Brand new research released by Wyzowl suggests that video is more effective, more widely used, and more popular among consumers than ever before. The survey spanned across 311 unique respondents — both marketing professionals and online consumers. Here are some highlights.

1) Video is helping businesses achieve key business goals.

"Firstly, there was a modest year-​over-​year increase in usage — 63% of businesses are now using video, compared to 61% this time last year," Adam Hayes wrote. But what really stood out was how these marketers felt their video had helped them achieve key business goals:

• An almost unanimous 97% said that video had helped them increase user understanding of their product or service.
• 81% linked it to a direct increase in sales.
• 76% felt that video had increased traffic to their website.
• Over half (53%) said video had helped them decrease support call volume.

"83% felt that, overall, video gave them a good ROI — which, again, compares favorably to 76% a year ago. It looks like video will continue to become more widespread. Unsurprisingly, 99% of businesses currently using video reported that they plan to continue into 2017. And, what's more, 34% of those currently not invested in video plan to start during the coming year."

Businesses should jump at the chance to use more video in their ad campaigns! The most recent AudienceSCAN survey found 47.4% of U.S. adults have watched an online or streamed video in the past 6 months, from their smartphones or tablets.

2) Video remains popular with consumers.

"79% say they'd rather watch a video to learn about a product than read text on a page — up from 69% twelve months ago. Indeed, video remains a potent way for consumers to find out about new products, too. 91% have watched an explainer video — a short, elevator pitch-​style introduction to a product or service. And an enormous 84% said that they'd been convinced to make a purchase after watching a brand's video."

In fact, AudienceSCAN research revealed 21.6% of U.S. adults viewed a television commercial on YouTube during the past 6 months.

3) New video opportunities continue to emerge.

"While video adoption continues to ramp up, there are still huge opportunities for marketers who want to use video in new, interesting ways. Trends such as Facebook Live (used by 19% of marketers), Snapchat (8%), Instagram video (26%), 360 video (12%), and virtual reality (7%) are all available and within reach to marketers, but have all been slow to be adopted. This opportunity is underlined by the fact that, in all these cases, the majority of marketers reported enjoying success with these techniques."

The AudienceSCAN survey revealed 22% of Online Video Watchers are active on Snapchat.

4) Conversational voiceover tracks are becoming more popular.

"Voiceover tracks are almost omnipresent in brand videos – but we're seeing a move away from the formal 'radio voice' that's always been so widespread. A huge 83% of consumers reported finding an informal (chatty, laid back, conversational) voiceover track that communicated like a friend or family member, more relatable and persuasive than a traditional, formal voiceover."

AudienceSCAN data is available as part of a subscription to AdMall for Agencies, or with the SalesFuel API. Media companies can access AudienceSCAN data through the AudienceSCAN Reports in AdMall.