Video sharing is everywhere!

(image credit)

YouTube, Instagram, Vine, Klip, Qwiki, Vimeo, Viddy, Socialcam … that’s right, video sharing is everywhere. 

So writes Gabriel Shaoolian in a very informative article - Online Video Sharing Platforms Are Marketing Gold.  Just in case you've been sleeping under a rock the past year, it's time to wake up, my friend.  

YouTube users not only watch billions of videos, but they upload in excess of 100 hours of videos every minute. It’s not a fad or a trend. It’s a way of life.

Other video sharing platforms have emerged since YouTube began, but the race to jump on the video sharing bandwagon more or less began when Twitter acquired the six-second video sharing platform Vine in January. According to Compete.com, what started modestly with 77,000 unique visitors in January grew to 3.6 million unique desktop users five months later. No one can afford to ignore stats like these.  [emphases, added]

More than ever, videos are simply no longer the sole purview of production houses, but of anyone with a smartphone camera.  Case in point:  Last year my 13-year old daughter and four friends videotaped a takeoff on Justin Bieber and Niki Minaj's "Beauty and a Beat," and it was pretty cool.  Their editing skills weren't bad, either.

Their one video figures into the big stats that, no, none of us can afford to ignore.

The opportunities are nearly endless for marketers to use video sharing platforms to spread their message in the best possible way. Here’s why:

• Marketers are able to share content and engage with users via platform communities who are already interacting with each other.
• Users have the chance to dip into a huge inventory of world-wide videos, both professional and user-generated.
• Portability of content means marketers and users can participate on multiple platforms.
• The self-serve nature of social media allows for targeted and effective advertising.

Need more convincing about the crucial opportunities for promo videos?

Video sharing has become an effective way to communicate with users. There’s a lot more to come as companies like Vine and Instagram learn how to make better use of the market that has exploded around them. Meantime, it’s a good thing for both users and brands alike. Instead of wading through endless emails trying to find the message, a solid, short video can say it all.