From Views to Value: What Makes Video Work in Developer Marketing?

By Crystal Hernandez, Program Manager

TL; DR: Video is now the top-performing B2B content format, and dev marketing teams are all in. But success doesn’t come from more content, it comes from smarter content. Learn: 

• Why format matters

• What kind of talent to hire

• How to build video strategies that actually influence the developer journey.
  

  

Developer marketing is ready for its close-up as video popularity just keeps rising. Short-form video content hits social channels like a triple espresso: fast, addictive, and attention-grabbing. While long-form video, by contrast, is more of a slow brew, built for depth, retention, and SEO traction. Both formats play a critical role, but too often they’re launched without a clear plan or purpose. Let’s talk about that.

The Demand Is Real (And Growing)

According to Draft.dev’s latest Developer Marketing Report, short-form video content is favored for reach, but it rarely carries the weight when it comes to depth or developer decision-making. Long-form video, especially of the technical variety, delivers on SEO and genuine engagement, but as anyone who has produced these will tell you: it’s a heavier lift. You need creative chops and technical know-how. 

Meanwhile, over at Vimeo’s 2025 State of Video at Work, 79% of organizations say video improves business outcomes. But here’s the kicker: only 43% have a clear video strategy, and just 45% feel confident analyzing performance.

This disconnect is costing teams more than just budget. It’s costing them impact.

The Opportunity If You’re Willing to Work for It

At Catchy, we’ve seen a sharp uptick in clients coming to us with one consistent refrain: “We know we need video, but we don’t know where to start.” The most effective teams treat video like a product, not a placeholder. They:

• Map format to funnel stage, using short-form for reach and awareness, long-form for education and evaluation

• Define KPIs early, so performance is measured by outcomes, not assumptions

• Invest in hybrid talent with both technical fluency and creative instincts

• Build for discoverability, optimizing content for SEO and on-platform search

• Establish measurement frameworks that track real behavior: that means time-on-page, scroll depth, and engagement, not just surface-level views and likes
  

This kind of strategic scaffolding turns video from a cost center into a growth engine. And it pays off. 

Our recent CPC-optimized video campaigns drove 96% better performance than the industry average. 

Plus? They kept viewers on-site longer than traditional search or display. Which means more meaningful engagement, not just more eyeballs.

Video Can Be Your Growth Lever…Or Your Money Pit

Video is now the top-performing B2B content format. The digital video content market is projected to reach $391B by 2032. That’s not just a trend. But videos only deliver long-tail ROI when they’re created with intent.

So don’t fall for the hype without the homework. Start with format-specific goals. Build a production team with both technical depth and proven, creative acumen, and underpin it with reporting infrastructure that measures what matters. Understanding how different types of content (and different platforms) influence developer behavior at every step of the journey can unlock a whole new dimension of engagement for your team and your product. 

Or you can “wing it” and risk making a whole lot of beautiful nothing.

Video is essential. But success hinges on treating it like a product launch, not a one-off post. The teams that win won’t be the ones that chase trends. They’ll be the ones who build sustainable, flexible production systems that can accommodate the nuanced needs of developer audiences. 

When video is done right, it doesn’t just explain what you do, it drives how developers discover, understand, and ultimately choose your product.