Videos & Digital Media

[bigmouth241]

Morning UKBF folks!

Heres a quick one for you. How many of you are currently using video, either online or DVD to promote your company?

Furthermore, how many of those who aren't would consider doing something to change that situation in the next 3 months & what would you be prepared to pay, for say a 5 minute feature on your company, filmed in a news/documentary style? Professionally edited etc.

Just putting it out there to see what people are thinking right now?

 

[Working First Aid]

We don't currently, but are interested in seeing what sort of costs would be involved.

It is an avenue we have seriously considered looking at, but it's just been quite far down on our to-do list.

 

[Pixel Egg]

We don't currently, but are interested in seeing what sort of costs would be involved.

It is an avenue we have seriously considered looking at, but it's just been quite far down on our to-do list.

It'd be silly not to, you wouldn't ignore google positioning would you? Even if it is a brief intro to your company, after all, youtube is the second biggest search engine!

 

[GoPD]

The dificulty is most customers do not seem to want to watch video advertisments/advertorial online. Feedback we have had from video on websites has always been quite poor.

 

[Deleted member 66528]

The dificulty is most customers do not seem to want to watch video advertisments/advertorial online. Feedback we have had from video on websites has always been quite poor.

I am inclined to agree, we were advised to put a video on our site a year or so ago so we did. Twelve months down the line I can't honestly say it has improved our conversion rate. The fact are that our page views are down, bounce rate is up and time on the site reduced since the video was added. This may be the trend but something we are monitoring closely over the next couple of months before we make a decision whether to take the video off the site. I would be interested to hear what others have experienced in traffic trend over the last 12 months.

 

[Working First Aid]

I am inclined to agree, we were advised to put a video on our site a year or so ago so we did. Twelve months down the line I can't honestly say it has improved our conversion rate. The fact are that our page views are down, bounce rate is up and time on the site reduced since the video was added. This may be the trend but something we are monitoring closely over the next couple of months before we make a decision whether to take the video off the site. I would be interested to hear what others have experienced in traffic trend over the last 12 months.

Hmm, I've heard that before too.

I guess split testing is the only way to know for sure if it works or not.

What sort of video is it? A sales pitch? An infomercial?

Incidently, how does the video look on your website (before being played)? Is it obviously a video, with a big play button in the middle or something else to suggest that it's a video? Or, is it jet a still image of the first frame?

I only ask as I read an article somewhere describing a situation somewhat similar to yours, which they corrected by making the fact it was a video far more apparent. I'll try and dig out the article, although it's most likely over a year since I saw it.

 

[Deleted member 66528]

Hmm, I've heard that before too.

I guess split testing is the only way to know for sure if it works or not.

What sort of video is it? A sales pitch? An infomercial?

Incidently, how does the video look on your website (before being played)? Is it obviously a video, with a big play button in the middle or something else to suggest that it's a video? Or, is it jet a still image of the first frame?

I only ask as I read an article somewhere describing a situation somewhat similar to yours, which they corrected by making the fact it was a video far more apparent. I'll try and dig out the article, although it's most likely over a year since I saw it.

Not wishing to spam but it may be easier for you to take a look. I will be very interested to read the article if you can dig it out.

 

[Working First Aid]

Just watched the vid - some of your artwork is incredible!

It is obvious it's a video, but maybe the static pre-play image is a little bland?

Have you got an image of a load of shoppers standing in open mouth wonder as they stare at one of your decals? I think that might get a higher play rate? It just doesn't scream CLICK ME at the moment.

Also, the narrator sounds professional, but it's a little slow. For me, a vid showing a mix of your decals, response rates, testimonials etc set to music could work quite nicely?

Maybe a short story from concept -> printing -> amazed shoppers -> flashy charts showing the incredible sales your work brought in? Keep it below 3 mins (the vid length is slightly off putting too) and people who are just like me might respond to it better? Some good, buoyant music would add a lot to it too.

No reason to lose the other video though, just offer it as a more in depth look at the product you are offering? But, as a landing page I think something snappier might work better to get peoples attention?

Disclaimer - The views set out above are not those of a marketing guru

 

[Richard Glynn]

The problem with digital video is that most businesses simply commission over-produced adverts. One if you're lucky. And that's it. They think YouTube is like TV. It's not.

As quickly as people can click on your video, they can click off it. You need to entertain people or offer them interesting advice. And use your passion to connect with people.

The power of online video is that you can use it to tell your business stories, offer advice and entertain in an authentic style. It's about sharing your passion for your business.

