It was only 2005 when YouTube users were consuming the equivalent of an entire Blockbuster store each month. You know Blockbuster — that video rental shop that offered movies and TV shows on DVD and VHS. The one that no longer exists.
This was just when YouTube was a few months old.
Today, YouTube is the third most visited site in the world behind Google and Facebook. In fact, as of Oct. 1, Facebook and YouTube were tied for the same number of estimated unique monthly visitors at 1.6 billion.
Anyone can upload almost anything to YouTube free of charge to reach this large audience, and because of that it has changed our world.
Think about it. Justin Bieber was discovered on YouTube in 2008 three years after his mother posted a video of him performing in a local talent contest. During President Barrack Obama’s campaign, his online team was made up of 300 people — 30 working solely on YouTube. The examples one could list are endless. Google saw YouTube’s influence early on by buying the site for $1.65 billion in 2006.
Approximately 33 percent of all online activity is spent watching video content.
How does this impact you, the landscape professional? Seventy-five percent of YouTube users visit a marketer’s website after viewing a video. Four out of five internet users remember the video ads they watch online and 64 percent are more likely to purchase a product or service from a website after watching a related video.
If you aren’t currently using video or don’t believe your strategy is effective, now might be just the time to shift your thinking and jump in.
Mobile is King
Half of all YouTube views now take place on mobile devices, according to YouTube. More than 1 million user-created channels in dozens of countries are generating ad revenue from YouTube.
Five hundred years of YouTube videos are watched every day on Facebook.
YouTube reaches more U.S. adults ages 18 to 34 than any cable network, according to Nielsen.
Among consumers 13 to 24, online video is now more popular than traditional TV, according to a recent study by Hunter Qualitative Research. The group studied — also known as millennials — spend 11.3 hours/week watching free online video, as compared to 8.3 hours per week watching traditional TV.
Recent research done by Animoto showed that 80 percent of millennials use video to help them decide which products to purchase, and 74 percent of millennials follow businesses/brands on YouTube.
