A recent study conducted in conjunction by King Fish Media, Hubspot, and Junta 42, confirms the continuing shift to the necessity of online video for virtually all businesses in all industries. The aim of the study was to determine the many ways that marketers are using video, and which of those uses is most prominent. The percentages of businesses are using online video and social marketing platforms is staggering – and if your business isn’t riding the wave, your business risks getting left way behind.
- 87% of businesses are using LinkedIn, and 84% are using a Twitter account.
- Facebook is next at 78%.
- YouTube is all the way down in 5th place, with only 47% of respondents using the video service for marketing. Translation: A HUGE OPPORTUNITY TO GET YOUR BUSINESS NOTICED! The study gives numbers for which social media services respondents plan to use more in the future, and YouTube is number one, with 53% saying they’re planning on adding it to their marketing efforts.
- Only 35% of respondents have a YouTube Channel. Translation: A HUGE OPPORTUNITY TO GET YOUR BUSINESS NOTICED!
- Video is the third most-used type of content in social media campaigns, behind “branded content you create” and “expert content.”
- 61% use video on their company website, while 56% use video sharing sites like YouTube.
Here is
the most important part of
the study:
- The number one reason marketers use video is education—specifically the education of customers about the company’s products and services—a whopping 72%. The definiteion of online video education isn’t specifcally defined, but most likely includes: standard commercials, product demos, testimonials and more.
Bottom line is this – educating customers is directly
related to marketing – and it is time for every company to start commiting portions of their budget to online video marketing.
In terms of purposes, education is one area that everyone seems to think video can help. Education about the industry, the company, the individuals, or the products. Video can tell a story that images and text alone cannot—we all know this already, and it’s good to see so many social-media-savvy businesses agree. Many experts believe that video will begin to replace a lot of other “old-school” business practices and standards such as staff meetings, collaborations, even documentation. We’ve only scratched the surface of how video is going to change business.