Many years ago, business owners could only spread the word about their services about as far as a horse could travel. The invention of the telephone changed that, allowing us to reach other towns, cities, and states. Now, the internet has set an entirely new standard in international correspondence and e-commerce.
A recent poll on CNN.com determined that consumers feel that for businesses in the U.S.,”internet has become a necessity,” yet many businesses still have not embraced this strange new world. With the introduction of online video ads, internet marketing has become the only way to remain competitive in many industries.
From mom and pop brick and mortars, to small start-ups, to large multi-million dollar corporations, businesses of all sizes have discovered one basic truth: Online video ads lead to sales. The Online Publishers Association recently published a report entitled “Frames of Reference: Online Video Advertising, Content and Consumer Behavior”. The report finds that out of 80% of viewers who watched an online video ad, over half took some type of action. Close to a third had visited a related Web site, 22% looked for more information, 15% percent had gone to a store, and 12% made a purchase.
Now you may be saying, “well only 12% made a purchase, that’s not very good,” Well consider this…if you have $100,000 in sales, 12% of that is $12,000. Online video ads are very affordable, and can cost $300 to $3000, but not using a video ad can cost you $12,000. The marketers already using online video ads have obviously already done this math, and arrived at this conclusion on their own.
But here’s what’s really interesting; this study also found that “if a consumer has a positive attitude towards an advertised brand, and likes the video content that the ad appeared within, brand consideration jumps 61%. If the consumer’s initial attitude toward the brand is neutral or even negative, brand consideration still rises 21% if they like the adjacent video content.”
In addition to being powerfully effective at informing your prospects and converting them to customers, online video ads also get incredible search engine placement. Search engines give online video content priority over all other forms of content online.
An online video ad uploaded to many different video sharing websites will be indexed quicker, and placed higher on the search engines because 1) there are multiple websites linking to and hosting your content, and 2) your content is video. Some video ad production services, such as CommercialMaker.com, will create your video ad, and upload it to over 60 content sharing websites for you, many times giving you first page search engine placement in less than 24 hours.
So whether you use online spokesmodels, a repurposed TV commercial, or an online video ad created specifically for the internet, online video ads should be an important part of your marketing campaign.