Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Twitter users demand almost twice as much social video than anyone else, and brands are adjusting their marketing strategies accordingly

Brands frequently use video for content marketing, but most audiences are only interested in video to get information, according to B&T‘s exclusive study of 85 Australian brands, their business development, and audiences with little interest in watching a video ad for marketing purposes.

The results of the study, based on a Q+A between B&T‘s media director, Simon Caton, and a range of top marketers and brands, found that video is the most effective platform to build up a following of 18-49 year olds and is most likely to reach 12-34 year olds.

Facebook is the most popular platform to reach audiences – 72 per cent on Facebook, and 61 per cent on Instagram – while people generally follow top brands. “Hairy Legs” hair loss brand has the most followers on Instagram at 36,000 followers, while its competition, Kream Leavers, has a much lower number of followers at 4,000.

TV is an important media choice for TV ads too, but 38 per cent of brands said they want a TV campaign that is flexible. Advertisers with Instagram accounts said they plan to use it to extend reach and time in social media, with 35 per cent planning to use their Facebook posts to live-stream TV ad spots.

“Most brands have embraced live-streaming, and it works so well for non-moving content,” Caton said.

“It’s the ideal medium to tie in to the audience that wants to have knowledge-based conversations with brands,” Caton said. “In a lot of cases, you can live-stream in and out of live-streaming products. You can tell what product you’re shipping and what offers are available.”

Bands and sports stars use Twitter, the most popular social media platform for the 18-49-year-old age group, to interact with fans and connect with their audiences.

Mobile marketing is one of the fastest growing trends in content marketing. TV ad viewing is down, live-streaming TV ad viewing is up and the traditional TV ad model is being disrupted.