This has become an increasingly pertinent question that businesses and individuals have to ask themselves.  The Internet is getting more saturated with consumers and videos each and every day.  In December 2011, 182 million U.S. Internet users watched online video, averaging 23.2 hours per viewer. Just one year prior, 172 million users watched a measly 14.6 hours on average.  This is interesting because that means the number of viewers increased about 6 percent, but hours watched increased almost 59 percent! [1]  Bottom line, people are seeking more and more video content on the Web.

Naturally, the most common way people found videos online was through Google searches; they led the way with 157.2 million unique viewers.  This, of course, makes sense, considering that Google owns YouTube.  According to datasphere.com, “Google LOVES videos. Studies show that businesses with videos on their own website are 50X more likely to appear on the first page of Google results! (Forrester Research, 2009).  And because your video is also on YouTube, you are more likely to rank higher than your own website.” [2]

Here are a couple more statistics, this time from Nielsen:  “On the Web, four-in-10 respondents rely on ads served alongside search engine results, 36 percent trust online video advertisements, and one-third believe the messages in online banner ads—an increase of 27 percent since 2007.”  Also, “Display ads (video or banner) on mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones are trusted by one-third of global respondents, which is slightly higher than the reported consumer trust level of text ads on mobile phones (29%). While the reported consumer trust level in mobile phone advertising is still low, it increased 61 percent since 2007 and 21 percent since 2009.”[3]

Without a doubt, videos make a website more interesting, dynamic and eye-catching.  They keep viewers on your site longer, and encourage them to explore more, as well as being able to convey multiple messages quickly.  Video can be a tremendous tool in showing who you are as a company or as an individual. On camera body language is a seriously powerful tool.  It’s human nature to want to relate to someone, and when you can relate to someone, you’re more likely to want to do business with that person.

Here is a great article on About.com that explains different uses for website video, and how each type can benefit you:

http://desktopvideo.about.com/od/webvideosforbusiness/tp/use-video.htm

Internet videos

Internet video is on the rise and has been for some time. With the introduction of faster connection speeds such as cable, T1 and FIOS we can now enjoy streaming video lightning fast right to our personal computers and portable devices.  Online videos are a great way to put your product or entity in front of your viewers. Online videos can take down the walls and mystique of an individual or organization and puts it in a convenient and informative package the viewer can watch.  Company profiles give the viewer a first hand look at your business. They’ll feel like they already know you when they contact you for business.

Here are some interesting facts about online video

134 million people in the US went online to watch an astounding average of 81 videos for a total of 11 billion videos in April 2008

71% the total U.S. Internet audience viewed online video

The average online viewer watched 228 minutes of video

The average online video duration was 2.8 minutes

Source: ComScore

McElroy Films is a video production company privately held in Massachusetts. Our owner and founder Ben McElroy has been producing, shooting and editing videos for over 10 years. Ben founded McElroy Films in 2004 because he had a passion for film and video. The need is great among individuals and organizations to get their message across in a unique and creative way.

We’re starting this blog to give our readers a glimpse into McElroy Films. In this blog you’ll find articles on new tools and techniques in multimedia technology. We will feature some of our new clients and give you updates on our projects. We also show you featured videos and reviews. Our blog will keep you up-to-date on the happenings of our company, so enjoy.

Get involved! We’d love to hear from you. If you have any questions, comments, additional information, feel free to post. We encourage and appreciate all replies to our blog.
We appreciate your commitment and support.

-The McElroy Films team.