A significant majority (79 percent) of public relations professionals say they are using video as a method of communicating their messages, according to a survey conducted by Thomson Financial, an operating unit of The Thomson Corporation and a provider of information and technology solutions to the worldwide financial community.

In addition to PR people, human resources and investor relations teams are also finding value in using video to convey key messages to current and prospective employees and shareholders, citing the value of video for simplifying complex messages for a media or consumer audience.

“Corporations are constantly looking for ways to connect with their core audiences and create dynamic content for websites and other venues,” says Greg Radner, senior vice president of corporate communications services at Thomson Financial. “Public relations professionals are clearly recognizing the power of online video as a tool in their communications arsenal, and our survey indicates that we will see significant growth in this area.  Our role is to make it simple and cost-effective for our clients to leverage this new media.”

On average, companies produced almost two videos per month over the last year. Larger companies are the leaders in using video as a communications tool. Over three-quarters of companies that use videos produce them in-house, although one-half also rely on their PR agency to produce videos. And of those companies producing online video today, over 40 percent plan to increase their use of video in the next six months, and of those companies not currently producing online video, almost half plan to start doing so in the next six months.