Yes, video is worth your time.

I’m not writing this just because I personally believe that video is just about always the best form of content creation. I admit it! I may be a little obsessed. However, a huge chunk of the internet is backing me up. Believe me, whether or not you love video as much as I do, it’s exciting stuff.

Heavy Traffic Ahead

Video consumption is exploding across the internet at an incredible rate. In fact, Cisco predicts that by 2020, video will account for 80% of all consumer internet traffic globally. What does 80% of internet traffic look like? It means that it would take a person more than 5 million years to watch all the video that will cross the internet each month in 2020. (Just imagine how many buckets of popcorn you could munch through in that time!)

For businesses, this is simultaneously good news and bad news. On the sunny side, video has the power to combine storytelling and visual components to engage consumers in a uniquely powerful way. As video opportunities and outlets expand, so do the opportunities within it.

On the cloudier side, sheer volume often demands greater effort and intentionality to get noticed above the horde. But who says working harder to be better is a bad thing? (We certainly don’t think so!)

We’re Not Alone

While we get all excited about the great potential video holds for businesses, we aren’t the only ones. According to a 2016 HubSpot poll, 43% of people want to see more video content from marketers. Somebody out there is looking for your video! In fact, Animoto found that one out of four customers will actually lose interest in a company that does not have video content.

Moving forward, the trend is likely to accelerate. As the next generation is stepping into today and tomorrow’s consumer shoes, we are finding they want to see even more video content, especially when making purchasing decisions. For 80% of millennials, video content is involved in their purchase decisions.

(My Favorite) Great Stuff

At the end of the day, video content is becoming a lever for advantage, and, in many cases, a necessity. Aberdeen Group reported that marketers who use video grow revenue 49% faster than non-video users. Not surprisingly, this is not an orphaned statistic. Adobe found that 51.9% of marketing professionals worldwide believe that the content with the best ROI is…you guessed it: video.

I love videos, and by now you can see why I think you should, too. The potential to provide something intangibly valuable to your customer, as well as growing your business, is exciting and empowering. Now that I’ve let you glimpse into one my favorite corners of the world, I’m off to editing another video… see you on the other side!