Top 9 Reasons Why SMEs Should Be Using Online Video

A recent survey of ad agencies by BrightRoll has revealed that online video ads are the most effective form of advertising for more than 50% of participants.

So why are online video ads so effective? We have outlined the top ten reasons below:

Online video engages visitors to your website, and by providing viewers with a clear call-to-action, your online video becomes a powerful conversion tool.  Embedding your call-to-action on the webpage in close proximity to actionable links increases the likelihood of a click becoming a transaction.

Online video communicates brand messages in a way that plain text and pictures simply can’t. The most effective video campaigns generate an emotional response from their viewers. Online video allows you to create a more personal connection with potential customers, provide an insight into your expertise and staff, and convey more information than if you were to use contextual adverts.

Video has 50 times more chance of getting to the first page of Google’s search results than text, making online video a very useful SEO tool. Once videos have been uploaded to publishing channels such as Youtube or other web platforms, they can become a key part of search engine results e.g. Google’s Universal Search.

eMarketer expects the online video advertising market to grow by 50% in 2010, and with more than a quarter of small businesses saying that they plan to increase their online video advertising spending in 2010, online video is the best way to reach out to customers before your competitors do.

A good video production company will work with you to help you get the most out of your budget, as well as taking the hard work off your hands by writing scripts, providing actors and voice-over artists and provide hosting.  Low production costs and increased distribution mean that producing an online video doesn’t have to be expensive to be effective either.

Online video allows you to specifically target your chosen audience. Using Google AdWords means that your video can appear next to the search results of people who have conducted a search using same keywords as you. Including your business’ location in your keywords will allow your video to be coupled with locally-targeted campaigns, enabling you to reach potential customers living locally.

Not only can prospective clients watch your video anywhere, anytime, but they can spread the word.  Viral repostings of your video mean your brand, video and links to your site can reach locations, forums and blogs that you wouldn’t have been able to touch otherwise.  Viral propagation accounts for 50% of some publishers’ video viewership, so ensure that your video is able to be embedded into blog posts, viewed on a mobile phone and forwarded via e-mail.

Whether you want to promote your latest product, emphasise your dedication to providing great customer service or simply put your business out there, your company can benefit from online video. Profiling your business is a great way to put your customers at ease and establish their trust before they even contact you.

Employing an analytic feature such as Google Analytics means you can see how your online video is performing.  An analytics tool allows you to find out how many people are viewing your video, the time they spend watching it, what percentage of your video they watched, and the demographics of your viewers.