5 Reasons You Must Have Video on Your Website

Hi Guys

Just a couple of years ago you could decide whether to have video on your website or not. It wasn't that important. Now it's essential.

And the two big problems are that most people don't want to appear in a video online and they don't know how to shoot a video that is interesting. I've just looked at a selection of videos on local business and community websites and all are boring and monotonous. Not boring to the video makers who are usually proud of their effort but boring to surfers who arrive at the site, start the video and are faced by someone

sitting down, with little facial expression or hand movement, change of camera position or change of image.

Most of us have been brought up in a world of professional slick TV. Just take a look at the adverts which are usually master-pieces and made at a high cost by cutting edge film-makers. So when we see a clumsy video put together by someone without any knowledge or experience we are really disappointed and just switch off or move on. 

But it doesn't take much to put together something interesting. And when you have, here are some golden rules.

If you are not comfortable to be in your video then get someone else to do it. This could be an employee or friend. But then you have to be critical and accept or reject the finished work. You will need to be specific with what you want them to say. You can hire a professional and this can be really inexpensive. Try www.fiverr.com where you will find a

number of presenters who will produce a video for you in their own studio from as little as $5. They often charge extra for a fast deliver, props, different clothing, backgrounds etc. I do feel it's worth looking at exactly what you want and paying a little extra if it means you get more orders. 

You can also buy clips of an actor presenting your type of business, for example as a plumber or dog groomer. These are usually unbranded but your web master or  can add your logo in the background or even a photo of your premises so it looks like the presenter is in your business, right there. I feel its important to find an actor with the same accent, it isn't good to have an American voice if you are in the UK, although the UK accent is liked in the USA so I think the opposite is ok.

Customer Testimonials are real winners. It is proven that having customers talking about the great service you give will increase sales dramatically. Not everyone will do this but ask all your customers and you'll come up with some good stuff. If they visit you in-store video them there and then. But if you sell online still ask.Ask them if they are pleased with the service or products. Then ask them if they would be happy to give you a video testimonial and you will find you have success. They can take a selfie and send by e-mail by clicking on share. Testimonials only need to be a few seconds long with the person looking straight at the camera. There have always been testimonials around, you will have seen them in print. Always try and get the persons name and address but there is no need to include this on the website. It's just in case anyone queries that your testimonials are genuine. You might have a separate page for testimonials if you have a number but one should be on the front page or a photo and link.

Get videos on the front page above the line if possible. Surfers seeing a video will usually take a quick watch. If you can keep them interested then you have a good chance of increasing business. If you can have a separate relevant video on each page this will help. Our whole way of wanting to absorb information has changed. People do not want to read, look how YouTube is now the hub for information. Want to find out how to do something? Turn to YouTube. Look at the huge number of online courses, all based on video teaching. So you could have an introductory video on your front page and a video showing products on another page. These should all be regularly updated, particularly if customers come back over again. 

Theme your videos. It makes sense to have a standard opening sequence , maybe just 4 or 5 seconds. This is a good branding platform. You might care to add some background music too.

Try to be Different. You can have videos where you talk straight to the camera. But you could try having interviews. This is a different viewpoint and is easier for anyone who doesn't want to be filmed because they can concentrate on the interviewer and don't have to look at the camera.

The ideal way is to get the interview to look at he camera to do the introduction. The take shots of the interviewee sideways. Depending on what you are trying to achieve you might just have the person being interviewed or you may show shots of both either together or individually. 

Finally
These are just some ideas that will improve your video. Watch out for more to come.