The Oxford English dictionary defines the word traction as “the extent to which a product, idea, company, etc. gains popularity or acceptance and takes hold.” A quick check of another source offers this definition: “the state of being drawn or pulled.”

That’s exactly what we want for your company’s website—real pull and serious staying power, like a new set of tires on a slick road. One of the best ways to insure a website has traction is by adding a brand-showcasing custom web video.

As you divide your marketing dollars between many choices remember one thing. Making the decision to invest in a quality website video, even a short one, is a really wise business decision, one that will pay for itself in new client interest, increased visibility and return traffic – not to mention sales, sales, sales!

 

Videos Add Value

As research continues to determine best practices for web design, much has been written about the advantages of using website videos to engage both the visual and auditory senses. There are so many reasons why it’s smart to incorporate a quality custom video to make that first favorable impression. The four we feel strongly about are:

• Connect with your viewers
• Improve user engagement
• Build brand awareness
• Boost search engine optimization

 

Connect with Your Viewers

For whatever reason people land on your website, the very-inviting vibe should be “Greetings pilgrims, your search is ended!” According to recent studies, a website has exactly ten seconds to capture attention before these pilgrims start looking for Plymouth Rock on some other url.

These crucial initial seconds need to seize the chance to offer a tasty sample of good things to come. Is the style bright, shiny, catchy and cool or flat and forgettable? Does the image project a feel for the company’s attitude, i.e. formal, friendly, trustworthy, hands-on or does it look like a cut-and-paste job for a neighborhood newsletter?  Remember, this may be a client’s first interaction with your company and the point at which they decide to plunge in or stay out of the pool. The whole reason for having a website is to communicate, in a matter of moments, the philosophy and distinct approach you will take when leading them into the future.

We can’t stress enough the need to make your web content memorable to the casual viewer. Make it interesting, informative, interactive and yes, in certain cases, make it insane. But whatever you do, make it impressive. Leave potential clients thinking “If they can do that for themselves, think of what they can do for me.”

 

Engage Visitors

If Miss Manners were consulting webmasters, she would certainly start with this sage bit of advice: Put out the welcome mat when visitors arrive on your doorstep. Better business wisdom was never uttered. These days the homepage equivalent of a welcome mat is the introductory video. The universal arrow symbol invites viewers in, says you’ve been expecting them and motions to where they should go next. If nothing else, it breaks the ice and gives users something to do while becoming oriented to the rest of your site.

One of the reasons bounce rates (how fast a viewer lands and leaves) are so high is because visitors are overwhelmed with the amount of information being placed in front of them. The addition of a video offers relief on many levels: visually, it breaks up large blocks of text and still pictures, and motivationally, it offers the potential to see something unexpected and, heaven forbid, fun.

Here’s a question that arises when the planning phase of video production begins. Given the short attention span of info-seeking web users, how long should the website video be? It’s been our experience that generally you want to keep them between one and two minutes in length. Memorable hooks, music, graphic devices, motion and sound insure the video stays on a person’s mind, bringing them back time and time again and prompting them to share with friends.

 

Build Brand Awareness

When visitors land on your site, they’re looking for something specific. A well-crafted, creative video can encapsulate and portray the personality of your business and all the goods and services available. Positioned prominently on your homepage, a custom web video is your best opportunity to introduce and imprint your branding strategy on the impressionable mind of the newcomer.

If your brand is strong and strategic, videos provide instant recognition for returning customers.  But when trying to get your pitch across to someone for the first time, how can you communicate a product’s benefits clearly and deliver your message quickly?

Well, let’s look at a few examples.

• If you’re a graphic designer, you could treat viewers to a demonstration of some tricked-out uses of type.
• If you’re in the legal profession, experiment with the use of a baritone voiceover and high-brow background to convey the confidence of trying and winning cases.
• If you make websites for people who know nothing about making websites, make the complex comical by employing simple whiteboards and line drawings to de-mystify the world of web content.

