If the findings of a recent report are any indication, you should be slapping pancake makeup on your business and telling the director that you’re ready for your close-up. The survey, from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, shows that 71 percent of U.S. adults who use the Internet have used video-sharing sites such as YouTube and Vimeo. And these aren’t infrequent users. When asked if they’d visited such sites as recently as “yesterday,” a full 28 percent answered to the affirmative.
That’s a lot of consumers watching a lot of online videos. What does this mean for your business? First, a few fun facts.
Did you know that 48 hours of video content are uploaded every minute on YouTube? And that they’re subject to more than 3 billion views a day — with more than 200 million of those views coming by way of smartphones and mobile devices?
The Pew report has some interesting details about the people associated with those billions of online views. And as we all know, demographics such as those are a major consideration in choosing where and how to market your products or services.
For one thing, men and women were evenly split at 71 percent of the population that views video content online. Ninety-two percent of viewers between the ages of 18 and 29 participate as do 80 percent of those in the 30 to 49 age bracket, 54 percent of those ages 50 to 64, and 31 percent of those 65 and older.
Interestingly, online African-Americans and Hispanics watch more Web videos than online Caucasians. When it comes to household earnings, 71 percent of those earning less than $30,000 a year were viewers. That's just a few shades less than the 75 percent for those earning $30,000 to $49,999 and the 76 percent of those making between $50,000 and $74,999. But 81 percent of online userss who earn $75,000 and more were online video watchers. Sixty-three percent of high-school grads said they’ve used video-sharing sites, compared with 75 percent for those with some college or college plus additional degrees.
Clearly, if your marketing, sales, customer support or technical service teams have been sitting on the video sidelines, now’s the time to get them into the game. This survey leaves no question as to whether consumers consume video online.
If what’s been holding you back is the lack of a game plan for filming, producing and managing video content, by all means get your team together and develop a request for proposals (RFP.) Then find a video production firm or consultants in your area qualified to assist you in conceptualizing and preparing your company for shooting and publishing video that will support your business-related goals.
Finally, Vimeo just released a new service called Vimeo PRO, an affordable professional video-hosting solution for small businesses, which I’ll be writing about in this space on Thursday.
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Comments:
It seems that as soon as a business is off the ground, and sometimes even before then, talk turns to how to grow and scale the company. Often business owners think about how to delegate responsibilities, improve leadership skills, and gain financing to allow for growth.
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The stats provided are quite convincing and make me feel I am late to the party. When I think about my clients, small business owners, I have a lot of trouble getting them to read usefull information. I suspect if I put it in video they would watch it though. Thanks for the nudge.
Even if your business is not ready for overall video.... you can always benefit from having a few to help describe your business, demo your products, promote the benefits of your business, and more... Video does not need to be a huge deal.... when you are ready you can then define an overall video strategy within your marketing plan
Among the best "brand videos" I've seen is from Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, AZ.
We all grew up being told one picture is worth a 1000 words. If a picture is worth a 1000 words what do you think a video is worth, maybe a million words? Who know but this is where things are going and Cruise & Associates will be embracing this technology in the near future. Robert F. Cruise www.cruise-associates.com
Video is the most powerful online marketing medium to generate leads because it has the power to communicate WHO you are and thus HOW your company can help your customers. Just like 10 years ago it was essential to have a website...today it's essential to have online video to get an advantage on your competition and stay ahead of the marketing curve. Here are two examples of video that can be used early on in the sales / lead qualification process --- http://vimeo.com/nycvideomktg/online-video-in-your-lead-qualification-process and http://vimeo.com/nycvideomktg/corporate-video-production-as-a-key-marketing-tactic
Video is a great tool for marketing. Here at Lighter Capital, we are starting to tackle videos for the public to see what we are up to!
Yes I agree that video is vital having nearly 1000 videos created to date ... about 1/3 on youtube and the others on Amazon streaming. My site, Learn-Classic-Rock-Songs.com gets good traffic from video. My partners and I are starting a video marketing service for small business to help them get results in from Google search. Lots of potential in video ... Kirby
Great article. I have passed this on to a lot of my small business friends.
Video is a great way to catch your market's attention. I am building a great web-design platform called PLEBU.com that let's you upload your videos into a really sweet website! We are almost ready for launch, check it out!
Very true because a video has the ability to be viral.entrepreneurship is being made easy this days due the popularity of social media channels.
LOL @ pancake makeup. I think more businesses are embracing video (Vimeo Pro noted). I like how some brands are offering an inside look into their headquarters or offices, think TechCribs by TechCrunch and interview-style productions that offer advice for budding start-ups.