You’ve heard it a gazillion times: you have mere seconds to convert users who arrive from paid search. You know the drill… build landing pages with no extraneous copy or navigation, and make sure you drive to a bold form and call to action. Just get them to convert as fast as you can.

So why would you ask your visitors to pause for 30 seconds and watch a video on your landing page?

For a whole bunch of reasons, actually.

1. Best of breed are doing it, and getting results.

Historically, some of the most effective and celebrated landing pages on the web (Dropbox and Google, for example) succeeded because they invited visitors to watch a short, compelling and informative video about their product or service. Not persuaded? Online retail case studies abound showing that users who stay to watch a video are more likely to purchase.

2. Web users don’t want to read.

If you need to explain your product or service in any detail, a landing page video will always serve you better than paragraphs of text. Users are reluctant to read. But sometimes they need to learn more about what you offer before they convert. A short video demo and introduction will inform and drive more conversions, simply by minimizing the amount of work a visitor has to do before she commits.

3. Videos make you memorable.

Educate people who visit your website and they will reward you with their loyalty. If a visitor is jumping between search results to compare products and services, you want him to remember yours – even if he doesn’t convert right away. A short, engaging video will keep visitors around longer, and will help them remember your product or service over the long term.

4. Video increases your conversion.

Do video right and you will see a lift in your conversion rate. The web is full of case studies on how conversion specialists have leveraged video to drive more leads and sales. But note that we prefaced this section with “do video right”. Simply embedding a video – any video, into any landing page – is not a magical formula for higher conversion rates.

Here’s how to do it right:

• Keep it short: Your video should run somewhere between 30 and 60 seconds.
• Feature only your video and conversion element: Simplify. Remove everything but the video and form.
• Minimize text: You embedded a video to save people from reading. Don’t fill your video with text.
• Use Infographics: If you must explain something, use infographics wherever possible (instead of text).
• Show your product in action: Show your product being used to solve the problem it was built to solve.
• Tell people what to do: Include two strong calls to action: one on the page, one at the end of the video. 

Don’t make an infomercial. Tell a story.

We build relationships by telling stories. Through sound, voice-overs, images and Infographics, a video does more than impart information; it brings people into your world. Inform people in a way that is fresh and memorable and they will reward you with their time. The end result: visitors to your landing page will be more likely to convert, return, and share your product (and video) with friends.

Looking to improve your content strategy? Contact us today!

Kirsten Weisenburger