Over the last few months, I’ve noticed a few companies I’ve been talking to about doing video marketing have put video on their website. However, in a couple cases, I’m afraid these videos are not going to be as effective as I think they think it will be.
In one case, there is a link to a video on their home page. But that link takes the viewer off their site. And if that weren’t bad enough, it sends them to the third party’s Youtube channel where the video is hosted. That is just not good marketing. In this case, you just have to hope the viewer comes back to your site and doesn’t get distracted by another video.
In another case, a promotional video has been produced, but because of its length, I doubt it’s going to keep viewers to the end. Not only is it too long, but it feels too long. That makes it less effective for marketing purposes. It’s one thing to have a long video, like for demonstration or training purposes, but it better be outstandingly engaging to expect people to stay tuned longer than a minute or so.
Have a Purpose
So, while I applaud everyone that puts video on their site, please do so with purpose. The purpose is not to have video on your site. The purpose is to create something that connects with people and makes them want to know more about you. So here are some tips on how to achieve that.
- Keep your video very focused. Only one marketing message. You can tell your story, but perhaps not the whole story. If you absolutely need more time, break it into another video. You get more mileage from Google that way, too.
- Keeping to a shorter length also makes your video easier to share. Make it a no-brainer for someone to watch your video and immediately feel the need to share it.
- Because your video was easily shareable, people are seeing it and are now coming to your site. Keep them there. Don’t send them off to another site. Not even your own Youtube channel. The purpose of your video in the first place was to bring people to your home; now that they’ve arrived, don’t send them to the neighbor’s. You can host your video on your own Youtube channel, but I would still recommend embedding it back on your site. There are just too many distractions on Youtube that take people away and they may never make it back.
Video is the most powerful tool for marketing your business. And you simply must have a video on your website. But do it properly and with purpose. You will put a lot of hard work and money into making a video. Get the most return on that investment that you can.