By
September 10, 2018
Online video is everywhere. With the rise of YouTube stars, web-based TV services, and the plethora of video tutorials on how to do just about anything, it’s clear online video is now part of our daily lives. But what’s surprising is that just one in five Kiwi businesses are using this engaging digital tool.
Late Bloomers
Just 18% of New Zealand businesses are using video on their websites. That’s according to Digital Journey, an organisation that offers free digital assessments for businesses to help them use online technology and improve their web presence.
The low percentage of businesses using video is at odds with what Kiwis have come to expect. With social media and news sites often playing videos automatically, this type of content has become both ubiquitous and anticipated.
And, increasingly, we’re turning to video for everything from a virtual tour of the house we’re trying to buy, to product reviews for our next mobile phone, to the entertaining distraction of watching a baby panda sneeze.
Fast-Forward Your Growth
The popularity and effectiveness of video makes it a must-have for Kiwi businesses. It can increase the amount of time people spend on your site and gives them an easy way to find out what you do.
If you’re worried your budget won’t stretch that far, remember making a video for your website or social media pages can cost far less than traditional advertising – and be much more engaging. It doesn’t need to be complicated; client testimonials, product demos or a how-to video related to your niche can all make for great content.
In fact, you might already have access to the equipment you need. Technology has come a long way, so a great video can now easily be created with a tripod and small camera – or even your smartphone or GoPro.
Even big-budget companies are using amateur videos. According to ad-tech company Unruly, the most shared ad of 2015 was Android’s ‘Friends furever’, which was made entirely using existing video footage found online.
Mass Media
The rise of online video is seeing Kiwis chew through more data than ever.
Average data use on the Chorus network per household now sits at 100GB per month. While this doesn’t tell us how people are using their bandwidth, the best explanation for the dramatic rise is the mass adoption of subscriptions to video-on-demand services.
By September last year, 24% of Kiwis had access to at least one of these services, according to Roy Morgan’s State of the Nation findings released in May. By the end of 2015 Netflix had 264,000 homes with a subscription, Lightbox had 128,000 and 22,000 homes were using Sky’s Neon.
And Cisco, via their Visual Networking Index, have estimated that video will represent 82% of all web traffic by 2020, up from 70% in 2015. With video’s popularity expected to keep on growing, this is an exciting opportunity for businesses to connect with customers and meet their expectations.
To learn about creating business videos that make people hit the replay button, visit Digital Journey’s companion website digitalresources.nz.