Having an impact that could be compared to the invention of television in 1928, the online video was one of the main components that differentiated the new media from the traditional one. It is the fastest and most powerful social media tool that companies should use while preparing their Internet marketing and social media strategies, as it’s the fastest way one can convey a message that has feelings attached to it. Its effectiveness comes from the fact that the human brain employs 40% of the cortex to process video, meaning that humans are wired to scan the visual environment and are most attracted to visual stimulation. Due to its effectiveness, the online video marketing grew to become a ‘must’ for all social media strategies. Its importance first started being noticed through the huge popularity the worldwide known video sharing community: You Tube has achieved in such a short time span. Today, online video is integrated and widely used on all categories of online communities and company websites.

The use of videos on the Internet is still in a continuous and rapid growth. According to latest research issued by Nielsen Online, released yesterday:

• 137.4 million Americans watched Web video in December 2009 – an increase of 10.3 percent against the same month of 2008.
• Same viewers streamed over 10.7 billion videos during that month – an increase of 11.8 percent against the same time period a year earlier.

Although the number of streams per visitor demonstrated a relatively moderate growth, the length of the videos the users are watching online has increased on average: time spent (per viewer streaming online video) went from 13.2 percent to 193.2 minutes in December 2009.

From a social media marketing perspective, the growth registered by Nielsen Online in both the number of viewers and the videos streamed is amazing news! That is because of the various benefits brought by videos to any social media strategy or viral campaign:

1. It brings a more personal interaction between a business and its audience. The mix of visual effects and sounds makes it an effective way of capturing an audience’s attention.

2. It gives the web-users new information delivered fast and made simple. As they say: a picture is worth a 1,000 words, but when you add sound to it …it’s worth millions for your business!

3. It is more cost-effective to produce.

4. It is viral.

5. It gives the chance of increasing your brand’s recognition. Whether it is used to describe and show the functions of a product, to introduce a company, for online seminars and conferences or for advertisements, videos can be effective ways to gain recognition of your brand.

6. It drives more traffic to your website. That is either by adding a link to a website or by placing the video on search engines along with well-chosen keywords and taglines. Google gives more importance to sites with videos then the sites without video, and increases chances of ranking higher by 50%.

The still growing importance of videos on the Internet is part of the digital revolution. It offers you a way to interact in a more efficient way with your audience as well as a method of keeping them engaged with you brand. Therefore, the use of videos should be part of any Internet marketing strategy.

For example let’s have a look at a video released yesterday about the Haiti Earthquake Aftermath. It only 24 hours time it was viewed 218,660 times, it has 3,128 comments, it was mentioned on 122 blog posts and it already has 290 tweets! That’s how viral and effective a video distributed online can be!

Please share with us your views and experience on the use and importance of online videos!

SysComm is an Internet Marketing, Search Engine Marketing, Social Media and SEO Company. We provide a complete service package including Internet marketing strategies, SEO services and search engine marketing. SysComm is also an SEO consultant.

Related posts:

1. How to best use Social Media Marketing for business
2. Interesting videos on Social Media
3. Importance of Effective Blog Commenting for Social Media Marketing Strategy!
4. What to include in your Social Media Marketing Strategy?