Posted by: Meg Archer, Marketing Coordinator

In a recent ClickZ article called “Eight Ways to Use Video to Boost Your Marketing,” the author gives tips on how to incorporate online video into your marketing plan. Using online video is a great, low cost way to meet your consumer on his level through a medium that is growing in popularity and gaining respect from online marketing gurus.

Here are just a couple of the statistics included in the article:

• Almost 80% of U.S. Internet users watched videos for roughly five hours in December 2008, with an average duration of 3.2 minutes per video, according to comScore.
• 65% of online video views were streamed between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

These stats are important because they provide data supporting how important online video has become to the U.S. Internet user, and really, who doesn’t use the Internet these days? We can also infer that your target audience is watching online videos while at work.

So, how can you use online video to increase your business ROI?

• Provide product related information to guide consumers on product use, such as a how-to or demo.
• Partner with a video series so that your product can be highlighted as a featured product.
• Don’t be like an infomercial, but do show real customers using your product.
• Portray products in a real setting. This will help customers to relate to the product without having it in person.

Utilize online video to promote products or to simply increase branding. Either way, creating a presence for your company in the online video space is another way to use social marketing to your advantage.

For more information or to read the full article, visit http://www.clickz.com/3632717.