How To Use Online Video To Make Your Website Come Alive and Grow Your Business

By Daron Powers

Websites are an important tool for establishing credibility, informing, educating and driving more traffic into your business pipeline. However, websites with only plain text, pictures or graphics miss opportunities to grab and keep the attention of viewers.

Today Online Video Marketing helps to fill that attention and informational gap and has been proven by experts to be a new trend in successful marketing strategies.

• Cisco reports that Internet video will account for 90% of global consumer Internet traffic and 64% of mobile traffic.

• Today 33% of phones are smart which means they can visit your website with a click of a button and your online video.

Your Business Needs to be Where Your B2b or B2c Clients are Everyday
Consumers who view video are 85% more likely to buy than visitors who do not.

Now is the time to turn your website from static text into dynamic moving images and sound. Here are five common mistakes to avoid in producing your online video.

1. Video is Too long: Exactly what is the correct length of an online video? Business people ask the same question of promotional copy. The answer is simple. Your online video should be only as long as you can maintain the interest and attention of your viewer.

2. Weak Message: There are many causes of this problem but among the biggest offenders is the use of “platitudes.” This is the use of language that describes your product or service that is thought to be meaningful or significant but means nothing to your viewer. For example, “most professional, biggest inventory, highest quality, best service, honest, licensed, bonded,” etc. Avoid blending in with the herd. The point is that if your competitors can say the same thing, then there’s no compelling difference or reason to buy from you.

3. Flash Over Substance: Have you ever watched a movie filled with explosive graphics, animation and special effects but a poor story line? It’s like filling up on junk food but absent of essential nutrition. Admittedly, I love both, but when it comes to effective online video, the quality of your content is essential for connecting with your target audience. Content is king. Get competent marketing advice before you begin your script.

4. Amateur Video: While some say, “Any video is better than no video,” I say it depends on what your target audience values. How about using the video camera on your smart phone? In some situations it may make sense however, the movie is often unstable, the sound comes across hollow, and lighting can be poor. Ask yourself, “How do I want the business to be perceived?” Make sure the quality of your online video is consistent with your image.

5. Wooden or Pretentious Presentation: People are the best subjects for making an emotional connection to viewers. However, if the presenter is stiff, arrogant or uncomfortable, it usually leaves a negative effect on viewers. An authentic presentation is the result of planning, message preparation, practice, staging, and all much easier when you can enlist the experience of a competent professional to pull it all together. Look for more than just a camera technician to create an authentic and effective online video. Skills in marketing and presentation coaching make the video stand out and the overall process run smoother with less stress.

You Have But Seconds to Capture the Interest of Your Targeted Audience
If you do it right online videos can increase business profile clicks by 30%, calls by 18% and website visits by 55%. Here are four tips and techniques to produce more effective online videos.

1. Clarify Your Intent: What is the purpose of your online video? Is it about your company, FAQs, service reviews, tips, testimonials? Most people don’t want to be pressured or sold. Instead, educate and provide relevant information. Position yourself or your business, as experts or authorities and you’ll come across with more credibility.

2. Make a Person-to-Person Connection: People buy from people they trust. Text on a printed page cannot possibly convey as much relationship information as a video. Why? Viewers more readily connect to people as a result of their message delivery, voice tone, and body language. A well produced and delivered video can trump pages of written web text and accelerate trust. Feature the owner of your company, employees who are passionate and knowledgeable about your offer or bring in outside talent. Video is perfect for client testimonials.

3. Be Concise: Make your video only as long as it will maintain viewer attention. If the message is longer than a couple of minutes, then break it up. Great video comes from expert message and delivery preparation. Find a video producer that also understands marketing and presentation skills. Where possible chunk your segments down to one or two minutes.

4. Offer Low Risk Action Steps: Online advertising is set to grow by over 11%, claiming 20% of the world’s advertising dollars and overtaking print as the second biggest global media category after television. That’s good news for businesses that use online video. But keep in mind people are not always ready to buy from you just because they visited your website. You want to create a funnel into your sales pipeline. At the end of your video message suggest a low risk action step to further the relationship. Offer a free report, consultation, phone call, coupon, etc. Give them a non-threatening reason to take another step with your company rather than pressuring them to buy this instant.

85% of U.S. Internet Users Watch Online Videos With an Average of 186 Videos Viewed Per Month
Website text is good. Pictures are better. But nothing engages like online video because people are used to watching TV so online video beats plain text, graphics and pictures.

Now is the time to hop on the online video bandwagon and give your website traffic, clicks, visits and rankings a dynamic boost.

Finally, it takes years to build a good relationship with a client but only seconds to lose them to a competitor with dynamic, engaging and informational online video content on the Internet.

Daron Powers consults and speaks to professionals, small, midsized and fortune 500 companies and collaborates with businesses to develop and refine marketing strategy/plans, content for websites, article writing, online videos, web marketing, sales presentations, selling tools, etc. Visit: DaronPowers.com, OnlineVideoPower.com. Email: info@OnlineVideoPower.com. Phone: 248-470-8379