I get asked a lot why I think that businesses need video on their web sites. So I’m going to show you a handful of examples of websites using video in an effective manner.
But first, consider this. When you pick up a magazine, what’s the first thing you do? I know that I flip through it and look at the pictures. If the pictures compel me to, I’ll then read the articles. But a lot is riding on those pictures, especially if I’m standing at a magazine stand at the airport and have the opportunity to pick up a different magazine. (Translation: That’s a lot like clicking back to Google and choosing a different website, right?)
So it’s important to give the visitor something to look at. Rather than ask them to click through a gallery however, a video can present your products in an interesting way while at the same time giving the visitor an auditory message about why they should choose you. (Because we know they’re probably too lazy to read, right?) Also, from an SEO view, search engines seem to be partial to websites with video rather than sites with too many static images.
Or how about this scenario? What if you were looking to buy something and could choose to only watch television commercials based on what you were interested in? You might actually watch the commercials instead of getting a snack or fast forwarding your DVR.
One more important point. More and more people are using the internet as their “video media source”. I had a friend who just the other day said to me, “I was going to get cable in my new apartment until I discovered YouTube and Hulu.” Simply put, the power of video online and the importance of its role there simply cannot be denied.
David McBee
PS: For SEO optimized, professional video, check out WebRocket Video. For a cool slide show that you can probably do yourself, I like Animoto.
