1. Low-cost, high-speed Internet connections are available almost anywhere these days. And, with the influx of portable, Internet-ready devices (cell phones, iPods, laptops, etc.) capable of streaming online video content, viewers will soon be able to access video from virtually every corner of the world.
2. Powerful Sales Tool according to comScore, the number of online shoppers who watch online retail product videos before buying a product grew 40% from January 2008 to January of 2009.
3. Adding Video is Tops Among Retailers’ “To-Do Lists” even in the current state of the economy, seeing the sales lift from video content on their websites, companies understand they need to create innovative, eye-catching video content.
4. Blogging, Video Sharing and Social Networking Once retailers and online marketers build up video content on their sites, they will then focus on turning their efforts and video assets into customer acquisition tools by pushing video to other sites, such as affiliates, social networking sites and video-sharing destinations, according to Jeffrey Grau of eCommerce.
5. Awareness Online videos can create awareness to the viewers on many levels. Video campaigns should create awareness to the type of company being represented, types of products offered, and any other products or services. Online video is interactive, measurable and cost less per eyeball than any form of print media.
6. Free Advertising Probably the best thing about online video is that everyone – retailers, marketers and even your average Joe – can upload any video, anytime, for free! With free uploading, and a down economy, we may begin to see the highest increase in video uploading and sharing than the Internet’s seen in its short history.
7. Demographics You may be asking yourself, “Why should I invest my time and efforts into online video to promote my product? Only college kids watch videos, right?” Wrong. According to a nationwide survey conducted by Burst Media, online users between the ages of 35 to 44, and 45 to 54, are just as likely to search and view online video content as online users ages 18-24.
8. Better-Educated Leads Users are more likely to watch a visually stimulating video about your products than they are to read a long and possibly boring text document. Online video can stimulate your potential customers or clients to learn more about your products and services before they buy. And, with the knowledge they’ll gain from their viewing experience, your life will become easier when you don’t have to explain what exactly it is that your company specializes in.
9. Results! By having an online video embedded within your site or on YouTube, you are more likely to rank within the top pages of Google search results. As a matter of fact, video is 53 TIMES more likely than text content to rank within the top of search engine results!
10. Your Own Personal Television Station You can produce any type of multimedia content to broadcast your company’s products, offerings and services. You have the ability to produce as much, or as little, content as you deem necessary. It’s like broadcasting your own TV commercials for free!
