©2016 Brightcove, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 1

THE SCIENCE OF SOCIAL VIDEO

TURNING VIEWS INTO VALUEWith eight in ten consumers engaging with brands on social media, and three in four consumers linking social video viewing to purchasing decisions, we examine how

brands can make the most of this opportunity.

The meteoric rise of video viewing on social media networks has been a hot topic

of conversation over recent years. Amongst the most quoted stats are these facts:

• Facebook now receives 8 billion video views per day, while Snapchat reportedly goes 2 billion better with 10 billion views.

• Though YouTube is typically more vague with its stats–preferring to measure

its growth in terms of hours spent than views and stating that every day

“people watch hundreds of millions of hours” on the site.

• Twitter recently released figures showing that its video views had grown by

220% in the 12 months previous.

• Building upon numbers like these, Cisco has predicted that by 2019, 80% of

the world’s consumer Internet traffic will be made up of video.

For brands, the growth in the popularity of social video represents a massive opportunity to

reach a large and captive audience—but only if approached correctly. With such a vast array

of social media networks to keep track of however, how can brands navigate their way around

them successfully? And what can they learn about the where, what, and why of current social

video viewing habits in order to capitalise on them?

Why Read This ReportIn September 2016, Brightcove commissioned research firm Vanson Bourne to examine

consumers’ changing social video engagement habits and preferences. The goal of the research

was to ascertain how brand social video in particular is driving, or has the potential to drive,

behaviours across the buying cycle.

Incorporating the responses of 5,500 viewers aged 18 years and over across the UK, France,

Germany, US, and Australia, this report offers not only a fascinating snapshot into the evolving

world of social video, but also a glimpse at the benefits for those brands who are able to turn it

to their advantage.

©2016 Brightcove, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 2

SOCIAL VIDEO CONSUMPTION

If the industry stats in our introduction

weren’t enough to convince you of social

video’s rapid rise to prominence, then

perhaps this one will. Our results showed

that consumers are spending an average of

six hours per week watching video content

on social media networks alone.

Nearly seven in ten (67%) said that this

amount has increased in the last twelve

months–a fifth said considerably so–and

three fifths expect it to continue rising over

the next year.

When it comes to preference, YouTube is

the indisputably dominant social network.

Consumers told us that half (50%) of their

social video views currently take place on

YouTube, a third (36%) on Facebook, and

the remaining 14% is split over networks like

Snapchat, Twitter and Instagram. This same

split could broadly be seen across all five

countries that were surveyed.

SOCIAL VIDEO PREFERENCE BY NETWORK

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the most popular

social video content types are music videos

(56% watch), User Generated Content

(53% watch) and film trailers (52% watch).

Differing slightly in order depending on

viewing location, music videos were the top

choice on YouTube, and UGC the top choice

for almost all the other social networks.

Going against the crowd however, users of

LinkedIn picked news as their number one

video type (35%).

Across the social networks, the top three

ways consumers discover their video

content are when they scroll through

newsfeeds (62%), when it is shared by

someone on their network (49%) and when

they actively look for it (46%).

Consumers are spending an average of six hours per week watching video content on social media networks alone.

YouTube Facebook Other

50%36%

14%

©2016 Brightcove, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 3

COUNTRY COMPARISONS• Australia showed the highest

growth in social video views over

the past year–with 73% of Australian

consumers admitting to an increase

in the amount they watch

• When asked to look ahead to

the next twelve months, French

consumers predicted the least growth

in their views (only 53% expected

to watch more social video)

• Americans emerged as the most

likely to watch ‘how-to’ videos (44%)

or live streamed content (25%)

• Germany saw the highest viewership

for music video content (61%),

but the lowest comparative

figure for UGC videos (43%)

• Germans were also most likely to

actively look for video content–60%

discover videos this way, while the

French are the least likely (38%) to do so

Regardless of consumers’ preferences for social network, content type or discovery method, our results clearly underline the rising popularity of social video. But what does this wealth of views actually look like in terms of engagement?

