Numbers, figures, and percentages are important to every business. As dull as a pie chart or other graphs may be, they can help you not only know where your business stands, but also where to move next. Video marketing is  one of those most powerful tools.

Marketing is essential to businesses of all sizes. I personally spend at least 1 hour a day marketing through social media, emails and even blogs like this one. My marketing budget isn’t large, but what I lack in funds I make up with time. As our world has increasingly become more digital, marketing has become both easier and more difficult.

In my previous posts about video ads I touched on some basic stats regarding video marketing. In this post I am going to cover a lot more details about what I think are some of the most important stats you should know, and why they are important. Arming yourself with this kind of knowledge makes you smarter about how you use video marketing and why you should even be using it. And if you are going to put in the time and money shouldn’t it be effective?

Let’s dive into it in no particular order.

1. Dr. James McQuivey says the value of a 1-minute video is 1.8 million words.

 We have all heard the phrase “a picture is worth a 1000 words”, but I’ve always wondered what’s the value of a video? The formula is pretty simple taking 24 frames per second, how long your video is and multiplying that by 1000.

The actual math isn’t what’s important, it’s what it means. Everyone likes pictures and posts pictures online, so why is it some businesses still don’t see the value in video? There is so much you can express about your product or services that a simple picture or plain old text simply can’t.

2. 45% of internet users watch at least 1 video per month, and on average users watch 32.3 videos per month.

 Think about how many people use the internet every day. And then think about how many videos you, and the people you know watch or share. It’s become so prominent that we don’t even notice how often we do it, just like breathing.

This means that you can reach a lot of people through video. Of course, how you do this more important than just creating a video for the sake of creating one. But knowing that there are so many people who can be aware of your brand or service through video should get you excited about video marketing.

3. 100 million internet users watch a video every day.

 Let that sink in for a moment. 100 million people are watching videos every day. How many of those videos have ads? YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram all have video ads on their platforms reaching billions of people every day.

This means you can reach more people than any commercial airing during any event, even the SuperBowl! Now, of course, your video isn’t going to be viewed by everyone online, but the potential is still astounding. Also, remember the cost of creating video content is a fraction of broadcasting a commercial or even a billboard.

4. 90% of online shoppers find video helpful when making a purchasing decision.

 I’ve mentioned in previous posts how I personally seek out video content about a product before I purchase them. When I look at reviews on Amazon I go straight for the ones that include a video. On YouTube, or sites like Phillip Bloom, I look up reviews, and videos of people using the item. I trust my eyes seeing the actual product more than just pictures or text.

If you have a product or service, having a demonstration or introduction video can really help potential customers know more about your product. 90% is almost everyone so if you don’t have any video content about your product or service you’re the 10%.

5. The average time an internet user watches video ads every month is 17 minutes.

That’s a lot of time in a place we don’t immediately think the words “ video ads”. Of course when watching TV that number drastically raises, but most people turn the channel, mute the TV or walk away during a commercial break. Advertising online isn’t exactly new, but the sheer number of advertising and how companies advertising is.

Of course people can skip videos, (more on that below) but you are given a chance for a fairly small sum to help grow your business. Make sure that the time they spend watching these ads helps bring them to your website and most of all helps your sales.

6. 80% of users recall a video ad for 30 days. 50% of them took some sort of action after viewing an ad. Up to 15% of them made a purchase.

 Companies of all sizes have gotten creative creating their online ad content. Viral videos and laugh out loud content are remembered and therefore shared. If the large companies are doing it why are there still so many small and medium sized businesses not creating video content?

The numbers above are for ALL TYPES of businesses, not just top brands. This means that your small one-man taco selling truck has just as much of a chance to be effective in video marketing as NIKE. And you have just as much of a chance of seeing a 12% increase in sales using video marketing.

7. 64% of online visitors are more likely to make a purchase if a website has a video.

 When I visit a website and there isn’t a video I am more likely to leave the site quickly. This affects the sites bounce rate, which is the statistic related to how long people stay on your site, or just immediately leave. Perhaps I am more likely to leave because of my profession, but I find that rings true among friends and family as well. Having a great video on your landing page helps keep your visitors on your site. (more on that later) Having videos on other pages, such as your product page can greatly increase the chance of a purchase.

A lot of business owners think that means spending a lot of money producing high quality content. That isn’t the case. Some of the most effective videos have been shot on just a phone. This all depends on the type of video and effect you are going for. Spending some money on a professional video production company can make that a lot easier and effective. They can not only make your videos look and sound high quality, they can also help create engaging content.

8. Emails with a video included have 96% click through rate.

 Email marketing is still one of the best and most effective ways to market your business. How many email newsletters? I’m not talking about spam because we all hate spam, but actual emails from products and services we like.

I get updates from my favorite gear sites and have jumped on great deals I wouldn’t have known existed otherwise.

If it has a video I am more than likely to visit the site and it seems that is the norm. It can be a quick update video on a new product, or a special promotion you are having. Combining email marketing and video marketing helps increase sales.

9. You have 10 seconds to grab a viewer’s attention online. The longer the video, the more quickly viewers leave.

 Ever wonder why most commercials are straight to the point? It’s not just because the cost of producing and airing a commercial can be expensive, it’s because you don’t have much time to entice a viewer to buy your product or service.

