Is online video part of your small business’s marketing toolkit? If not, you’re part of a shrinking minority. Not only is online video marketing popular with consumers, it’s also effective for marketers who use it, according to a new report.
The State of Video Marketing in 2018 surveyed both marketers and consumers to get insights into how the two groups feel about video marketing. Here are some of the results, and what they mean for your business.
More businesses are marketing with online video
More than eight in 10 (81%) of businesses in the survey use video for marketing purposes. That’s a 17% increase from the 63% who were using online video last year. In addition, 99% of businesses that use video plan to keep doing so in 2018, while 65% of those that don’t market with video plan to start this year.
Online video marketing gets results
Businesses are using online video marketing for a wide variety of purposes. Primarily, they’re using it to get more visitors to their website and get them to spend more time there. They also use video to educate prospects about their product or service. Apparently, online video marketing is succeeding on all these counts, and more:
- 97% of businesses in the survey say online video helps users better understand their product or service.
- 76% say it helps them boost website traffic.
- 80% say video increases the amount of time visitors spend on their website.
- 76% say it helps them increase sales.
- 47% say it helps reduce the number of customer support queries they receive.
From the consumer side, 81% of consumers in the survey admit that a video has convinced them to purchase a product or service. While the report notes that video is often a starting point for consumers investigating a possible purchase, it can also be a “tipping point” that helps them decide to make the purchase.
Consumers love online video
There’s a reason online video marketing is so effective: Consumers love it. Some 95% of consumers in the survey say they have watched an “explainer video” to learn more about a product or service. In fact, if both video and text are available on the same page of the website, almost three-fourths (72%) of consumers would rather watch the video than read about a product or service.
If you’re worried that videos posted by businesses won’t attract the same level of interest as videos from friends and family, don’t be. A whopping 85% of consumers in the study say they want to see more video from businesses in the coming year. In addition, more than eight in 10 (83%) of consumers say they share videos posted by businesses with their friends.
Which online video marketing channels work best?
Currently, YouTube is the most popular channel for online video marketing, and also the most effective, according to businesses in the survey. Some 87% of respondents have used YouTube to market with videos, and 90% of those say it was effective.
As for the least effective, just 11% of companies in the survey have used Snapchat for video marketing — and fewer than three in 10 of those say it was effective. Perhaps due to these meager results, only 9% of businesses say they will use Snapchat for video marketing in the coming year.
Where are the marketing opportunities for online video?
YouTube is the obvious place to share your online videos — but what video marketing channels are less obvious? Here are three areas of potential opportunity:
- LinkedIn: Just 38% of marketers currently share video content on LinkedIn, but three-quarters of them say it is an effective tactic. With 55% of respondents planning to continue or start using LinkedIn for video in 2018, there’s still room to make your mark.
- Facebook Live: Only about one-third (34%) of businesses in the survey have used Facebook Live for marketing; however, 81% of those say it was effective. Why not get into the game by sharing Facebook Live videos from an event at your business or a conference you’re attending?
- Webinars: Fewer than half (44%) of businesses surveyed have hosted or participated in an online webinar. However, 87% of those say webinars are an effective marketing tool. If you’re concerned that developing a webinar is too time-intensive, why not partner with another business to put one together?
Clearly, with the average consumer in the survey watching more than 90 minutes of online video each day, this market is far from saturated. Why not make 2018 the year that your business starts marketing with video?
