Ignite Visibility is an innovative, full-service digital marketing agency. It’s a part of our mission to bring the latest, most effective strategies to clients, and this often involves conducting research to stay ahead of the curve.
Our leaders believe standout creative is the key to differentiating ourselves and our clients from the competition. To better understand creative asset utilization in the industry, we surveyed 206 marketing experts across the US.
Our survey exclusively featured respondents recognized as marketing experts, with all respondents having at least 3 years of experience to participate. 70% had over 5 years experience, and 20% had more than 10 years.
Keep reading to uncover our findings on the most disruptive changes to creative assets in strategy.
Finding #1: Marketers Who Add Creative Assets to Their Content Are Seeing Increased Results
Our survey results concluded that businesses neglecting to use creative assets are missing out on a big opportunity.
92.2% of survey respondents this year stated that they integrated images, videos, and other creative assets into their content, which is a big increase from last year. In our 2023 SEO industry study, only 74% of marketers mentioned using creative assets—including images and video—in their content.
In addition, 74.3% of respondents revealed a boost in search engine results page (SERP) rankings for content featuring creative assets.
Marketers Report Their Use of Creative Assets Within Content
So, what is the significance of these findings exactly?
Well, Google has made it clear that creative assets in content aren’t a direct ranking factor. As of December 2023, Google also implemented new guidelines that establish how the site de-indexes video content on sites where video isn’t the main focal point of the content.
In light of the new guidelines, you might wonder whether incorporating video is even worth it if it has no direct impact on SEO. The fact is that despite these revelations from Google, many marketers are finding some real value in using video and other creative assets, including:
- Increased Engagement – Multimedia tends to capture and retain audience attention more effectively than text
- Improved Brand Recognition – Videos can strengthen brand recognition by associating the brand with memorable visuals, sounds, and messages
- Enhanced Communication – Creative assets can convey complex messages more effectively than text alone
- Demonstration and Explanation – Video content that demonstrates product features, provides tutorials or explains complex topics improves the overall user experience
Expert Insight: If you’re not sure how video, images, or other creative assets can help, it all comes down to user engagement. Optimizing your images and videos and using a variety of other creative assets in your blog posts, web pages, and other platforms will improve the user experience and encourage more people to stay on your pages for longer periods. The results: Users spend more time on your page, which is indeed a ranking factor.
Finding #2: Marketers Find Video to Be the Most Valuable Creative Asset
Not only are creative assets important, according to our creative digital marketing study results, but video is the most important type of creative content to include.
In our survey, 66.5% of marketers determined that video was the most valuable type of creative content asset. This is up from 43% reported last year. Photos came in second at 18.4%, while infographics and GIFs followed at 11.2% and 3.9%, respectively.
Marketers Report Videos As Most Valuable Types of Creative Content
What makes video so valuable? There are a few main reasons.
- Efficiently Convey a Message – Video offers a more efficient way to convey a message to audiences. You can use visual and audio media to get your point across in a potentially more resonant way than you would with text content.
- Audience Preference – People today prefer to consume information from videos over text. Specifically, 69% of people watch videos instead of reading to learn about a new offering.
- Video Repurposing – Video content can be repurposed in several ways. For instance, you can convert a longer video into short bite-sized content pieces for platforms like YouTube Shorts, Instagram, or TikTok. This is particularly crucial as 73% of people like short-form content more than long-form videos. You can even create image content with screenshots from your videos, eliminating the need to hunt for or produce new images.
- Keep Audience Engaged – Video can do much more than simply help your rankings, as it can keep audiences more engaged after reeling them in and establishing you as a trusted industry authority.
Pro-Tip: Use video schema to optimize all video content you add to your website. Additionally, upload all videos to YouTube and other video streaming platforms where your content has the chance to rank on their search engines.
Finding #3: Short-Form Video Brings Marketers the Best ROI for Their Online Advertising Campaigns
If you want to excel with your video marketing efforts, short-form is the way to go based on our survey results.