Any message can be made meaningful through the use of a moving, talking, singing, dancing, chirping, charming changing video. If the message is customer service, feature the employees. To tout fast delivery, show your trucks on the run. No matter what aspect of your brand you choose to promote, what your video really tells a customer is “our company is positioned and equipped to succeed with you.”

 

Boost Search Engine Optimization

Statistics show having a video on your page makes it fifty times more likely to appear on Google’s first page of search results. That should send every one of you rushing for the sign-up-now link on our video page.

Simply put, Google values creative, kinetic quality content over a robotic insertion of keywords. More time on your site means greater search engine optimization. The longer a viewer stays on the page, the more Google and other search engines think “oh, it must be good” and take favorable notice. This means a greater chance of appearing on the first page of search results.

In some respects, search engine optimization is a kind of mutually beneficial, good Catch-22. Interesting, absorbing content gets users to linger and gains websites high rankings. High rankings drive traffic to the most interesting, absorbing websites where users tend to linger.

Another often-overlooked way to achieve SEO nirvana: A website video can give you a presence on YouTube, the second most popular search engine on the Internet. As we explained before, search engines love new content, whether it’s new copy, a recent blog post or a press release. YouTube loves a new custom video. Add a few targeted keywords to the video title, tags and description and the lift is higher. You can even create a channel on YouTube. And you can share the video through your social media networks. Videos that are popular enough to get shared are valued even more by search engines.

 

A Whole Variety of Videos

Variety is the spice of life. It is also what makes people overeat at the buffet table. Too many choices, too little…focus. What will your video look like? How will it sound? Who will be in it? Where will it take place? The answers to these questions really depends on what the video is intended to do. When a content marketing company works with their clients, the first task is to spend time determining how to get the most bang for their budget. So before you begin, pinpoint your purpose. Here are some thought starters:

• Provide a friendly welcome
• Demonstrate a product
• Share your expertise
• Promote a special event or sale
• Give your company a personal face
• Simply stand out from the competition

 

We Make a Big Production Over Video Production

If you use our custom video services, you’ll work with a team of proven professionals who will guide you, step by step, through the video production process. Here’s an overview of what you can expect.

1. It all starts with a smart script.

How do you put on a show in less than sixty seconds? How do you coordinate words, graphics, sound, set and a myriad of other factors and squeeze it all into one cohesive creation? The very foundation of video production is a solid script. Whether the mood is informative or entertaining, you’ll need the specialized knowledge of video scriptwriters to identify the best approach and develop the message you want to send. With the structure of a tight script to guide narrative and visuals, your video will look polished, sound professional and impress future clients and customers.

2. Music and voiceover bring things to life.

A video is more than just images on a screen. Music selection is crucial to setting the mood and conveying a website’s level of sophistication. Anyone who’s pressed the mute button on the remote to answer the phone knows how different the show looks when the sound goes missing. We hardly notice the background sounds that work so seamlessly in commercials. But take them out and the experience is reduced dramatically. That’s why choosing the right voice for your brand is just as important as pleasing product shots and a tightly written script.

 

3. Video editing pulls it all together.

There’s footage and then there’s editing just like there’s grocery shopping and there’s cooking. We will produce your video with an After Effects template that’s chosen especially to match your product, service or brand. We’ll watch it over and over again, tweaking until it’s almost perfect. Then it will be expertly edited for maximum impact to your desired length.

 

 

4. Posting gets the word out.

When everyone’s happy with the production and everything is approved, we’ll work with your developer to embed your new video in your website. We will also upload it to YouTube, Vimeo and other video platforms so you can benefit from the phenomenon of social sharing.

 

5. Social sharing starts the buzz.

The support doesn’t stop when the video is uploaded. We promote it on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter where it has a chance to go viral across the Internet. This integrated social marketing helps you connect with your fans and potential customers and drives more traffic back to your website.

We’re Ready for Action

Hopefully you have gained some knowledge of the importance of combining all kinds of website content for maximum traction. The custom website video is an essential interactive component that has the potential to send a long-lasting sense of your company’s highlights, advantages and brand in a welcoming, entertaining and memorable way. If you want to add an affordable custom video to your website, we’re here to help.

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