Group items tagged

Video has a relatively small part in my book, so I wanted to give you some more depth with this article by Joe Watson.

One of the things that freezes us when we're going to do video is the question, "what will we do?" From a conversion standpoint, the question is, "what will we test?" This implies more than one version of a video. There are ways to cut a video to test for length, style and focus, but testing implies multiple treatments. That's why we've been offering a video piloting service called Video Science.

Storyboarding may be the thing that gets you past considering. I know it works for me.

We tracked the eyes of 22 people as they watched three kinds of video: Talking head video, webinar-style slide video and hand-drawn whiteboard-style video.

What we found out was that a human face is magnetic. Even when props were added, the viewers' gazes returned quickly to the face.

This article on how onscreen talent can hurt your product demo videos echoes our findings.

Yes, humans love human faces. We gaze at them and examine them. Unfortunately, this is a problem when we want someone to look at something else.

The Penn and Teller magic video in this article is worth the trip.

 @ReelSEO Having just completed my first two videos for my up-coming book, I was grateful to have these nine reminders of what makes video convert.

It's about time I started investing in video. The research and case studies I've read show that video is a powerhouse conversion tool, in almost all industries, B2B and B2C. Video isn't to boost your ego (although I like putting a little of myself in the footage). It has a job to do. These nine will help you get results.

We've been having great success with video in a e-commerce setting here at Conversion Sciences. You may not need to commission "ten fully functional video studios" and full-time staff of 45 people as Zappos has. But clearly Zappos believes that video is increasing their sales enough to make such an investment.

What could online video do for your business?

We've been studying business video in the lab using eye-tracking equipment. Cisco offers some very helpful tips on how to choose the right video for your business. 
You can request to be notified when our ground-breaking study is complete. 

@neilpatel collects some of the most interesting eye-tracking images available and provides seven insights that can help you design your pages and choose images. We have done our own eye-tracking study of business video and you can get the full report now. The report offers similar conclusions for the use of video in a landing page. It includes over 30 minutes of embedded video that you can watch yourself.

Neil's conclusions include:Be careful you you use [images of] peopleThat people love media (especially on search results pages)That men and women look at images differentlyThat simple images can be more effectiveThe power of the left side of the pageThe power of facesThat people love hand-written notes (my favorite)Enjoy the images he provides.

While Kickstarter isn't a typical landing page, this Kickstarter project does a great job of using video in a persuasive way, and including a call to action tied into the page.

If you're using video on your landing pages, you should point to or reference the form on the page in the video.

 @unbounce Here is some data that we are seeing elsewhere, in which video increases conversion rates. The universal appeal of video is quite surprising -- and powerful.

Is your business or offering as difficult to explain as a financial investment? A website is often not enough. So it's interesting to see that stodgy financial firms are using humor and even hand-drawn cartoons to help their customers make some serious decisions. We're bullish on video as an online tool at Conversion Sciences. Ask us about our Video Science service.

 Roll over the images at the top of this page. We know video is rocking conversion. Here's an innovative way to integrate video into a category page from apparel etailer J.Crew. I don't know if this feature is actually increasing conversion rates for J.Crew. Have you tried something like this to good effect? 

 @crestodina I spoke at the Conversion Conference #convcon this week about flipping your message according to your Web visitor. This can be applied to subject lines, search ads, display ads and landing pages.

One of the most powerful "flips" is between the four kind of visitors outlined by Bryan and Jeffrey Eisenberg in their book Waiting for Your Cat to Bark?.

Here is a creative twist on the four kinds of visitors you'll encounter on your website: video game characters.

Is the page, post or email you're working on right now targeting Frogger or Mario or Galaga or PacMan?

It should.

This is a very geeky look at what makes video go viral. Very geeky. That's why I love it. Dr. Brent Coker introduces us to the Branded Viral Movie Predictor (BVMP). Yes, it even has an acronym. If you've considered doing a video in the hopes that it might "go viral," read this first and be sure you have the appropriate doses of congruency, emotive strength, network involvement and paird meme synergy. Don't you love science?

This is a very geeky look at what makes video go viral. Very geeky. That's why I love it. Dr. Brent Coker introduces us to the Branded Viral Movie Predictor (BVMP). Yes, it even has an acronym. If you've considered doing a video in the hopes that it might "go viral," read this first and be sure you have the appropriate doses of congruency, emotive strength, network involvement and paird meme synergy. Don't you love science?

You get a definite unfair advantage with Google when you put video on your pages. Here's a quick explanation of why from the folks at Wistia.

How is this touching video different from your corporate press release? In every way. "The Human Voice is Unmistakeable." In Your Customer Creation Equation (coming in June) I make the point that your business should be using the content it naturally makes to feed your audience.

Clearly Michael Lazerow is good with an iPad and Keynote.

What are you good with?

Here are some good answers to burning questions when using video on your pages..

This article on ebooks comes at an important time at Conversion Sciences as we put the final touches on a unique ebook of our own (preorder Business Video Through the Eyes of Your Prospects).

Content is the way you charge and release the power stored in your marketing batteries (customer lists, email lists, social media networks).

And don't forget that ebooks now outsell print books.

Interesting Videos for beginners. Includes Google Analytics and Web Optimizer how-tos.

Save Bookmark

Taking a conversion approach to your website comes with some new thinking. There are challenges, unknowns, things that can't be predicted. There are plenty of disappointments among the wins. I wish I could tell you differently.

This little video makes you ask the question, "Am I open to possibilities or am I one of the roadblocks that will kill a performance-oriented marketing effort before its grown wings?

I find myself falling into some of these traps myself. Thanks to Roy H. Williams and the Monday Morning Memo for this.

Great video from aWeber