Study: Online Video Influences Purchases

The researchers surveyed 5,300 professionals around the world. Of those surveyed, more than 60% said they accessed online videos at least once a week. Respondents (70%) also said they preferred webcasts to other types of online video.

Matt Lohman, director of market research for KnowledgeStorm said in a statement, "Online video provides marketers with a powerful tool to enhance technology content, while social networks and Wikis offer untapped opportunity to target specific niches and increase reach within the B2B marketplace."

One surprising result from the study was that social networks like blogs are not used as much in the B2B marketplace. Of those surveyed, 77% have very little to do with blogging. However, those who are comfortable with social networking visit blogs at least once each month.

Lohman said, ". . .B2B buyers are still a bit 'unsociable'. However, social networks clearly offer a powerful marketing channel when leveraged properly. We're already seeing a majority of respondents use these sites for business development and networking."

As for Wikis, nearly half of those surveyed visit Wikis at least once each month. Most use Wikis for business and tech information, with 99% of them finding useful information within the portals.

“Wikis have emerged as a useful online tool for augmenting information searches and finding high-quality content," said Stacy Malone, Universal McCann's vice president, Interactive Media Technology (in a statement), "A technology buyer's experience with a Wiki is more about 'getting' relevant information than about collaboration.”

Tags: online marketing, online video, social marketing, social networking, wiki