Is video marketing worth it for a small business?

The data strongly suggests yes. The large majority of businesses now use video and report a positive return on investment, consumers say they prefer video to learn about products, and short-form video consistently ranks as the highest-ROI format marketers use. For a small or local business, video is no longer optional; it is where customers are paying attention.

What percentage of businesses use video marketing?

According to Wyzowl's annual State of Video Marketing survey, roughly 9 in 10 businesses report using video as a marketing tool, a figure that has stayed high year over year. See the sourced list above for the exact reported number and link.

Do people actually prefer video over text?

Surveys consistently show a strong preference for video when people want to learn about a product or service. Wyzowl reports that most consumers would rather watch a short video than read text to understand a product. The full figure and source are listed above.

Which video format has the best ROI?

Marketers repeatedly rank short-form video, the vertical clips on Reels, TikTok, and Shorts, as the format with the highest return on investment, according to HubSpot's State of Marketing research. It is also the format they most plan to keep investing in.

Where did these statistics come from?

Every figure on this page links to a named, publicly available source: Wyzowl, HubSpot, Google, Sprout Social, and similar widely-cited industry research. Where we were not confident a specific number was current or verifiable, we left it out. Accuracy over volume.

Video marketing statistics for small business (2025)

Is video worth it for a small business? The published research says yes, decisively: the large majority of businesses use video, report a positive return, and consumers say they would rather watch a short video than read about a product. Below is a curated set of statistics relevant to small and local businesses, with every figure linked to a named, public source. Where we could not verify a number with confidence, we left it out.

How to read this list

These figures come from recurring industry studies, primarily Wyzowl’s annual State of Video Marketing survey, HubSpot’s State of Marketing reports, Google and Think with Google research, and Sprout Social. Methodologies and sample sizes vary, so treat them as strong directional evidence rather than precise universal truths. Always click through to the source for the exact wording, year, and method.

Adoption: businesses are all-in on video

About 9 in 10 businesses use video as a marketing tool, a level that has held steady across recent years. Source: Wyzowl, State of Video Marketing.
The vast majority of video marketers say video has given them a positive ROI. Source: Wyzowl, State of Video Marketing.
Most marketers report video has helped them increase traffic, leads, and sales, and reduce support queries. Source: Wyzowl, State of Video Marketing.
A large majority of marketers say video is an important part of their overall strategy. Source: Wyzowl, State of Video Marketing.
Most non-video marketers who have not yet started cite time, rather than budget, as the main blocker. Source: Wyzowl, State of Video Marketing.

Consumer behavior: people choose video

Most consumers say they would rather watch a short video than read text to learn about a product or service. Source: Wyzowl, State of Video Marketing.
People report watching a significant amount of online video every week, with average weekly viewing time at multiple hours per person. Source: Wyzowl, State of Video Marketing.
A large share of consumers say a brand’s video has directly convinced them to buy a product or service. Source: Wyzowl, State of Video Marketing.
Many consumers say they have been persuaded to buy software or an app specifically by watching a video. Source: Wyzowl, State of Video Marketing.
Online video makes up the majority of all consumer internet traffic, a long-running trend documented in network and industry reporting. Source: Cisco / industry internet-traffic reporting, summarized by HubSpot.

Short-form video leads on returns

Marketers rank short-form video as the format with the highest ROI, and the one they most plan to keep investing in. Source: HubSpot, State of Marketing.
Short-form video is among the most-used content formats by marketers, reflecting the shift toward Reels, TikTok, and Shorts. Source: HubSpot, State of Marketing.
Most short-form videos that perform well are kept under a minute, with brevity consistently linked to higher completion. Source: HubSpot, State of Marketing.

Mobile and local discovery

The majority of video is now watched on mobile devices, which is why vertical, full-screen formats matter. Source: Google / Think with Google.
Adding video and a complete set of media to a local listing improves engagement with that listing, part of why a rich Google Business Profile performs better. Source: Google Business Profile Help.
Social platforms are a primary place people discover local businesses, and short video is the dominant format on those platforms. Source: Sprout Social Index.

A note on the numbers we omitted

We intentionally left out several frequently-cited but hard-to-verify figures, the kind that circulate without a clear original source, oddly precise percentages with no methodology, and stats whose year we could not confirm. If you need an exact current number for a pitch or a page, click through to the linked source and quote it directly, since these studies are updated annually and the precise figures move.