We asked our respondents, “What videos get the best ROI for your online advertising campaigns?”
Their response? 72.3% stated that short-form videos did the best, while 27% said that long-form content got better ROI.
Creative Digital Marketing Study – Which Videos Get the Best ROI?
Other recent stats reinforce these results. Influencer Marketing Hub found that 96% of consumers enjoy short-form videos over other types of content.
Also, according to Influencer Marketing Hub, people watch 30% of all short-form videos 81% of the way through, and they’re far more likely to go viral.
Another benefit of short-form video is the ability to more easily repurpose it. Publish a short informative video on YouTube, then post it on your Instagram Reels or TikTok feeds for maximum exposure.
Finding #4: The Majority of Marketers Include YouTube as a Part of Their 2024 Strategy
We also found that most marketers use YouTube to some extent in their SEO campaigns.
When asked about whether they intended to include video in their 2024 SEO strategies, 84% of respondents confirmed that it would. Only 16% stated the opposite.
YouTube & SEO Strategy Predictions for 2024
Compare these results to the responses we got last year: In 2023, only 73% of our respondents stated that they would implement YouTube for SEO.
In most cases, marketers use YouTube primarily for product or service demos, along with customer testimonials. However, there are plenty of ways to use video content on YouTube.
All types of businesses can get the most from their video content with YouTube.
- Home Improvement businesses can highlight projects with before-and-after videos or how-to guides for small DIY projects.
- Healthcare businesses can create videos with the latest industry news and some self-care tips for potential patients.
In short, if you’re not incorporating video into your SEO strategy this year, you’re likely to fall behind the competition.
Finding #5: Customer Testimonials and Product/Service Demo Videos Are a Focus for Marketers This Year
In our creative digital marketing study, we also asked our respondents about the different types of video content they’re most likely to use.
For most marketers, customer testimonials and product or service demos came out on top. Specifically, 53.4% of respondents included both in their answers. Informational strategy videos came out second at 40.8%, while how-tos followed at 38.8%.
Types of Video Content to Create in 2024 (Creative Digital Marketing Study)
As that graph indicates, there are plenty of types of content you can use in your video strategy.
Going beyond demos and testimonials, you can explore various topics with:
- Basic or in-depth guides
- Quick hacks that give some practical information
- Behind-the-scenes videos showing your facilities and teams at work
- Order-packing videos showing the process behind your shipments
- And much more!
Pro Tip: Consider which types of videos are the most relevant to your industry and how your brand can use video to fill gaps in your marketing funnel.
- Use testimonials during the consideration or decision stage if you’re struggling to close
- Better differentiate your offerings with more demos toward the middle of your funnel to move people closer to a sale.
There’s no shortage of ways to get the most from your video content; you just need to determine which content is most likely to connect. Do some audience research and look into what your competitors are doing. What can you take away from your findings to guide your next video strategy?
Use Video Marketing to Your Advantage in 2024 (And Beyond!)
Based on the results of our latest survey, it’s clear that video is becoming increasingly important for SEO and marketing on the whole.
As our respondents reveal, marketers continue to include more videos and other creative assets in their content. They’re also producing various types of content on YouTube and other platforms to appeal to their target audiences.
Video can go a long way in optimizing the user experience and keeping people engaged. In this way, it can indirectly impact your rankings. Ultimately, every business should consider integrating video into their 2024 marketing strategies.
Want to succeed with your video marketing campaigns in the years ahead? Ignite Visibility can give your strategies everything they need to flourish.
With our help, you can:
- Continuously produce high-quality video content
- Optimize videos for SEO on YouTube and other platforms
- Cover the most compelling industry topics to connect with audiences
- Integrate videos into other types of content for increased engagement
Contact us today to learn more about what we can do for your video strategy in 2024, and we’ll help you make full use of this invaluable asset.