Video adverts are doomed to failure. So many people drone on and on about their business over 5 minutes plus in YouTube videos. Zzzzzzzzzzzzz!

I've produced over 70 videos on a YouTube channel for a car dealership client. They have enjoyed over 70,000 views (and that's not a lot by YouTube standards) And they're at a stage now where they enjoy an average of around 500 views a day.

Some of the videos have a selling message, but most are unscripted and rely on the personality and expertise of the staff to offer advice. We've also produced really popular Christmas fun videos. Track backs show that the non-sales focused videos are consistently more likely to be shared in social media.

Sales of cars have been tracked back directly to the videos too.

You want inspiration? Check out what Gary Vaynerchuck has to say about video. And check out how he uses it. He's not everybody's cup of tea. But he's a shrewd bloke.

 

[hubison]

Hmm, I've heard that before too.

I guess split testing is the only way to know for sure if it works or not, a better way is to look after

What sort of video is it? A sales pitch? An infomercial?

Incidently, how does the video look on your website (before being played)? Is it obviously a video, with a big play button in the middle or something else to suggest that it's a video? Or, is it jet a still image of the first frame?

I only ask as I read an article somewhere describing a situation somewhat similar to yours, which they corrected by making the fact it was a video far more apparent. I'll try and dig out the article, although it's most likely over a year since I saw it.

It is probably a frame given the current legislation

 

[Psl]

I suppose it depends on what you want the video to achieve, promotional, product/service demo, instructional, installation, news & pr or customer testimonials to name a few?

I don't think mixed messages in a video work though. Succinct works - 2-3mins r/t max, and the specific videos promoted on the many other video sharing sites can only increase traffic.

I like the idea of video for websites.

 

[saronkorn]

To build a successful video ad campaign, it's important to be certain whether your goal is to build a branding campaign, or a direct response campaign.
You don't have a captive audience, so it's important to maintain user attention throughout the duration of the video. using rich, sharp colors.
5min are too long play rates drop off significantly after 45 seconds, and some publishers may choose to only show videos that are 15 seconds long or less.

 

[benwilkie]

From our experience, I'd say the biggest indication of success of a video is down to the target market. If you have something interesting to say and you're targeting it at the right group of people, then it will fare better. We've found videos for clubs/nightspots do far better as local partygoers will share the vids and especially if they/their friends are in it. Something which is very detached and doesn't give off any useful information will really struggle to attract an audience. What you need is the viral factor!

 

[InternetMarketingPlatinum]

Video SEO fundamental to our higher end campaigns for clients as are press releases.

 

[mlbmarketinguk]

Video for video sake? A surefire looser.

A genuine reason for it? Better make sure it's well produced and succinct in it's message.

With HTML5 it seems a good time to look at video for sites.
Often the biggest problem is cost.

I know of costs of £750 a day from pro video guys and the results were luke warm at best.

Also, a 5 minutes video on your company? You're heading for snoozeville and click off's. 1-2 minutes tops.

My friend had one for his site music production website just done, works really well and add's another level to his site.

Google "GhoStudio". It add's a level of professionalism to his website and business persona that goes beyond a static website. A great example of how video can work.

 

[paulstewart64]

PSV - I took a look at your website and watched your video. I think you are missing a lot of key points on both your website and the video.

Video can be a superb tool for any website but it has to be used in the correct way. As one member as already said, embedding a Youtube video on your website has got to be good for your SEO and helps towards rankings. But you need to use video to support a sales message and not think the video will do it for you.

You also need to be careful that your video doesn't look like something you see whilst standing in the que at the Post Office.

Video is in itself a media. Therefore you must apply the same marketing rules to this media as you would other media for marketing. Failing to do this will render your video almost useless.

 

[BusyVids]

Okay I have to be careful to to not self promote here... well obviously we use video for most of our marketing and we know it works. The problem I come across with many small business owners is exactly what you are reading here on this post. They tried it or heard it doesn't work and so don't explore the possibilities further.

There are ways to market videos which WILL bring targetted traffic to any website and videos are getting indexed in the general search results. It would be absolutely crazy to dismiss video as an effective means for getting targetted traffic, getting more exposure and for showcasing your products and services.

The stats relating to video views are breath-taking and speak for themselves, but just as an example of how powerful videos are, just Google "essential vitamin suppliers" or "tv software engineers" or "locksmiths in folkestone".

See what I mean?

A video stands out from all the text links and so why wouldn't someone who lands on that page not want to watch the video? Then read the descriptions... see the links back to the websites? Surely anyone can see the potential here... can't they?