This year, 78.3% of people in the US will be digital video viewers, per our February 2024 forecast. With US adults splitting time between streaming platforms and social video, marketers need to understand how to reach viewers in both places. This can be difficult as ad spend and content creation trends shift. Here are five charts to turn the volume up on your digital video marketing strategy.

1. Focus on social video and CTV

Social video and connected TV (CTV) are nearly tied in importance—70% of US agency/marketing professionals consider social video a “must-buy,” and 69% consider CTV a “must-buy,” per the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and Advertiser Perceptions.

Since marketers need digital video strategies for both formats, work with creators and your own social media team to create content and ads for TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Also, make sure to buy ads on CTV platforms since consumers are in both places.

2. Allocate your budget correctly

Ad spend is moving from linear and non-video digital ads to CTV, according to the IAB and Advertiser Perceptions. Our forecasts show a similar trend, as US TV ad spend declines and US CTV ad spend increases.

This year’s ad spend patterns are somewhat unusual because it’s an election year, but in 2025, US TV ad spend will decline by 13.3% while US CTV ad spend will increase, also by 13.3%.

3. Time spent watching social video is plateauing, but the kind of content is changing

The share of time US social users spend watching videos will reach 58.2% this year, per our February 2024 forecast, but growth is slowing. At the same time, US social network video ad spend will grow by 24.6%, per our March 2024 forecast.

The rapid growth in ad spend combined with the slower growth in watch time will incentivize platforms to push longer videos because they are easier to monetize.

Marketers should:

1. Consider pre-, mid-, and post-roll ads, which will be features of longer social video.
2. Be prepared to create longer social videos or work with creators who are doing so, rather than relying on 30-second posts.

4. Be thoughtful about AI use

More than half (58%) of US and UK adults don’t trust AI-generated video, according to Atomik Research and Idomoo. But the majority (59%) of CMOs and executives worldwide say their companies are using AI for image and video generation, per Capgemini.

A distrust of AI doesn’t mean marketers should avoid using it for video generation, but they do need to ensure any generative AI use doesn’t creep out consumers. Disclosing AI use and using it on more technical video features, like providing captions, are two ways marketers can ensure AI use doesn’t hurt consumer perceptions.

5. Gen Z is not just on TikTok

YouTube is used by 89.3% of US Gen Zers, and Instagram is used by 72.5%, putting both platforms ahead of TikTok’s 71.2% penetration, per our forecast.

That means even if a potential TikTok ban doesn’t take place, marketers should use native content, creators, and ads on YouTube and Instagram to reach Gen Z.

This was originally featured in the EMARKETER Daily newsletter. For more marketing insights, statistics, and trends, subscribe here.