• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, February 23, 2016

When it comes to video marketing, there’s an accepted belief that the industry is growing incredibly quick, but new research is surprisingly thin that’s made it difficult to build an accurate picture of what’s really happening in the industry, says Matt Byrom of Wyzowl, an “animated explainer video company.”

According to the Wyzowl first ‘State of Video Marketing’ survey of unique respondents, consisting of both marketing professionals and online consumers in 2015, and the second survey in 2016 building on its foundations while dramatically increasing the scope and focus, 61% of businesses reported that they currently use video as a marketing tool. Of these, 66% were NOT using video just 12 months ago.

Using questions to establish how many companies currently use video as a marketing tool, how much they spend, and how these trends are developing over time, the study found that 91% of businesses say they plan to increase or maintain their spending on video in 2016, and 67% of businesses say they plan to spend more on video in 2016.

Video usage is accelerating at a phenomenal rate, says the report, but 39% of businesses are yet to add it to their marketing strategy. Spending is also on a dramatic upward curve, and only 8% of businesses are looking to cut their video budget.

88% of businesses say that video is an important part of their marketing strategy, and 76% of businesses that use video believe that it provides a good ROI, while 93% of businesses who use video believe that it has increased user understanding of their product or service.

Video continues to perform well against a range of key metrics, says the report. Its versatility as a marketing tool is evident from the range of benefits enjoyed by businesses who invest in its use. 64% of businesses that use video believe that it has directly led to increased sales.

The versatility of video is clear from these results, says the report, with marketers enjoying success across a variety of different channels. Home page explainer videos are surprisingly under-utilized. And, with over half of businesses still admitting that they struggle to promote their video content, the true potential of video marketing is perhaps still to be unlocked, claims Byrom.

45% of businesses that use video say they have an explainer video on their home page, and 83% of those say their home page explainer video is effective. 80% of businesses that use video use it in their email campaigns believe it to be an effective tactic.

In seeking the primary reason respondents don’t use video, the report shows that the potential obstacles are all represented in loosely equal measure, suggesting that rather than one major objection, businesses are competing with a mix of them all. 42% of businesses that don’t currently use video say they plan to in the future.

• 15% say they don’t use video now because it’s too expensive
• 12% say it’s because they’re unclear on the ROI of video
• 12% say they simply don’t feel video is needed
• 10% say they lack the time to create and promote video content
• 9% say they’re unable to convince the decision maker in their business that video is a worthwhile investment

For additional information about the study, please visit here.