Online video 'essential to reach audiences'

Any business which is not using video on their website or in email marketing is probably not reaching its target audience, an industry expert has suggested.

Every day, half of the content uploaded onto the web is in the form of clips and, over the next five years, the number of people watching them will increase twice as fast as using other online resources, explained Target Internet Marketing.

Tom Sommers, president of the company, warned that companies not using video to reach their market are "either not connecting with them, or [are] spending way more than necessary on things like advertising, sales calls or direct mail".

Online video content - either on websites or integrated into HTML email newsletters - is an important factor when trying to increase internet traffic, he added.

Mr Sommers also noted that web sources were now seen as more trustworthy and authoritative than traditional sources.

According to figures from the Office for National Statistics, 16 million (65 per cent) of homes in Britain have internet access, which is an increase of over one million in the last year.