YouTube Survey Findings: Workers Watch YouTube On and Off the Job

A few weeks ago I conducted a survey of my newsletter readership to determine what percentage of companies block YouTube access and why.

You can download your free copy of the survey report, How Workers Access YouTube: Survey Findings. (No registration required.)

The survey findings were quite interesting!

One, close to two-thirds of companies DO NOT block YouTube and of those respondents who watch YouTube while at work, over 40% stated they watch for both business and pleasure.

Of the 36% who indicated they do not watch YouTube videos while at work, 32.5% said their companies blocked access while 37.2% said they don’t have time.

But the one piece of data that really blew my socks off is this:

An astounding 83.3% of respondents watch YouTube videos during their non-work hours!

For B2B marketers, this is *valuable* data. Why?

Although the majority of people are watching YouTube during non-working hours, these people may not see a video promoting a B2B product or service — because they’re most likely not in “work mode” while perusing YouTube for pleasure.

As copywriter expert and blogger Bob Bly stated in a recent comment on this blog, “I unwind with [YouTube] at the end of the day sometimes by watching a jazz clip.” Bob is clearly not looking for business video while he is in “unwind” mode.

In addition, workers may have their access to YouTube blocked or they simply may not have time to view videos during the day.

For these reasons, B2B marketers should not rely solely on viral video campaigns to disseminate their messages and should definately not use them as the sole lead generation mechanism.

Survey data also reinforces the fact that B2B marketers should use various offline and online tactics to alert the target audience to the video campaign.

These tactics include links to video in print and e-newsletters, blogs, press releases, and even print advertising and direct mail campaigns.

For companies considering whether video is a viable marketing tactic, the survey findings clearly reveal that the answer is “yes.” People access YouTube for both business and pleasure during and after work hours.

In addition, marketers who work at companies that block YouTube should make the case to management that YouTube is a viable B2B marketing vehicle.

Blocking access only hinders a company’s ability to successfully use social media to present messages in the places where people (including a company’s target audience) congregate online.

For additional findings, and to view the data charts, download the survey.