Online marketing for small businesses involves leveraging new technologies and creating relevant content across numerous platforms, and several companies are using online video advertisements to attract new customers.

According to a recent Business 2 Community report, there are multiple reasons why online video is one of the top marketing trends this year. Video is becoming a more popular platform for consumers, as more than 1 trillion videos were viewed on YouTube in 2011, and 71 percent of online adults use this and other similar websites, the report said.

Meanwhile, 83 percent of senior decision-makers are currently watching more video online than one year ago, and many will visit a company's website if a video advertisement seems engaging and relevant to their business, the source said. Citing a Forbes survey, the report said 75 percent of senior executives watch work-related video at least once per week.

The report said video is also essential for inbound marketing and search engine optimization, as having video content on a web page can increase its chances of appearing higher in Google's search results.

According to a recent eMarketer study, online marketing spending in the United States will reach $62 billion by 2016, up from $39.5 billion last year.