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- Digital video advertising grew 19.2% in 2024, surpassing $62.1 billion in the U.S.
- Streaming TV ad spend rose 16.5% thanks to new monetized tiers on Netflix, Disney+, and Prime Video.
- Video-led affiliate marketing is replacing static links with integrated, shoppable storytelling.
- Programmatic advertising drives 61% of automated video buys via real-time bidding for targeting that changes.
- Automation tools streamline video production, helping affiliates deploy content faster and at scale.
Digital video advertising is no longer just for a few businesses — it’s a big part of marketing. 2024 was a big year for video, being the fastest-growing digital ad format. Advertisers, affiliate marketers, and small businesses are changing fast. But the numbers show why this shift isn’t just a passing trend — it’s a necessary business move. In this article, we’ll look at how digital video is growing, how it’s affecting affiliate marketing and programmatic advertising, and how you can use it well — even with a small budget. 
Digital Video vs. Other Formats: What the Numbers Show
Traditional digital ad formats like search and display are still important and worth a lot. But digital video advertising is changing how businesses connect with people. Let’s look at the numbers:
- Search Advertising: Still leads with 39.8% of digital ad market share, bringing in $102.9 billion. Growth of 15.9% from last year shows it’s still going strong.
- Display Advertising: Came back strong with 12.4% growth, reaching $74.3 billion. This includes banners, rich media, and native ads.
- Digital Video Advertising: Grew fastest, going up 19.2% to hit $62.1 billion. It now makes up almost 24% of all U.S. digital ad money.
What’s key is not just how much it grew, but how fast. Video isn’t just catching up — it’s moving past older ways of advertising by telling stories in a way that pulls people in. This better fits how people watch things now. In a time when people don’t have much time, video is a good way to connect by mixing sound, pictures, and things you can click on.
Why Video Is Growing Fast Right Now
Digital video’s growth is happening because people are watching things differently and platforms are changing. A few linked reasons explain why it’s growing:
1. Changing How People Watch
People spend more and more time on platforms where video is the main thing. TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, and Twitch have changed people from just scrolling to actively watching.
- The average U.S. adult spends over 100 minutes per day watching digital video.
- Phones now account for over 80% of video views worldwide.
2. Video works for many things
Video works for everything: news and fun, learning, step-by-step guides, and buying and selling. It works well at each step of the marketing process — getting people’s attention, building trust, and helping them buy things.
3. Platforms push video
All major platforms give video content shown right on the platform more reach without paying:
- Facebook and Instagram’s systems now prefer video over still pictures.
- Google search results increasingly show video rows, making it easier to find pages with lots of video.
4. What viewers like
People remember 95% of a message watched on video — compared to only 10% when read. This high recall means people remember the brand better and are more likely to act.
Streaming & Connected TV (CTV): Video’s Big Help
One of the main reasons video advertising is doing well is the growth of Connected TV (CTV) and online streaming platforms.
A Good Time for Digital Streaming
In 2024, revenue from online TV ads saw a growth of 16.5%. This was mainly because of:
- Netflix, Disney+, and Prime Video starting ad-supported content levels.
- Big spending on deals for sports rights that only they can show — bringing in viewers who watch a lot and stick around.
- Better ways to target people than traditional TV.
Being able to reach specific groups
CTV offers something old media doesn’t: accuracy. Advertisers can now change messages based on what people watch, where they are, how much money they make, and even what devices they use — as it happens.
This shift helps:
- Brands: Get results you can measure better from formats that feel like TV.
- Affiliates: Show specific offers when people are really watching, like during an episode or a sports game.
In short, connected TV mixes building a brand with using data to be precise — a perfect fit for marketers focused on results.
The Affiliate Marketing Shift: From Links to Stories You Can Watch
Affiliate marketing has always relied on tracked links, coupon codes, and smart placements. But it’s no longer about hiding banners or putting links at the bottom of blogs — it’s about telling stories using video.
From Still to Shoppable
Today’s best affiliates don’t just promote — they sell by telling a story:
- YouTube creators put links right in the final screens and add affiliate bundles to their descriptions.
- TikTok influencers use product tags right in the video.
- Amazon Live lets affiliates host live sales events where people can join in.
How Shoppable Media Works
This trend has caused very fast growth in content you can buy from. Viewers can buy right from links in the video player without going anywhere else.
- Instagram and Pinterest now let people buy things right there on the platform when watching videos from creators.
- Affiliate platforms like LTK (formerly LIKEtoKNOW.it) mix videos shown right on the platform with tracking for affiliate links.
This change closes the big gap that used to be between people knowing about something and actually doing something. This is especially true for areas like lifestyle, online shopping, and tech.
Simple Ways Affiliates Can Use Digital Video
If you’re an affiliate marketer or small business owner, using video doesn’t mean spending a lot of money. Use these simple ways to add video to your affiliate plans:
1. Long Product Demos
Explain what’s good about products more fully using 4-8 minute videos. These demos are good for expensive items like software, gadgets, or home listings.
📌 Tip: Add time-stamped parts and call-to-action pop-ups so users can skip and shop easily.
2. How-to Videos and Explanations
“Best ways to use…” and “How to…” videos build trust and help people buy. These show how the product works — making them very convincing.
📌 Tip: Use side-by-side comparisons to show your affiliate product next to others.
3. Putting videos in Podcasts and Newsletters
Take short clips or previews from video podcasts that mention affiliate products. A 60-second clip with text and links can do better than simple calls to action in newsletters.
