonials from current customers. Other examples of content currently being produced by SMBs include “how to” videos, behind-the-scenes looks at the business, and even interviews.
Looking Ahead at Video Marketing Strategy
Finally, looking ahead to the rest of 2023, we asked our respondents which platforms they are planning to use for their video marketing. And the responses here very closely mirror the current figures of video content and platform usage. 82% of SMBs plan to use YouTube for video marketing in 2023, while Vimeo will be the least used major video marketing platform amongst small businesses this year.
82% – YouTube
18% – Vimeo
63% – Instagram
60% – Facebook
32% – Twitter
53% – TikTok
1% – None of the above
1% – Other
Ranking second only to YouTube, nearly two-thirds of SMBs plan to use Instagram for their video marketing in 2023, and more than half of small businesses are looking at utilizing TikTok for video marketing this year as well.
Make Video Marketing Part of Your Business’ Marketing Plan
There’s no question that video continues to be a critical component for small business marketing, and is also growing in both importance and potential impact. Whether being utilized for SEO efforts, email marketing, reaching customers through apps or on mobile devices, or social video, customers are continually increasing their video consumption and therefore increasing the potential ROI for small businesses.
No matter what level of video development your small business is currently engaged in, there are dozens of local video production, video marketing, social media, and small business experts who are a part of the UpCity network. They are ready to help make video an impactful part of your marketing strategy and drive spectacular results in 2023 and beyond.
UpCity’s Survey Method
UpCity used Pollfish to survey 600 U.S. small business owners and employees who create video content.
Of the respondents, 58% are male and 42% are female. A majority of male respondents are 25-34 years old (38%) and a majority of female respondents are also 25-34 years old (38%).