An often quoted “statistic” from a study by Forrester’s Dr. James McQuivey claims that one minute of video is worth 1.8 million words. While more anecdotal than fact, it does cause us to respect the powerful impact that videos are having in today’s marketing. YouTube is often referred to as the second-largest search engine, bested only by Google, and it’s clearly a go-to resource not only for entertainment, but also for information.
Look at major retailers that really work their online presence and you’ll see a proliferation of video content. Harbor Freight Tools has nicely done homegrown-style videos for most of its products, and they are strong contributors to the company’s massive sales. According to Marketing Sherpa, website visitors are 64% more likely to buy a product online after watching a video. Google also loves videos. Search rankings can get a nice boost with the addition of videos, and research shows that Google favors sites with video content in its search algorithms.