Have you considered incorporating online video into your business marketing strategy? It’s an effective marketing tool, and one that analyst Laurie McCabe thinks small businesses should use more.

According to comScore Video Metrix, more than 184 million U.S. Internet users watched online video content in October 2011, for an average of 21.1 hours per viewer.

“We’re at a point in our culture where we increasingly like to watch things, and a small business can provide value and education to customers with online video,” says McCabe.

And it’s time to get personal. Jim Dicso, president of SundaySky, says, “The more you can personalize a video and have it be related to personal interests or issues, the more you can engage the person watching it.”

A single template can produce multiple videos that can then be personalized based on a customer’s behavior. The personalization could be anything from addressing the individual by name to providing shipping invoices, or it could feature products related to the customer’s purchase.

Finding the financial resources may still be a challenge for many small businesses, but personalized video marketing is something that Dicso believes should be part of their consideration.

But if nothing else, videos that are relevant to the web page that a user lands on would be a strong start.

via Online Video Marketing: This Time It’s Personal | TIME.com.