In 2025, expect video to continue to be a “must have” tool for franchise company marketers.
With video accounting for more than 82% of all online traffic, it simply cannot be ignored as a marketing tool for franchise organizations. Consumers are increasingly turning to videos not just for entertainment but also for shopping inspiration, product reviews, tutorials, and behind-the-scenes brand content. According to HubSpot, 62% of consumers have watched video content such as product demos, reviews, and unboxings to learn about a brand or product. In addition, 37% of consumers say that they prefer to discover products through short-form videos such as TikTok, YouTube Shorts, or Instagram reels. Facebook even added a new “video” tab to their app in October 2024 to make it easier for users to find reels and other videos, while on Instagram, reels has become the main driver of engagement.
This article is part of a series that examines major digital marketing trends that franchise systems should be aware of in 2025. Check out our other articles in the series:
- How Generative AI is Changing Digital Advertising for Franchises in 2025
- How Franchise Companies Should Adjust their SEO Approach in 2025
- What Franchise Companies Need to Know About Voice Search in 2025
- Influencer Marketing for Franchise Companies is Going “Nano”
- Franchise Marketing Data Privacy Update for 2025
- How Franchise Companies Can Capitalize on Social Search in 2025
- Social Shopping Trends for Franchise Companies in 2025
With high levels of engagement and growth, video content creation and advertising – particularly short-form video – is a must for all marketers. A Wyzowl survey found that 91% of businesses used video as a marketing tool in 2024, with 87% saying video has directly increased sales. Marketers consider YouTube to be the most effective video platform, followed by Facebook and Instagram. Surprisingly, TikTok is viewed as being less effective, however, we believe this is because brands often struggle to understand how to effectively “TikTok-ify” their content for this audience.
Beyond the obvious social media applications, short-form video is also a benefit to your website. Videos have been found to be very effective at generating first-page search rankings compared to other SEO tactics, and 82% of consumers report that they made a product purchase after watching a video.
If you aren’t already using video on your website and social media channels, 2025 is the time to get on the bandwagon. Long-form video should remain part of your marketing mix, as it is valuable for providing in-depth information about a product, brand or service, particularly if your goal is SEO improvement. However, the big opportunity in 2025 is in creating entertaining and/or informative short-form videos.
Some specific areas of focus for franchise systems include:
Create relatable and authentic content: A recent Hubspot study found that 38% of consumers reported relatable content as being more memorable. For social media videos in particular, consumers prefer to see relatable and authentic videos (63%) over polished and high-production-value videos (37%). For franchise systems, we recommend engaging your franchisees to create authentic and relatable “grassroots” content. Encourage them to be creative and entertaining, while of course remaining aligned with your company’s brand voice.
Shorter is often better: Consumers are looking for quick, engaging, and entertaining videos, particularly on social media. A good rule of thumb is to keep your videos under 3 minutes. Having said that, consumer preferences across industries can vary significantly, so we always recommend experimenting with different lengths and creative concepts to find what works best for your audience.
Consider where to place your call-to-action: A Wistia survey found that conversion occurs most frequently at the end of the video for shorter-form content, but longer-form videos often see conversions earlier in the video. Not surprisingly, conversion tends to be quite high when people watch the entirety of a long video, as they are clearly engaged with the content. Again, we recommend experimenting both with the length of your video content and the placement of your call-to-action to find a formula that works for your company.
“TikTok-ify” your videos: If you decide to use TikTok as part of your video strategy, bear in mind that videos on TikTok tend to have a different style than Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube. TikTok videos are typically high-energy with quick cuts, overlays, and high-tempo music, and often incorporate topics or sounds that are currently trending on the platform. In addition, TikTok videos are typically very short, no longer than a minute or two. In our experience, video posts or ads that work well on other platforms may not perform as well on TikTok due to the unique nature of the platform and audience.
Interested in learning more about the topics presented in this article and other franchise digital marketing trends for 2025? Be sure to download our guidebook here.
Check out the other articles in our series below:
- How Generative AI is Changing Digital Advertising for Franchises in 2025
- How Franchise Companies Should Adjust their SEO Approach in 2025
- What Franchise Companies Need to Know About Voice Search in 2025
- Influencer Marketing for Franchise Companies is Going “Nano”
- Franchise Marketing Data Privacy Update for 2025
- How Franchise Companies Can Capitalize on Social Search in 2025
- Social Shopping Trends for Franchise Companies in 2025
