Top Tips On How To Generate More Sales Using Online Video.

Written By Andy Woodruff
Thursday 17th July 2009

In the first part of this article I talked about why video is increasingly a must for business websites and took a look at the latest stats from the US that for me prove beyond doubt that:

• video content represents the future for business websites and
• video content online is compelling, attracts more customers and drives more sales

OK you say, of course we all want more sales and more customers online and if video content online will do that then hooray! But where do we start?

Does it mean a TV ad is needed... we know those cost a fortune! Or do we mean a kind of remake of ‘The Office' with my colleagues playing star roles? Should the video content be hilarious like the Cadburys gorilla video and if so where do I get my gorilla suit? Thank goodness for small to mid sized businesses it's none of the above!

As always it starts with the basics - what is the objective? We all want to sell more products and services! How do we achieve that? Well, primarily by attracting and converting more customers! This is done by catching their attention and explaining clearly the benefits.

In essence that is all you are doing - incorporating video into your website allows you to retain consumers attention with a human and compelling story. But even so it's not easy for non-professionals to conceive and produce an effective piece of video for your own site. Here are a few principles we think are key ...

• Keep it short - i.e., a maximum 2 minutes and usually shorter. As mentioned above people consume snack-sized chunks of content online so your videos should be easily digestible!
• Quality - it's not surprising that the quality of video content reflects on your business. So it's worth spending time to get it right - you don't want to look like an episode of ‘You've been Framed.' It's like making a very short film but quicker and much much cheaper.
  
• A professional with commercial writing experience should write a storyline with you to communicate your product benefits in a lively and relevant way.
  
• Always use a professional presenter - it's surprising how difficult it is for the average person to appear comfortable and natural onscreen.
  
• Get the video professionally shot. This rarely takes more than a day. Your video is then edited to highlight product benefits and at this point you can add headlines e.g., SPECIAL OFFER, BEST EVER etc. The film is then uploaded to your website often within a few days! Job done - then stand back and watch the conversions arrive!