New data shows that Americans prefer to get their news via the internet.

U.S. internet users love video content. They watch a significant amount of clips, eat them up and share media with their friends. According to comScore’s Video Metrix report, 182 million Americans – 84.9 percent of the U.S. internet population – watched approximately 38.7 billion online video clips in December 2012.

Video December 2012But what kinds of videos attract America’s unwavering need for visual media? The answer might be news content.

According to research from AYTM Market Research, cable news shows reported a dip in viewership among U.S. internet users. In a January 2012 survey, 37 percent of Americans said they viewed cable TV news less often than they did five year ago. The data suggests that online news sites and clips draw in wider audiences today, making hourly news shows not as important to consumers.

The research also noted that 39 percent of survey respondents read online news every day, compared to 25 percent who watch cable TV news daily. More, watching video news draws an even larger audience. More than half of U.S. internet users surveyed view news clips online. Approximately 45 percent watch short news highlights, 19 percent tune into live-stream coverage and 14 percent view full online news broadcasts.

In a separate but relevant report from Mojiva, 42 percent of U.S. smartphone owners and 40 percent of tablet owners consider their devices their primary news sources.

Brands may fail to see the value of this trend at first, but developing news content marketing campaigns can help increase referral traffic back to corporate websites. Marketers who publish custom content that covers industry news, events and trends that correlate with demand or best-practices for their offerings can capture Americans’ need for quick snippets of context on the web. When internet users navigate to Google News and search “new Facebook announcement,” mainstream news stories as well as blog commentary from smaller vendors will appear side-by-side, giving readers immediate insight to trending news and providing brands with opportunities to show thought leadership on the web.

Ted Karczewski is an Executive Communications Associate at Brafton. He works to develop his own voice and apply his passions to the evolving world of SEO and content marketing, but he doesn't shy away from writing for fun. After graduating from Suffolk University, Ted used his Communications degree to test out Sports Journalism before Marketing at Brafton.