MINUTES OF SOCIAL VIDEO CONSUMERS WATCH PER DAY

PERCENTAGE OF CONSUMERS THAT INTERACT WITH BRANDS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

PERCENT OF TIME SPENTON EACH CHANNEL

UNITEDKINGDOM

46UNITEDSTATES

60

GERMANY

44

FRANCE

37

AUSTRALIA

51

US

Au

stra

lia

Fra

nce

Germ

an

y

UK

YouTube

Facebook

Other

0

20

40

60

80

France

75%

44% watch branded videos

39% made a purchase after

watching branded video

Germany

77%

31% watch branded videos

41% made a purchase after

watching branded video

United Kingdom

80%

47% watch branded videos

43% made a purchase after

watching branded video

Australia

83%

47% watch branded videos

48% made a purchase after

watching branded video

United States

85%

45% watch branded videos

53% made a purchase after

watching branded video

©2016 Brightcove, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 4

LESS IS MOREParticularly telling in

light of our previous research on consumer

ad tolerance and the

rise in ad-blocking,

length was the

number one priority

for consumers when

watching video ads

on social media

networks–but didn’t

appear in the top three

qualities for any other

video type.

SOCIAL VIDEO ENGAGEMENT AND ACTION

The top three actions taken across social networks after watching any type of video are typically

likes, shares and comments–with Instagram taking the crown for the network on which consumers

are most likely to act on the videos they see. Consumers like videos on social media almost one

in every two (47%) times they watch them, share them one in three (37%) times and comment on

them (28%) of the time.

For those seeking more than that, YouTube, LinkedIn, and the German network, Xing are the social

networks on which consumers are most likely to click through from a video for further information.

Looking behind these numbers into what is driving this engagement, the key attributes given by

consumers when asked what they were looking for from social videos were for the content to be

engaging, relevant to their interests, and of good quality.

US

Au

stra

lia

Fra

nce

Germ

an

y

UK

0

20

10

40

60

50

30

Likes

Shares

Click Thrus

Comments

PERCENT OF TOP SOCIAL ACTIONS

©2016 Brightcove, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 5

PREFERENCES FOR BRAND VIDEO CONTENT

Though the general results paint a highly

attractive picture of social video in terms of

viewer numbers and engagements levels,

the key question for brands is whether this

consumer interest is transferring across

to their content–something we set out to

investigate further.

As a starting point, over eight in ten (81%)

consumers said they engage with brands on

social media.

Breaking this down, half (50%) of all

consumers said that they read brand posts

on their newsfeeds, and a little over two fifths

(43%) watch brand videos in their newsfeeds

or become a fan of brand pages (42%).

With the most brand video viewing currently

taking place on LinkedIn and Periscope,

consumers appear to look for exactly the

same top three qualities from brand videos as

with any other form. Our results also revealed

that over a third of consumers (36%) would

be more likely to watch content if shared by

a brand–a level of trust that was particularly

apparent in the US (40%).

When measured against other mediums like

written copy (22%) and imagery or graphics

(26%), video emerged as the most popular

first choice for brand content (31%).

Perhaps connected to this, almost eight in ten

(79%) respondents agreed that video is the

easiest way to get to know a brand online.

BRAND CONTENT IMPACT

31% 22%

21%26%

Video Graphic Text Other

Almost eight in ten (79%) respondents agreed that video is the easiest way to get to know a brand online.

©2016 Brightcove, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 6

MOVING TOWARDS SOCIAL VIDEO CONVERSION

Getting to know a brand is an excellent starting point, but the ultimate goal for any business is

achieving that ever elusive connection to sales. In this regard, our results provided some highly

compelling evidence of success.

First and foremost, nearly three quarters (74%) of consumers pointed to a connection between

watching a video on social media and their purchasing decision-making process. In fact, nearly

half (46%) of consumers said they have actually made a purchase as a result of watching a

brand video on social media, and another third (32%) have considered doing so.

Videos that converted sales successfully were noted to have provided the right level of

information on the brand or product in question (57% of respondents said this was a

factor), and be relevant to the consumer’s interest (54%). In terms of their efficacy, of equal

significance was the fact that the vast majority of consumers (92%) confirmed that they

recognise when a brand video on social media is encouraging them to take an action such as

to buy something.

