Why You Should Add Videos to Your Website
Are you considering utilizing the wonder of video to spice up your website?
Animation Explainers are back and better than ever, and here to offer some secrets of the sauce about video content and how it can help your digital marketing strategy. You don’t have to thank us – it’s just what we do.
Video marketing has boomed over the past few years. It is now considered just as crucial for your search engine optimization (SEO) and brand awareness as the written content on your website, if not more so.
Current trends reveal that video consumption has never been higher; thus, the power it provides simply cannot be underestimated.
Why Should I Use Video on My Website
Humans are undoubtedly visual creatures. Given a choice, we’d generally much rather watch a video to learn about a service or product than traditional consumption such as reading. Likewise, what do you find easier: reading a book or listening to an audiobook?
Utilizing great video content when you create your website gives users more of what they want and how they want it presented – that is, information in a more attractive and digestible way.
It’s In The Stats
Aside from video content being the most charming format out there, with over 85% of internet users in the U.S. consuming it daily, it offers many other benefits.
And don’t just take our word for it. Further statistics show that viewers who watch a video stay engaged longer than those who read and are far more likely to convert to leads after viewing a video than those who read. This is because your company can use video to communicate with its customers in a simple yet effective manner.
- In 2021, the average person will watch online videos for 100 minutes every day, an increase from 84 minutes in 2020
- Internet videos will comprise more than 82% of total consumer internet traffic by 2022
Let’s be honest: there were dark old days when video presence on a website’s landing page was intrusive and in-your-face. No consumer likes to think they are being forced into conversion to a brand – we are sentient beings who want to make our own minds up.
Nowadays, video can be slipped so seamlessly into your website interface that the beauty of its effect lies in its ability to be both compelling and subtle simultaneously.
Creating a website with embedded videos aims to enhance user experience via innovative means. Website videos are a win-win for page owners and visitors alike: you will boost conversion rates and bump up engagement, all while embellishing the user experience.
What more could you ask for? (No, we can’t give you a pony).
Video has the power to…
1. Improve your SEO rank
The age-old motto “Content is King” applies beautifully to videos. While engine search bots may not necessarily index the footage in the video, it is how the data is optimized that makes the distinction.
The key (pun intended) is in keywords.
Fully optimize your video title, descriptions, and tags to provide a bonus SEO boost. In the wise words of Tesco, every little helps.
2. Increase website traffic
You are hopefully aware by now of just how effective video is as a tool for earning new and returning website traffic.
Brands often promote videos on social media and other content platforms to drive consumers to a website.
3. Increases dwell time
No, dwell time is not that Sunday morning feeling you get after having drunk a few too many tequila shots the night before. In the video world, dwell time is the length of time a user spends on your page before returning to the search engine results page (SERP).
It has been stated that video encourages visitors to stick around. Wyzowl found that the average internet user spends 88% more time on a site that contains a video.
4. Stand out from the competition.
To stand out from the competition and convert prospects, sales and marketing teams use video.
It’s true: email marketing campaigns and digital ads are helpful tools to encourage customer interactions throughout the buyer’s journey. On the other hand, video is a far more compelling, dynamic media that helps brands convey a better story – so much that 76 percent of marketers say video has helped them increase sales.
Video has the superpower to showcase products in ways text and photos can’t, making it a key and unique component in the sales process.
Using video assets to increase sales can be accomplished by adding product videos to your website or by creating videos for your sales department to use.
5. Showcase your brand’s unique personality
We all know that video is a great way to humanize your brand and connect with your website visitors authentically. This connection is hugely important when it comes to building trust.
There is no doubt about it: people only buy from businesses they trust, and a video can help bridge the gap in ways that other more traditional forms of content can’t achieve.
Watch out, Freud – AE is going down the psychoanalytic route!
thedigital.com suggests that there is a “subconscious trust signal” that develops between your brand and the viewer even before a video is watched. In other words, having video content for your products or services is one of the best ways to generate emotions within your customer base and trigger them to contact you.
6. Engage & educate new visitors
Video is a great tool to help new and returning customers alike understand how to use a product or service while reinforcing the value it adds to their lives.
