eMarketer reports that executives are taking time to view business-oriented video, according to the findings of a market study by Forbes Insights. In some cases, they may prefer video content to text -- for learning about new products and services.
A majority of businesspeople surveyed by Forbes in October 2010 said they watched more online video than a year earlier. Nearly 60 percent of all respondents said they would watch video before reading text on the same webpage, and 22 percent said they generally liked watching video more than reading text for reviewing business information.
Three-quarters of all executives said they watched work-related videos on business websites at least once a week, and more than half did the same on YouTube.
Video can be highly effective for vendor marketing. The executives surveyed reported taking a wide variety of actions after watching online videos, with about two-thirds visiting vendor websites subsequent to viewing and more than half searching for more information.
Especially among younger executives, the likelihood of making a purchase after viewing video content was high.
Generational differences ran throughout the Forbes research, with a split in behavior at age 50. While the youngest executives were most interested in video across the board, baby boomers in their 40s had comparable participation levels.
It was older executives who had not yet adopted video content, and business-to-business marketers will likely continue to reach them via other legacy marketing means.
That said, informative video has clearly become more important for the younger buyer of business products and services. In fact, marketers can depend on them to watch, pass along, and recommend a vendor's video -- potentially leading to a purchase prospect.