Video Helps Persuade 73% of People to Buy a Product or Service [Survey]

This morning, Animoto reported new survey results that show video has a positive impact on purchase decisions and drives brand engagement. The new Animoto Online and Mobile Video Study surveyed 1,000 U.S. consumers and revealed that nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of respondents are more likely to purchase a product or service if they can watch a video explaining it beforehand.

The company also published its key findings in an infographic, which you can view below.

"The business benefits of using video to increase discovery, traffic, engagement and conversion are widely documented, but we were curious about whether consumers actually find business videos helpful," said Brad Jefferson, CEO of Animoto. "The data shows that there's a real power in business videos to help people make confident shopping decisions. Further, consumers develop a more positive impression of companies that use video and even find such companies to be more trustworthy. Businesses that don't embrace video are overlooking a valuable way to reach their customers and will struggle to keep up with the competition."

Videos Play a Pivotal Role in Decision-Making During All Stages of the Customer Experience

Nearly all the respondents (96 percent) find videos helpful when making purchase decisions online – creating a significant opportunity for small businesses to capitalize by offering more video. The findings also show that videos hold tremendous value for driving brand awareness throughout the purchase process as well as post-purchase engagement:

93 percent of respondents find video helpful in comparison shopping.87 percent of respondents find video helpful for researching additional items from the same brand.93 percent of respondents find video helpful for instructions post-purchase.Video Drives Brand Engagement, Leaves Consumers With Positive Impression

According to the study, video helps businesses connect with their customers and leaves consumers with a positive impression of their brand:

71 percent of respondents agree that watching video content produced by businesses leaves them with a positive impression of a brand/service/company.Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of respondents find it helpful to watch videos to learn more about the company they will purchase from.58 percent of respondents consider companies that produce video content to be more trustworthy.Consumers Speak Out About Video Preferences

Longer videos aren't necessarily more effective, with 83 percent of respondents citing the ideal length of a video to inform a purchase decision is five minutes or less.

Respondents also had interesting views on what types of video they would like to see more. From a tour of a restaurant's ocean view to an interview with a conference speaker, people want to watch more video across industries, products, and services:

42 percent of all respondents would like to see more product description or service demonstration videos, such as a 360 view of a product, how to play a game, or use a phone.People would like to see more video content about electronics (57 percent), restaurants (39 percent), travel (34 percent), and exercise/fitness (33 percent).

Interview With Brad Jefferson, CEO of Animoto

Search Engine Watch (SEW) interviewed Brad Jefferson (BJ), the CEO of Animoto. Our questions and his answers appear below:

SEW: What's the biggest surprise that you saw in the Animoto Online and Mobile Video Study?

BJ: We knew that businesses benefit tremendously from using videos to drive traffic, increase conversations and encourage customer loyalty, but after taking a look at the findings from the survey we were most surprised that consumers benefit as well and truly rely on videos to make purchase decisions. In fact, 73 percent of all consumers are more likely to purchase after watching videos explaining a product or service.

This is a huge percentage and a wakeup call for businesses that have yet to embrace video. It's a valuable way to reach their customers and they're behind the competition if they don't incorporate video into their marketing strategy.

SEW: Did you survey a representative sample of U.S. adult consumers?

BJ: Yes, the survey was administered to 1,014 U.S. respondents, aged 18 - 65 or older with an even distribution. 53 percent of respondents were male, 47 percent were female, with the majority of respondents having earned a high school degree or higher.

You'll notice that we included responses from 18- to 24-year-olds and smartphone specifically in the infographic. We found interesting results on usage stats when juxtaposing those specific segments against the greater population.

SEW: Why do you think video helps businesses connect with their customers and leaves consumers with a positive impression of their brand?

BJ: Video really helps to bring products or services to life in ways that stagnant images and text simply cannot. Company overview videos or testimonial videos also help to make companies appear more personable and help to build a more personal relationship between business and customer.

In fact, 58 percent of consumers consider companies that produce video to be more trustworthy, 71 percent of respondents said that videos leave them with a positive impression of a company, and 77 percent of all consumers consider companies that create online videos as more engaged with customers,

Beyond this, video helps businesses stay connected to their customers throughout the entire purchase process. In fact, we found that almost all respondents (93 percent) find video helpful post-purchase for instructional use and 87 percent find video helpful post-purchase for additional items from the same brand.

SEW:: What is the ideal length of a video to inform a purchase decision?

BJ: Overall, 83 percent of consumers find that video shorter than five minutes is most effective when researching or shopping online. This is great feedback for small businesses that often shy away from producing video because they're worried they don't have the resources or expertise to make lengthy, professional-quality videos. They can leverage assets they already have and use a tool like Animoto to make high-quality videos without breaking the bank.

SEW:: What types of video do people want to watch more video across industries, products and services?

BJ: The study found that almost half (42 percent) of consumers seek more product description or service demonstration videos - they want 360 degree views of a product, instructions on how to play a game or use a phone, for example. More than half of respondents (57 percent) wanted more videos for electronics, 39 percent wanted video about restaurants, 34 percent wanted video about travel and 33 percent wanted video about exercise or fitness.

It's clear that businesses that work with very visual products or services have a lot to gain here. Video as a storytelling medium and as an instructional method for consumers will soon grow to be the norm. Businesses that use video will be able to reap the benefits and gain consumers' loyalty and trust sooner.

SEW: How does Animoto make it easy for businesses to create effective, professional videos within minutes with no video editing experience?

BJ: With Animoto, companies can create professional-quality videos by importing their existing photos and video clips, selecting a video "style" and background music and adding text. Animoto has an extensive catalogue of commercially licensed music to choose from.

Companies can also choose to add their logo and a call-to-action button at the end of the video, directing viewers to a website. Then, Animoto's technology does the editing work and in minutes your video is ready to place on your website and share via email, Facebook, Twitter or a link.