Explanatory videos like these aid users in gaining a detailed understanding of a product or service without the need to sift through tedious paper instructions. Customer experience is improved from the outset.
It gets better! Video has also been known to improve retention, a crucial benefit. I mean, it’s pretty obvious: a customer who doesn’t know how to use your product isn’t likely going to be a customer for very long.
What styles of video can I use?
Tell your brand story
Once upon a time, Animation Explainers hammered on the importance of storytelling in digital marketing for the fifteen thousandth time.
I know we go on about it – but it’s just such a crucial point! Think of the video as your golden ticket to telling your customers who you are, what you do, and why they should choose you over any other competition (because you’re the best – that’s why).
Customer testimonial
There is no doubt about it: there is no greater marketing tool than word of mouth. People love people, and a customer’s personal experience with your company speaks volumes as a result.
Consumers are more likely to trust a peer’s experience than a pushy sales pitch. A good testimonial video that shows your client is going to generate a more encouraging response than a static picture captioned, “We loved our experience with Animation Explainers.” As humans, we are naturally untrustworthy. I mean, come on – who could blame us after the season 8 finale of Game of Thrones? Video can help reduce any skepticism.
Product demo video
Advertisements are just part of everyday life, but advertising space for TV and billboards is dreadfully dear. Why not make use of a quirky online video on your website instead?
Bonus! These are cheap and flexible since they don’t have to be restricted to a specific time slot, length, or style.
Educational / Instructional
It’s Saturday which means only one thing: IKEA flat-pack time! Now, let’s see: would you instead read a long instruction manual or watch a 2-minute how-to video that physically shows the makeup of your brand new chest of drawers?
In modern society, answers to many questions for “how to …” can be found instantaneously on the internet.
How about instead of giving a random vlogging YouTuber more hits on their Channel. Keep your company’s web videos focused on answering relevant questions associated with your company. Video marketing can allow your company to attract new clients, and you might be surprised by how well your videos are received.
AE’s Top Tips & Tricks
Keep your message short and sweet.
Not much needs to be said here – you know the drill. Short and sweet is most elite.
Ever wonder why you sit on your phone and flick between social apps over and over and over again? There is no easy way to say this, but… you have a terrible attention span. We all do. Recent research has shown that human attention span has decreased so drastically in the past few years that we are almost on par with a goldfish.
With that in mind, please keep reading this blog – there’s a massive surprise at the end!
A paper by Gitte Lindgaard & Gary Fernandes calls all website designers with the warning that they have merely 50 milliseconds to make an excellent first impression! Wow – that’s a near-impossible amount of time to do anything.
Thankfully, because the vast majority of first impressions are design-related, the video might just be your brand’s knight in shining armor.
Keep your audience on their toes
Push the boat out! Get the creative juices flowing! Think outside the box! It’s as simple as those three cheesy catchphrases. Please don’t make us add another one – we’re all out.
Be open to experimentation
There are so many variables to consider regarding social videos, including content, platform, copywriting, length, and more. To find your sweet spot, try new things and measure your results so that you can log your success to see what works and what doesn’t.
Trial and error – folks. Did you ever hear how Alexander Graham Bell tested his new lightbulb invention many times? He had approximately 1,200 unsuccessful attempts before hitting upon the winning design. Ahhh, historic examples application to modern-day life – feels nice, doesn’t it?
It all starts with the script
Just ask our content writers at AE. It is the foundation of any project.
Tie any loose ends with a gripping CTA
It is this simple: the effectiveness of your message and marketing effort will be diminished if your video does not contain a call to action.
You should finish the cycle by presenting your viewer with a call-to-action that engages them but emotively motivates them to take action!
Though you must be careful – avoid any pushy sales chit-chat or be at risk of turning customers off. Keep the information clean, simple, and authentic.
Wrapping Up
Where’s the surprise, you say? AE have tricked us, you say? Here’s the surprise: life is full of disappointment.
Video has an incredibly persuasive quality. Add it to your marketing toolkit and sit back as you watch those leads convert right in front of your eyes.