Yes. Probably enough to make you think I own stock in one of the major online video platforms, like Brightcove or Akamai  [I don’t; but with 7 billion plus videos watched every day on YouTube and Facebook, I wish I could buy some.]

OK, so I’m addicted. I don’t think a day goes by that I don’t view 3-4-5 online videos, maybe more on a ‘slow news day’. As recently as, say, two years ago that wouldn’t have been the case.

And, as an old-timer, who doesn’t yet watch videos on a smartphone, I’m sure my online video-viewing is at the low end of the scale.

Be honest now, how many online videos do you watch per day?

If I’m buying anything more expensive than a paper clip (see, I still use paper), I’m likely to seek out a demo or testimonial video.

So I’m the kind fo consumer referred to in this brief report, Study: Shoppers want more video. Sure, the study was done by a firm hawking a video platform (Animoto). But I’d still pay attention to some of their findings:

• 84% of consumers have ‘liked a company video’ that appears in a social newsfeed;
• 43% are ‘more likely to read’ email newsletters with video links;
• 56% watch company videos that arrive via email;
• 56% believe brands that have websites should also have video elements;
• About half of consumers say they’ve shared company videos via their own social media;
• 63% equate companies using videos with being in touch with their shoppers.

And transferring my ‘need to see’ into the nonprofit space, these days I would be very resistant to making a donation to an organization that didn’t show me  — up close and personal — what they were all about.

If you can’t show me with an online video what you do and why we should be soulmates, I draw a conclusion: you’re behind the curve in everything you do … not my type.

Unfair perhaps, but in a busy, cluttered, competitive world, a conclusion nevertheless.

Tom

P.S. For some online video guidance, try these resources …

From Ooyala, Four Stories of Video Success — brief case studies (and more background data on online video viewing) featuring the NY Times, The Atlantic magazine, Fusion Soccer (Univision) and Kate Spade (fashion retailer).

Fron Vidyard, The Video Marketing Handbook — more substantial, with ‘how to’ chapters on telling your story, video production, establishing metrics and evaluating performance. Prepared for B2B marketers, but still quite helpful.