Marketers have for long seen online videos as a tool to build brand awareness. This perception was built before the data revolution hit India, because a very small percentage of people had access to internet. But now, India now has more than 460 million internet users who are fast making marketers shred this perception.
YouTube channels have become more popular than satellite channels
India has 902 permitted TV satellite channels, but is home to more than 1200 YouTube channels with a subscriber base of more than 1 million each. This makes for a YouTube audience of 1200 million, and that’s huge!
Smartphones are turning Indians into video lovers
India has more than 352 million internet connected smartphones. On an average every user of this connected smartphone watches 36 minutes of video content per day.
Online videos are beyond just being ‘viral’
The categories of self improvement & learning videos have seen giant growth in the past one year
- Hobby videos have grown 3x
- Cooking videos have grown 2x
- Consumer electronics videos have grown 2x
- Beauty tips videos have grown 2x
Videos are making people take action
Once online viewers are convinced they know enough, they get started in real life. And, this is when ‘can do’ turn into ‘must buy’. As per a survey by Google:
- More than 80% of people take action after watching an ad on YouTube
- 87% of auto buyers who watched a video either visited a dealer website or located a dealer or scheduled a test drive or requested a price quote or researched financing options
Consumers are using videos at all stages
Many consumers start their buying journey by watching videos, while as many as 55% claim to watch videos even while actually shopping-in-store. This habit has made many people even replace traditional shopping list. Instead of carrying a shopping list, users watch a recipe video while shopping-in-store and buy the ingredients.
People who are not open to buying, use videos for discovering new products
Viewers are thrilled when they discover something new. Inspired by such new discoveries they end up conducting more research and subconsciously enter the buying funnel.
- 60% of users thought highly of the brand that provided online content for them to learn
- 90% of users agreed they discovered something new on YouTube
So, what does this mean for your brand?
Irrespective of where they are in their buying journey, consumers are looking for brands to meet them with helpful and inspiring video content. Your brand can be at the top by positioning itself as an expert and help them discover new ideas and products.
Isn’t this fascinating? Do you have your brand’s YouTube channel? Are you creating compelling content? If you wish to get started straight away, please reply to this email with the date & time and we will be happy to meet you and get you started.
Still not convinced about the potential of video ideas? No problem. You can still reply to this email with the date & time and we will be happy to allay your fears.