Most Millennial online users gravitate toward video content, but older demographics are rapidly watching more content online since last year.

The power of video marketing hasn’t plateaued yet. In fact, it’s still growing quickly, especially among older users. According to research by Nielsen, the average time spent viewing digital media each day increased 53 percent among 18-34-year-olds. Even more interesting, the number increased by 80 percent among 35-49-year-olds and 60 percent among 50-64-year-olds.

What’s the explanation for these increasing numbers?

  • More websites are embracing video marketing. The format drives qualified traffic that leads to goal completions, and brands understand users like to view the medium.

  • Technology is improving – particularly on mobile. Over 75 percent of Americans are projected to own smartphones by the end of 2014, and as these devices become more sophisticated, watching videos will become more accessible to a larger audience.

Video is a part of web marketing’s future, especially as other formats decline. Nielsen also found TV viewing has steadily decreased, by about 2 percent in all demographics since 2013. Overall, more people are watching video content, and they’re doing it seamlessly while browsing the web and clicking through social media. So as people come to expect video, web strategies have to give users what they want.

Make video marketing hold onto traffic

How does video fit into digital strategies? At Brafton, we usually suggest filming video blogs or news round-ups to grab the qualified traffic that’s already visiting.

One client in the human resources industry wanted to keep people on the page for longer and encourage them to click calls to action to learn more about their products and services. By publishing weekly video blogs, they significantly lowered their bounce rate and increased time on page for the whole site. The videos helped them catch eyes and made their content more engaging and easily consumable, which set them apart from others in the space.

Conversions and goal completions are the primary currency of web marketing campaigns, and video marketing has proven success in for turning regular visitors into qualified leads. As more people gravitate toward digital video, it becomes even more important to meet visitor expectations and keep them clicking around until they convert.

Alex Butzbach is a Marketing Writer at Brafton. He studied Communications at Boston College, and after a brief stint teaching English in Japan, he entered the world of content marketing. When he isn't writing and researching, he can be found on a bike somewhere in Metro Boston.