Public Relations & Social Marketing Insight

Mobile marketers and advertisers around the world are unleashing the power of video in their social media efforts and related campaigns.

And they’re doing so aggressively.

All told, the latest industry data reveals that 93% of marketers have now used some form of video. And that usage is growing more prevalent in social media marketing.“Digital video viewing is mainstream, and eMarketer estimates that 182.5 million people in the US, or 75% of all internet users, will view digital videos this year, and video advertising spending will increase by more than 40% in 2013 as well,” eMarketer reported Wednesday. Video viewership and social sharing are “closely intertwined,” the report explains...

Most PR pros (79%) agree that video is not being used nearly enough when it comes to content. However, according to a recent survey conducted by PR News and PR Newswire, that is about to change.

Mixed-media strategies will play a key role in PR in 2014 and beyond. To illustrate that fact, here is an infographic that breaks down the survey’s recent findings....

Instagram ads are coming. We don’t know what they’ll look like or when they’ll arrive. But Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has promised that Instagram won’t be ad-free forever. The world’s largest brands are already using the photo-sharing app and its new video tool to pimp their products.

Facebook is betting big on mobile ads, which went from being a blip on the social network’s radar to accounting for 41 percent of the company’s ad revenue in just one year. The network reportedly plans to run 15-second, TV-style ads in users’ News Feeds, which could cost advertisers $2.5 million a pop. If that 15-second limitation—as yet unconfirmed by Facebook—sounds familiar, it’s because 15 seconds is also the cap that Instagram put on its new video tool.

Companies are familiarizing themselves with Instagram video as they prepare for the inevitable launch of video ads and seek to avoid angering Instagram devotees in the process....