The Tendo View

Given the overwhelming viewership of online video, marketers have a new opportunity. As more and more businesses realize the value of video and its ability to increase brand awareness and drive sales, marketers are responding. Video is also proving an effective way to facilitate conversations that help to win new customers and solidify the relationship with existing ones. And as devices such as smartphones and tablets (like Apple’s iPad) expand the platforms for viewing videos, consumers have an ever-increasing number of ways to view your content. That transforms video from a luxury to a marketing necessity.

Here are some interesting statistics related to the use of video in business:

• The number of people who view online video content monthly will increase to 147.5 million in 2010, up from 135.1 million in 2009 (eMarketer)
• 63 percent of U.S. Internet users watch online videos (Dynamic Logic)
• The use of video blogging among Fortune 500 companies with public-facing blogs rose 10 percent from 2008 to 2009 (Society for New Communications Research)
• Of rich-media features, video ranked highest at 46 percent with multichannel retailers (Multichannel Merchant)
• Among various online video types, more companies created branded video content in the last 12 months (TurnHere)
• This year, the number of mobile video viewers will grow nearly 30 percent (eMarketer)

So what’s your Web video strategy?

Editor’s note: The Society for New Communications Research (SNCR) is currently conducting a research study on the use of video storytelling in business. Share your experiences with video by participating in the survey.