Consumers are more likely to share, comment and “like” an online video than a text article, with humour the number one reason they interact with video according to new research.
These are the findings of a new study of UK internet users by real time online survey company, Usurv which questioned 1000 UK adults about how they watch and respond to online video content.
56% of people polled by Usurv said they had “liked” online video content, 39% said they had shared a video and 36% had commented on video content (see table below). And in all cases more people had engaged with online video in these ways than with online articles.
“The important finding for digital and content marketers is that people tend to engage with video more deeply than simple text articles,” said Guy Potter, research director at Usurv. “And interestingly 59% of people said they are more likely to watch a video if it has already been shared, commented on or liked by by someone they know – so there is evidence to support the much-talked-about viral potential of online video.”
51% of people said they had shared, commented on or “liked” a video because “it was humorous” and 30% because they “knew others would want to see it”. 4% said they had shared commented on or “liked” a video because “it outraged me” and another 4% because “it was extremely bad”.
Top reasons why people have shared, commented or liked a video
- It was humorous (51%)
- I knew others would want to see it (30%)
- It was high quality (14%)
- It was highly informative (14%)
- It outraged me (4%)
- It was extremely bad (4%)
When asked what puts them off videos, 49% of the survey said the presence of an advert at the start followed by if the video was “too low quality” (17%) and “too salesy” (15%). 8% said they are put off by videos not being informative enough.
“Our research shows that marketers need to be careful to get the technical quality right and ensure the content has real value rather than being overtly sales focused or preceded by ads as these put people off video – and consequently your brand, ” concluded Potter.
When it comes to where people are most likely to view online video, unsurprisingly YouTube came top (56%) followed by Facebook (10%), online publications (8%) and company web sites (7%).
About the research
Usurv polled a sample of 1000 UK adults asking about how they respond to and engage with online video.
