Two billion. The number of hits that YouTube gets in a day, as not only a viewing platform but as a search tool too – making it the second largest search engine in the world (after Google). 

But why has YouTube become such a popular platform? And why are we turning to it for information? Put simply, and to refer to that well known fruit’s phrase “there’s an app for that”, there now appears to be a video for it too - broadening the way we are communicating and granting people access to content that powerfully informs, entertains and even shocks.  

Video & society

The fascination with YouTube however or (more importantly) video extends far beyond the realms of needing to be entertained and informed. Its popularity has derived from something far more highbrow - that being a shift in society and our behaviours.

If you think about the way we operate today we are constantly grappling with time and a need for more of it. We have inordinate social pressures – rushing from social engagement to social engagement; we are working longer than ever before (spending 5 hours more at work each week than our EU colleagues);and we have an increasing reliance on smartphones so that we are never really “switched off”. The result? We have become a time poor generation that can’t afford to spend huge amounts of time on one thing or to search for information, an idea, a product or service.

It’s this very thinking that has driven the popularity of video: a media that seems to solve our desire to get information more quickly and concisely whilst on the move.

Video & business

Whilst the idea of using video is by no means a new concept, it’s only recently that corporations are embracing it and taking note of people’s desire to engage with a business via a different communication channel. In BergHind Joseph’s 2012 Global Players study we highlighted a marked shift in the way brands (be it B2B or B2C) were communicating. Those companies that were featured demonstrated an increasing willingness to invest in professionally-shot video footage as a realisation had been made: stakeholders wanted to quickly understand what an organisations offer really was, what it stood for, and the position it took when it came to things such as social responsibility.

The need for this information once again demonstrates a shift in society. Ten to twenty years ago, few of us would have cared or striven to understand the intricacies of a business’s CSR policy, and it never would have influenced a purchasing decision. This was primarily because of the way brands operated – they could get away with being translucent rather than transparent - giving people a glimpse of the truth but still maintaining a tight grip on how it wanted to be perceived.

Today however stakeholders demand has forced organisations to become transparent - and it’s this idea that raises the efficacy of video. Something which the likes of GE, Nokia and AXA are tapping into and using to clearly and concisely communicate and engage with an audience, whilst also humanising the business.

Video in the smaller business

Today it’s not just larger corporations that are using video to communicate, and it’s important to realise that this communication tool no longer sits with companies that just have big marketing budgets.  The accessibility of video and demand for it now means it’s a viable communication platform for smaller organisations too.

This is reflected by the markets support for video generation, assistance in developing stories for videos and even support for driving traffic to a video after the ‘final cut’. What’s more it’s now affordable – making accessibility to a professionally shot video that much easier.

Want to find out more about the power of video in business communication?

Watch our recent video on ‘Why use video for business communication?’ or see the other videos in the series: 'The secret ingredients to making a great video' and 'What returns can video offer a business?'.