Social Media Pushes Digital Video to Record Growth and 7.7 Billion in Ad Revenue“Back in the day,” as the young folk say, YouTube was the place to go for video. Not just a place, not just one place — it was THE place.

But a new day is dawning and whether YouTube will hold onto to its video laurel wreath in the future is very much an open question.

Why? Digital video is experiencing amazing growth, mostly by dint of social media sites that are doing everything they can to encourage that growth, facilitate video through better tech, and capitalize on the trend.

According to stats from eMarketer, U.S. digital video advertising will reach $7.7 billion this year, a 30.4 percent increase over 2014.

Could social behemoths like Facebook and Twitter overrun Google’s YouTube unit? It’s too soon to say, according to Debra Aho Williamson, principal analyst at eMarketer.

“While Facebook has grown quickly as a video platform, there are many reasons to think YouTube will continue to be a favored video advertising destination for marketers,” said Williamson in a recent report. “Facebook’s entry could help grow the overall video market, rather than take away from YouTube.”

It’s anticipated that in 2015, YouTube will garner 20 percent of all domestic digital video ad dollars (about $1.5 billion).

But it’s a marketplace in a changing space, according to any source of repute.

“Facebook isn’t the only one angling for a slice of the video advertising pie,” notes the Slideshare presentation. “Twitter is beta testing Promoted Videos; Instagram is rolling out video advertising; and Tumblr and Snapchat have new video ad products.”

There’s still much work to be done by social media companies that want to succeed in the video venue. From standards (what constitutes a view?) to analytics (measurement is everything), every player is trying to batten down the hatches.

One thing’s for sure: video is a big, big story for 2015. There’s the “what.” As for the who, how, and when — we’ll keep you posted.