Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know pretty much everyone is watching online video. Not that it’s any small deal either - it’s been reported that online videos have an audience reach of 92% globally.  That’s huge.

But what about here in Australia?  What exactly are we watching?

To shine a light on the way Australians consume video content YourFilm partnered with the market research experts at Insights Exchange & Pure Profile. These people know their stuff. The research provides key insights for those us with businesses looking to leverage video to grow revenue. And it turns out that what we are watching is only part of the picture. The other half is when we watch.

This may seem counter intuitive. With no scheduled “on-air” times in the digital world, does when really matter?

Yes. Yes, it does.

Once the results of our research became clear, we immediately recognised these viewing patterns in our own personal day to day lives, and chances are you will too.

When “what" meets when

One of the things we discovered, not surprisingly, was that video plays an important part in people's purchase decisions. However, dig a little deeper and it soon becomes clear that people watch videos relating to different stages of the path to purchase at different times throughout the day.  This cannot be understated and bears repeating: There are specific times of day when your target market is searching for video content that could eventually lead to a sale. They are doing this voluntarily, by themselves. Once identified, that’s a massive opportunity.

11 and 8: The new "Prime Time"

We identified 2 key times of day when people actively search for and watch marketing and brand videos.

Around 11am (perhaps needing a bit of a break from work!) and through to lunchtime people tend to be researching their next purchase.  One in four Aussies (24%) watch product demonstrations and reviews, search for client testimonial videos or go to the About Us page on websites.  People want to know if they like and connect with a business, are looking for bit of validation from others that have used a product or service - does it solve a problem they have?  Basically they’re sussing you out.

But one of the most interesting discoveries we made was around what was happening later in the day. (Spoiler alert - they aren’t watching the 6 o’clock news!)

At 8pm 72% - that’s 3 out of 4 Australians - watch How To, Personal Development and Entertainment videos. The "how to" video category should be of particular interest to businesses looking to create content that viewers want because it is the very content you know the most about. In a nutshell - your audience wants you to tell them what you know best. The only question is are you providing this knowledge? Or is your competition providing it instead?

This new Prime Time is not dictated by the content provider, but by the viewers themselves. The eyeballs are driving this, not some executive.

Think about the when, not just the what

Yes, video is an increasingly important part of your content strategy, but to get the best ROI, make sure you’re giving people what they want, when they want it.  

To get the best value from your video production budget, plan and produce videos in a series. Think of video as an on-going conversation with your customers and target market rather than a one-off set and forget and you’ll very quickly start gaining traction and increasing revenue. Video is a great opportunity for businesses to communicate directly with audiences on social media, with Tik Tok, Instagram, Facebook Reels and YouTube shorts being trends predicted to continue in 2023.  Of course, The usual rules with corporate video production apply -  keep it short & to the point, and prioritise quality of content over polished (and expensive) production techniques.

You don’t have to spend mega-bucks on production to catch the attention of your viewers - but you must have what they are searching for. The good news, is that what they are searching for is your expertise.

The new Prime Time is great news for businesses with a lot of channels to pump video content through.

11am and 8pm. That’s when viewers are searching for you. Do you have something for them to find?

If you would like to find out more about an affordable, professional video production solution to fit your video marketing strategy contact the team at YourFilm.  

YourFilm have video production packages to suit your requirements, an experienced team with a wide network of over 1,000 crew across Australia & NZ, our experienced team are happy to help.