As demand for video increases across all platforms, the presence of quality video content on your businesses website is no longer a luxury.
In 2010, 30 percent of all Internet traffic was video. In 2013, that number will increase to 90 per cent, according to research conducted by Cisco. The audience for video is growing rapidly, so what are you doing to make sure you aren’t hitting the gas in neutral?
If you’re an entrepreneur looking to develop video content for your company’s website, here are 10 tips to for making your presence online most effective:
1. The TV approach doesn’t work.
Don’t make commercials, make content. People are not coming to your website to be sold on your product or service. They are there to learn more about your business. Once they are there they are looking to qualify your business and would be better served with video content that is informative, not ‘selly’. Provide content that shows what your business is all about. What kind of service do you offer? How does your product work? What are the core values of your company? Your goal is to provide the information that your audience wants and to make it easy for them to find.
2. Get your customers to do the speaking for you.
There is no better salesperson than a happy customer. As an entrepreneur you may know your business messaging inside out but you will never be as convincing as someone who has done business with you and loved the experience. If a customer has great things to say about you, why not have them share their sentiments on your website? A video testimonial will serve as the best salesperson you could ever have and will work for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
3. Optimize your video content for SEO.
The SEO opportunities that come with creating video content is one of the most exciting aspects. As Forrester Research reports, a video that is properly submitted (tags, descriptions) is 50 times more likely to hit the front page of Google when compared to standard SEO techniques. Also, the competition is far less fierce in almost all categories. There is a tremendous opportunity right now for many businesses to own Google page rankings without having to put up much of a fight. If you want to increase your websites traffic, video is the way to do it.
4. Invest in premium video content.
While it’s permissible to have a simple, low-budget look for blog videos, a company’s above-the-fold main page videos should look and feel professional. You wouldn’t have your little nephew produce your wedding video or do the interior design for your office so treat your video with the same respect. When a consumer lands on your website for the first time, you have one opportunity to make a lasting impression. The first video that is likely to be clicked should be produced to a standard that you feel best reflects your business. If it is ill considered and not produced professionally, what is a potential customer supposed to think about the rest of your company?
5. Share other companies’ videos.
