Users strongly prefer websites that post videos

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Increasingly, website visitors click away from ‘video-less’ websites

Video makes you more competitive

In the past few days I’ve been researching doctors to replace several of my specialists who recently retired. After getting recommendations from trusted sources, I carefully researched my options online. Long story short: I made my final choices among those high-rated doctors who had bothered to post winning introductory personal videos.

After all, choosing the right doctor is as much about interpersonal chemistry as it is about technical competence. More importantly, there is an implicit personal element to ALL business, no matter how generic your products or services may seem to be. — OWDT recommends that you take advantage of video to define and validate your brand!

Video is increasingly cost effective

In recent years, breakthroughs in electronics technology have resulted in much improved, less expensive hardware and software. In fact, many video production companies offer video production at prices most businesses can easily afford.

Benefits of posting videos

Video–
  • Keeps viewers’ attention longer with return visits more likely when you establish that all-important positive first impression;
  • Improves your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and conversion rates;
  • Expands your opportunity to validate your brand and establish trust;
  • Conveys winning emotion and personal appeal to potential clients (especially if you feature yourself or company employees);
  • Demonstrates reassuring empathy and compassion for the customer;
  • Creates a selective filter between you and viewers to build a customer base comprised of best-fit clients;
  • Allows you to email and repost your website videos across influential social media, including YouTube (the world’s second largest search engine) and Vimeo, to maximize viewers and increase SEO/conversion; and,
  • Remains accessible for years, especially if popular; ads, by comparison, usually disappear within a short time.

Video enhances SEO and conversion

The flood of online written content can be overwhelming. Most of us much prefer spending a few minutes watching a video to reading a 1000-word article. In fact, research confirms that viewers prefer videos over text, pictures, and audio files.

More specifically–
  • Multiple sources report that 80% of regular Internet users watch videos, 69% of internet users view online video ads, with 40% visiting websites mentioned in video ads;
  • “Using video on landing pages can increase Conversion by 80%” (eyeviewdigital.com);
  • “Video results appear in about 70% of the top 100 Listings on a Google SERP” (Search Engine Results Page) (source: Marketing Week);
  • “Video increases your chance of a first page SERP ranking on Google by 53 times” (Forrester Research); and
  • Other sources report that video receives about a 40% higher Click Through Rate (CTR) on a Google results.

A few guidelines for producing outstanding videos

Because video has such a powerful effect, it’s no surprise that a poorly executed video can damage your brand and undermine your business.

  • To stay on the right track, make sure that any video you post is brief, personable, carefully directed, and to the point. Understand that the average viewer will stop watching videos after 30 seconds. Of course, much depends on the nature of your business. If you are providing legal, medical or coaching services, viewers may linger longer than a minute.
  • Assess whether your mobile device website can accommodate video. If not, you’ll need to invest in creating a better mobile device platform.
  • Make sure that standard browsers support your multimedia technology. If you use Flash, for example, iPads and iPhones won’t display your content correctly.
  • Do most of your potential customers have a high-speed, broad band ISP? Slow loading times can kill the advantages of video.
  • Avoid annoying viewers with any obtrusive video (especially with audio) that starts automatically every time viewers visit your website. By comparison, GIFs are usually less intrusive.