4. Video Campaigns for Holidays and All Year
Make several short campaigns ahead of time:
- Seasonal: Back-to-school tech guides or holiday beauty kits.
- Evergreen: “Top 5 email tools” or “Best budget laptops.”
Match each campaign to what people are searching for and buying.
How Programmatic Helps Scale Video Campaigns
You may be wondering how advertisers are reaching the right people — without picking them by hand. The answer: programmatic advertising.
What Is Programmatic Video Advertising?
Programmatic video advertising uses computer programs to automatically buy and place video ads using real-time bidding. It’s fast, scalable, and powerful.
In 2024, programmatic advertising went over $134.8 billion in spending — and digital video was a big part of that, using:
- Real-time bidding (61%): Open ad places that offer wide reach.
- Private and guaranteed deals (39%): Controlled places making sure brands are safe and things are clear.
How Programmatic Helps Affiliates
- Accuracy: Show very specific ads to people based on what they’ve looked at online, where they are, and groups with certain interests.
- Speed: Test different ads on different platforms (e.g., YouTube vs. TikTok) from one place.
- Reach everywhere: Programmatic lets you start on phones, computers, CTV, and in-app video at the same time.
Affiliates don’t need to be experts on every platform anymore — they just need the right programmatic tools.
Automation & Content Creation: Making Video Content Easier
Making video used to need a whole team — not now. Thanks to AI and tools that automate content, good video content is easier to get than ever.
Top Tools & Platforms
Today’s video automation tools help you:
- Write scripts and plan content using AI ideas
- Edit videos using smart templates and editors on your phone
- Add text, images on top, and smooth changes automatically
- Change audio using voices made from text
Popular platforms like Descript, Pictory.ai, and Canva Pro are helping even one person make lots of videos without making them worse.
Example: Real estate affiliates can automatically make videos of neighborhoods and homes using photos you’ve already uploaded and voiceovers.
How to Use Them
- Weekly updates about affiliate products in short TikToks
- Summaries of webinars delivered as YouTube Shorts
- “Explanation of the Day” LinkedIn reels for businesses talking to businesses
Automation helps affiliates work fast, keep up with trends, and make sure people remember them.
Using Video for Your Marketing Process
Video isn’t just one thing you do — it can work at each step of your marketing process:
Start of the Process (Awareness)
- Use short video ads on social platforms (Reels, Shorts, TikToks) to bring people in.
- Use jokes, strong starts, or viral challenges to get noticed where lots of content is showing.
Middle of the Process (Thinking about it)
- Put up videos that compare products or go deep into one on YouTube or CTV.
- Show ads again to people who watched using programmatic tools based on how long they watched or how they interacted.
End of the Process (Deciding + Buying)
- Use videos of people talking about the product, content made by users, and “last chance” ads with clear calls to action.
- Point directly to links to buy things that are put on top of the video.
By showing the same brand or offer at different steps — and in different ways — affiliates make sure the message is the same way throughout, making it more likely people will buy.
What Numbers to Watch: Is Video Worth It?
With all this money spent, you might ask: is video actually working? Yes — if you watch the right numbers. Look at these main points in your data:
- Time Spent Watching: Longer average viewing time means people found it more useful and were more interested.
- Click-Through Rates (CTR): Higher CTRs usually show the message was clear and the calls to action were put in good spots.
- Conversion Rate: This is about how much money you made or how many leads you got — the most important goal.
- Watching without Clicking (Attribution): See who watched your video but didn’t buy right away — looking at how people interact across different points shows how it helped later.
- Affiliate Channel Reports: See how affiliate IDs do on each platform, for each video, for each group of viewers.
Watching these numbers is needed for checking if your plan is working and growing smart.
Problems to Watch Out For
While video advertising offers many good things, it has some problems:
- People get tired of the ads: People get tired fast of seeing the same pictures or videos over and over. Change styles, keep it new.
- Cost to Make Videos: Without automation, costs get big fast. Focus on using templates and things you’ve made before.
- Rules from FTC & ASA: You must say clearly: “Sponsored” or “Affiliate Paid Partnership” tags are needed.
- Hard to work across platforms: Each platform needs videos in a different way — have a way of working that makes videos for all of them.
Deal with these by making a plan for content, using formats that worked before, and having tools ready.
What Might Happen Next: Will Video Be Biggest in 2025?
All signs show video continuing to grow. Here’s what might happen:
- AI Making Videos: Voices made by AI, writing help, and tools that match voices to mouths will make it faster to make videos.
- 5G & Mobile networks: Better data speeds around the world mean more live, clear videos.
- Making Videos Easy to Find in Search (VSO): Search engines will be better at using what’s said in videos and sounds to find them, making video content more helpful for search rankings.
- Buying Right in the Video: Platforms will try to compete with Amazon by letting people buy right in the video, with creators picking what’s shown.
- Growing Globally: With tools that can change voices and translate for different languages, reaching people all over the world is easier than ever.
For affiliate marketers and small businesses, it’s not just a chance — you have to do it to keep up.
Yes, Video Is Worth It — When You Use It Smart
We can safely say digital video advertising growing is much more than just hype — it’s a big change in the industry. But to do well, smart planning should lead what you create.
- Mix thinking about phones first with telling good stories in video.
- Grow smart using programmatic ads and automation tools.
- Use video for every step of the marketing process and make sure your content matches what people are trying to do.
- Give affiliates video content they can sell from and measure results — not just simple mentions of a brand.
If it feels like too much, start small, but start now. In digital marketing, being early doesn’t just get you views — it helps you get a bigger piece of the market.
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