What makes the difference between video content that increases conversions and amateur films that make your audience yawn?
Remember the idea of the firm introductory handshake? A weak handshake means a weak person, unsure of what they represent or what they can offer. A firm handshake, on the other hand, speaks of confidence, aptitude and finesse. In the marketing world, your online content is like this introductory handshake. If you want to see the click-through rates you’re looking for, it pays to consider the value of your content and what it says about your business.
When it comes to video content, you’ve got the opportunity to connect with your audience in a highly personal, effective way. The social media giant Facebook recently announced that due to video use increasing 75 percent globally in the past year, they would place increased priority on video posts appearing in updates and news feeds. But it can be easy to get caught up in using video for video’s sake without truly considering what type of virtual handshake your video is offering. An effective video has to connect with your audience in a way that you couldn’t with text or static images. By keeping a focus on enhancing the user experience with high quality video production and thoughtful content, you can improve conversion rates and spread the word about your brand.
Your Video Handshake
Your video marketing should reflect the essence of your business, and including a video on your landing page gives you the perfect opportunity to showcase your brand to new viewers. But having a video with a theme that misrepresents your business may actually be worse than not having one at all. When done right, data reported by WebDam indicates that video inclusion on landing pages can increase conversions by up to 86 percent. All things considered, you can’t afford to drop the ball on your video choice.
The Makings of a Good Video
Does your business provide a service of aggregating auto insurance quotes? Something informative about the value of the right insurance provider might serve you better than cartoon animations. What if you’re a cotton candy vendor who rents your stand for special events? Something lighthearted that demonstrates the energy and fun experience surrounding your product will probably generate more business than boring statistics about how much people love cotton candy.
The bottom line is that you need to deliver a consistent experience to your viewers that gives them the value they expect. This isn’t to say that you can’t get crazy once in a while and change up your format, but the heart of your content should be something that will benefit your viewers and while staying true to the goals of your business.
The Social Media Effect
Whether it’s the greeting video on your company’s Facebook page or regularly updated video blog posts, videos that are creative and engaging can be extremely effective in developing a lasting fan base. The goal is to make a human connection right from the beginning. Viewers exploring social media aren’t always looking for informative resources. Something entertaining and unique is far more likely to be shared on social media than something that’s purely factual.
A tweet from Fortune.com that includes a video.
Video Convenience
Adding convenience to the video experience benefits both you and your users. By embedding video content right in your page, viewers can enjoy your content without having to leave your page, ensuring that the links you provide won’t lead them away from your site and to an alternate source.
Embedding video from social media sites is part of a larger trend of improving the user experience. Facebook knows it, Twitter knows it, and you should know it too. In fact, SocialBakers reported that native Facebook videos generated a 40 percent higher engagement rate than YouTube links, despite the fact that the video content may be the same.
By integrating content from social media sources directly on your own website, your viewers can access the content on whatever post you’ve embedded and generate discussion right there on your page. It takes the discussion from the original video post (on a different website that may already have thousands of comments) to your own page, offering the perfect platform for an engaging discussion that draws attention to your business.
Conclusion
If you choose to include videos in your marketing, you need to make sure that you’re doing it with your firm virtual handshake in mind. There are millions of videos out there for your audience to see. In order to guarantee that you’re providing something that they can’t find elsewhere, you need to strive to provide an experience that’s personal, engaging, convenient and representative of the goals of your business.
How have you utilized video to strengthen your virtual handshake? Let us know if the comments below!