COUNTRY COMPARISONS• The US had the highest percentage

of consumers (85%) that interact

with brands on social media

• Comparatively, one in four French

consumers say they never interact with

brands on social media–making them the

lowest ranked country for interaction

• Though Germans chose becoming

fans of brand pages (44%) as their

top method for interaction, it was

consumers in the US who were most

likely to take this action (48%)

• 53% of US consumers have actually

made a purchase as a result of

watching a brand video on social

media. This is the highest conversion

percentage of all five countries

• Australian and German consumers

are the least likely to recognise a

call-to-action in a brand video

Nearly three quarters (74%) of consumers pointed to a connection between watching a video on social media and their purchasing decision-making process.

©2016 Brightcove, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 7

MAKING THE MOST OF THE OPPORTUNITY

Whilestatslikethoseintheprevioussection

provethehugepotentialofsocialvideo,our

researchalsoindicatedanumberofareas

wherethereisopportunityforbrandsto

pushitsvalueevenhigher.

Itwasnotsolongagothatsocialnetworks

mighthavebeenconsideredtheexclusive

domainforentertainmentcontent.However,

asbrandscontinuetoinvestinsocialmedia,

andassocialnetworksinvestmorein

videocapabilities,brandvideohasgrown

to14%ofthevideocontentconsumed

onsocialnetworks.Withovereightinten

(81%)consumersinteractingwithbrands

onthesesocialchannels,andthreeinfour

(78%)viewersmakingdecisionsbasedon

thebrandvideostheywatch,thispresentsa

tremendousopportunityforbrandstoinvest

insocialvideostrategies.

Whatismore,ourresultsshowthatbrands

arenowgoinghead-to-headwithmusic

videos,filmtrailersandUGCtoearna

significantnumberofeyeballs.Fourteen

percent(14%)ofthe500millionusersthat

werereportedlywatchingFacebookvideos

onadailybasisinthethirdquarteroflast

year,forexample,wouldbeahugeaudience.

Justimaginewhatthataudiencewouldlook

likeifbrandscouldfindwaystoincrease

theirviewershippercentageevenmore!

Pointingtoonepossibleareafor

development,86%ofrespondentssaidthat

thebrandvideostheywatchonsocialmedia

networksweren’talwaysrelevanttothem.

Thiswasalsooneofthekeyfactorsgiven

fornotmakingapurchaseafterwatchinga

brandvideo,alongwiththecontentcoming

acrossastoopromotional.

Theimpactofsuchanexperienceisclear–

afterwatchingabadbrandvideoathird

ofconsumerstoldustheyarelesslikelyto

watchmorecontentfromthatbrand,and

slightlylesslikely(29%)toeitherconsider

becomingacustomerormakingapurchase.

Afifthoftherespondentswouldalso

discourageothersfromengagingwiththe

brand–causingaknock-oneffectbeyondthe

individualviewer.

WHEN BRAND VIDEO GOES BAD

So,withsocialvideoofferingsomuch

opportunityformarketers,howdothey

avoidtheabovepitfallstoensuretheyare

takingfulladvantageofit?

20% OF RESPONDENTSwould discourage others fromengaging with the brand

29% OF RESPONDENTSare less likely to become acustomer/make a purchase

33% OF RESPONDENTSare less likely to watch morecontent from the brand

©2016 Brightcove, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 8

THE SCIENCE OF SOCIAL SUCCESS

Brands, currently, have six whole hours a week to engage with consumers via social video.

Brands need to do more to ensure their videos stand out from the crowd. They need to deliver

what consumers want through careful targeting, a tailored approach to each social network, and

by paying attention to their audience’s ongoing preferences so they can monitor and adapt the

video content they serve.

DOES IT SOUND COMPLICATED? IT DOESN’T NEED TO BE.We’ve collected some top industry pointers, by social network, to get your social video

strategy started.