In the world of ADD millennials and short attention spans it’s even more important to grab your viewer’s attention right away. There are many effective ways to do this with video that are beyond this post, but this is an important statistic to remember when creating video content.

10.  Videos that are 15 seconds or shorter are shared more than any other length video.

 With video limits on Instagram at 15-60 seconds and other social platforms such as Snapchat  limiting video length, this isn’t much of a surprise. There are even film festivals for 15-second movies! This continues to show how less is more. Make your video quick and enjoyable and people will give up there 15 seconds, and even share it on their social platforms.

This doesn’t mean that there isn’t any value in longer videos. This means that you need to have short videos or create short versions of your longer videos to entice potential customers. This is also a great way to see how well you can sum up your business, or give an elevator pitch!

11. 65% of online video viewers watch more than ¾ of a video.

 This statistic helps a lot of businesses who only want to create short videos. If your video is important, engaging, entertaining, informative or if you’re lucky enough all the above, people will watch it.

12. 70% of marketing or sales businesses have used video marketing. 31% are planning to in the near future.

 These statistics aren’t some secret I am sharing with you. Marketing companies have known the power of video for many years. I consider a large part of my business as a marketing company and video is all we offer.

If everyone is going and jumping off a bridge that doesn’t mean you should. But in the context of marketing trends you should always be doing what other successful businesses are, and if possible finding a way to be ahead and not behind the pack.

13. Over 70% of marketers believe video is effective in brand awareness, lead generation, and online engagement.

 Your business most likely needs all 3 of those in some capacity. In today’s market, you can’t afford to not have any online engagement through website, email and social media. All 3 of those benefit highly with video.

Sales is always a top priority for all different business types. Most great marketing teams will suggest the use of video in some capacity. So prepare yourself by knowing how video works and what type of videos will help in the area it is being used.

14. 67% of businesses that used video marketing found it successful.

 This continues to drive home the point. If you aren’t using video right now, your competitors are. But just as with all forms of marketing, not everything is a guaranteed success. There are a lot of factors to using video marketing in the best way, but there is still a chance it doesn’t deliver exactly what you hoped for. Research and preparation minimize this, and with well over half of businesses finding video marketing successful, it seems like a no-brainer.

15. On average, visitors to a website will stay 2 or more minutes longer if there is a video.

This statistic can be misleading. It is very easy to assume the reason visitors stay longer on sites with video is because they are just watching a video! In some cases that may be true, but not always.

If you can engage a visitor during a video they will be more likely to roam around your site and learn more. This helps keep your sites bounce rate low and increases sales. How? The longer someone is on your site the more likely they are to make a purchase. How often do you actually go to a mall walk in a store, like what they have and walk out with nothing? Unless you’re a teenager I would say not very often! This same idea works online too.

16. 90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual. Visuals are processed 60,0000 times faster than text.

 Do you remember that great line from your favorite book easily? Or do you remember that great scene in your favorite movie easily? As humans, we are visual creatures and video is a natural way for us to absorb information. Businesses have been using visual marketing to great effect for well over 100 years.

If you have a lot of information you want to share with your online visitors, or if there is a feeling you want to convey, video is the best way to express it.

17. Online video accounts for 50% of all mobile traffic.

 How often does a friend want to show you a video they saw on their phone or vice versa? Whether your waiting in line, or just bored at home we all watch videos on phones and tablets. Knowing that a majority of your visitors may be using mobile to access your site, having a short effective video can really help increase sales or gain exposure for your business.

18. If your landing page features a video, you are 55% more likely to rank on the 1^st page of Google.

 There are a lot of factors to SEO and making your page show up on page 1 of Google. Content is still king and video reigns supreme above all else. The reason video is so important to Google is because they own YouTube and most videos on websites are YouTube links.

Of course throwing a video on your landing page and hoping to rank on the first page will likely not get you anywhere. SEO has many different facets, and this stat can be misleading. When I have worked on my own site or with another businesses website we help build content around a video with keywords that your demographic uses to search for similar products and services.

Having a video alone won’t help, but it is a must for all SEO and there should be one featured on your landing page above all others.

19. Videos are shared 1200% more times than links and text combined.

 Remember when we talked about over half of mobile traffic is video related? When someone shares a quick video, or on Facebook where videos auto-play, people are more than likely to watch it. If someone sends a link to Wikipedia or another text link I may save it for later, or skim it, but I usually will watch a short video before anything else.

Many small companies have used short viral videos to help their businesses. If you can get people to start sharing your video, there is a very good chance your video will meet or exceed your expectations.

20. 70% of all global consumer traffic will be video-related in 2017.

 Video is here to stay. And more and more advertising companies are focusing their resources online. The cost of producing and sharing a video is a fraction of the cost in other markets such as broadcast. The internet has become a part of our lives in such a way we don’t even notice how much time we really spend online a month.

Having a video marketing idea is nothing new, and just having some video marketing may only level the playing field with competitors at this point. That doesn’t mean there isn’t value. The real power comes in how you effectively use the video. Remember there is a chance that almost ¾ of your visitors will be looking for video related content.

All these numbers point to one thing: Video is a part of our culture. If you have been on the fence about using video for your business I hope some of these numbers help nudge you in the right direction. Having a powerful and specific video marketing plan will help your business in many ways. And most of these numbers will only continue to rise in the coming years. With tech such as VR coming to the masses we will begin to consume video in new ways. Don’t be left in the past. Help your business grow with the future.