TWITTER FACEBOOK YOUTUBE

Audience type Skews slightly more towards male users

More traction with female users

More global in nature (88 countries and 76 languages represented)

Audience age Relatively young (18-29 year old age range, followed by 30-49 year old age range)

Relatively young (18-29 year old age range, followed by 30-49 year old age range); it is also the favourite network for the older generations (50-64 year old age range, 65+ year old age range)

The older millennial generation (25-34 year old age range)

Video length The maximum video length on Twitter is 140 seconds, however industry research has shown that 80% of users will only watch a full video if it's 30 seconds or less

Ideally 15 seconds–40% of a Facebook audience will watch until the end of a 1-16 second long Facebook video, but this drops to 18% for videos over 30 seconds

Of the most engaging uploads, videos that were between 16 seconds and 2 minutes had 53.8% of all YouTube views

©2016 Brightcove, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 9

TWITTER FACEBOOK YOUTUBE

Content type Very well suited to awareness and engagement, meaning that brand video content that promotes and educates can do well

Facebook is overwhelmingly personal and therefore great for engaging brand advocates–content should be personal in nature, reflecting a sense of community, using emotion, telling local stories

Many of the most popular videos amongst consumers on YouTube are instructional in nature i.e. how-to videos. It is also well suited to longer-form content, presented in playlists

Extra Insight Favours native video–it drives 2.5 times more replies, 2.8 times more retweets and 1.9 times more favourites than third-party players

Facebook video reaches approximately 22% of fans, while an embedded YouTube video reaches only 13%

More than half of YouTube views come from mobile devices

FOR MORE DETAIL ON THE ABOVE, READ OUR ADVICE ON:• Best Practices in Social Video: How to Use YouTube for Business

• Best Practices in Social Video: How to Use Twitter for Business

• Best Practices in Social Video: How to Use Facebook Video for Business

What This MeansAssocialnetworksbecomeimportantdestinationsforvideoconsumption,theaverageperson

isbothconsumingmoresocialvideoandmakingdecisionsbasedthosevideos.Thestrategyfor

brandsisevolving,butclear:high-quality,tailoredanddifferentiatedsocialvideocontentexcites

viewersandkeepsthemcomingbackformore.Simplyput,theopportunitysocialvideopresents

isimmenseandwillonlycontinuetogrowinthecomingyears.Beingafirstmoverwillbeamajor

advantageandshouldbeacorepillarofhowallcompaniesinteractwiththeirtargetaudiences.

©2016 Brightcove, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 10

Getting a handle on the optimum video strategy for each social network is a vital first step.

But for brands to truly make the most of the huge opportunity that social video

presents, they need to be able to quickly and easily serve, manage and adapt their video

content across all social networks, in what is an ever-evolving social landscape.

Brightcove Social was developed with exactly this need in mind. Unlike traditional social media

marketing management tools, Brightcove Social is configured to deliver a premium video viewing

experience across numerous social sites, all managed within a single, easy-to-use platform.

For marketing organisations that want to reach social audiences

through video content, Brightcove Social allows them to:

• Manage and publish video content across their websites and to multiple social networks

• Aggregate video analytics from all destinations where the video is

published, including all their social views, in a single location

• Distribute video natively, optimised for each social network

• Edit videos and accompanying social posts according to the social network best practices

• Track multiple edits of a single video-and the location to which they are published.

Edit once, publish to multiple locations, all from a single interface

For more, visit brightcove.com/en/social

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Vanson Bourne, the research firm that conducted the survey, interviewed 5,500 consumers aged 18 years old and over in the

following countries: the UK, France, Germany, US, and Australia (1,000 respondents in the UK, France and Germany, 2,000 in the US,

and 500 in Australia). Fieldwork was conducted in September-October 2016.

ABOUT BRIGHTCOVE

Brightcove Inc. (NASDAQ:BCOV) is the leading global provider of powerful cloud solutions for delivering and monetizing video

across connected devices. The company offers a full suite of products and services that reduce the cost and complexity associated

with publishing, distributing, measuring, and monetizing video across devices. Brightcove has nearly 5,000 customers in over 70

countries that rely on the company’s cloud solutions to successfully publish high-quality video experiences to audiences everywhere.

To learn more, visit brightcove.com.