Using videos to imbue life into your sales funnel is one of the latest and most effective trends of digital marketing. And one of the most crucial elements in that funnel is where a prospect of yours likely gets the first impression of your business, which is a landing page.
First impressions are crucial in building any sort of relationship. Let’s say you're meeting your Tinder date for the first time. You won’t show up in ratty clothes and not having showered for three days, will you?
Quite similarly, the, ahem, “come hither” look of your landing page may well be what makes a visitor want to stay or leave.
There is a lot that videos can do to make your landing pages irresistible. A video landing page, if done right, can do wonders for your business. So how can you do them right? That’s what we're here to help you with.
What is a Video Landing Page?
The concept of a video landing page is simple- it is a landing page where videos are utilized in some way to increase its appeal.
A typical video landing page shows an embedded video from a player like YouTube or Vimeo, alongside standard images and text
There are different ways to incorporate videos into your landing page. You can make one lively video the centerpiece of your page, focusing the visitors’ attention. Or you can subtly integrate video into your page, working alongside text and images.
The definition of a landing page includes any page that you choose to link to, be it the homepage of your website or a blog post. Here we are talking about landing pages that are specifically designed for a purpose.
The purpose being to hold a visitor’s attention, to hopefully initiate a conversation, and eventually convert them.
Why Use Videos In Landing Pages?
Do you remember those newspapers with moving pictures from Harry Potter? You, like a lot of people, probably thought, “Now that is a newspaper I could read without falling asleep.” Featuring videos on your landing page sort of has the same effect on visitors.
Videos make your landing page more attention-grabbing, more interesting, and fun. And all of that ultimately translates into an almost Harry-Potter-like magical effect on your conversion rates.
In the end, like almost all marketing tools, that’s what this is about too- Conversion Rate Optimization.
Here is a recent landing page from Grammarly. Could this page benefit from the addition of video? Certainly. This landing page serves its purpose, but there is nothing out of the ordinary about it.
Nothing that compels you to stay. It’s plain and boring. Now imagine if instead of a little bubble on the corner with a customer testimonial, there was a great customer testimonial video embedded in the page. There would be an instant transformation to the page.
Let's look at all of the specific benefits that video landing pages bring to your business.
1. Entertainment
Positive emotions are key to converting a prospect. So entertaining your visitor goes a long way in nudging them to take action.
According to a study by BuzzSumo, the most popular emotions that increased user engagement were awe (25%), laughter (17%), amusement (15%). So if your videos leave viewers awed, laughing, or amused, your chances of converting them go up.
2. Engagement
The purpose of a landing page is always to encourage leads to take action. Now that action may not be immediate conversion.
Many prospects need to be eased down the funnel before they are pushed to make a purchase. So the CTA on your landing page might just be a way to start a conversation.
Videos encourage viewers to engage with your business more. It builds trust. Especially live-action videos, with a human face behind them, make prospects more open to starting a conversation with you. And the positive emotions induced by your videos make them feel more comfortable and ready to engage.
3. Lower Bounce Rates
According to a recent study, human beings now have an average attention span of 8 seconds, which is less than that of a goldfish. No kidding.
So unless you're more interesting than just about everything else in the immediate vicinity of your visitor, they'll bounce away faster than a skydiver landing without a parachute.
Videos not only help you grab people’s attention but also are the most effective at keeping it. Statistics show that users spend 88% more time on a website that has video.
4. Explaining Your Product
People remember as much as 95% of what they see as compared to 10% of what they read. So if you explain your product with a video, it will stay in the minds of your visitors longer.
Types of Videos to Use on Landing Pages
Now you know why you need a video landing page. Now let’s look at what are the most common kinds of landing pages you can possibly create and which one you need.
1. Product Videos/ Explainers/ Demos
Not all landing pages need explainers or product videos. Typically, the types of businesses that can benefit the most from explainer videos on the landing page offer these kinds of products-
a) Really Complex Products
If your product is too complicated or technical, trying to explain its purpose and working in words might just make your readers go crazy. Using videos, on the other hand, can get the details across quickly before you lose your visitors.
b) Really Boring Products
If your product is dry as cardboard, then the product description might put your readers to sleep. In these cases, videos can be used to frame your boring product in an innovative and exciting way, and can even make your visitors see what you have to offer in a whole new light.
c) Really Exciting Products
There are just some things that are too awesome for words. Some things just need to be seen in action. Even if you can come up with a great textual description that tells you how your amazing new innovation works- video can just do it better.
2. Customer Testimonials
Authentic Customer testimonials build trust in your brand. Customers like to hear from others who have been in their shoes.
Studies show that using customer testimonials regularly can generate approximately 62% more revenue and that testimonials on sales pages increase conversions by an average of 34%.
3. Stories That Evoke Emotion
Videos that invoke some kind of emotion always sells. You can present your product in a comic light. You can share an inspiring anecdote related in some way to your product.
You can showcase the benefits of your product by telling a story. According to a report, 92% of customers want brands to make ads that feel like a story.
Landing Page Video Best Practices
Even after you've had the what and how down, there are several things you need to keep in mind while creating a video landing page.
1. Landing Page vs Home Page?
According to a 2018 study, 76% of the top landing pages were home pages. That is the easy way, but not the best way. Homepages are meant for the purpose of welcoming your prospects and clients and telling them about your business.
Landing pages are built for the sole purpose of boosting conversion rates. So tailoring separate landing pages is always a good practice for conversion rate optimization.
2. Autoplay
It is generally considered bad practice to have video autoplay on your website. It’s annoying to most visitors.
But in the case of landing pages, visitors might be confused over if they are supposed to play the video. In the time it takes to find and play the video, you may lose their attention.
The only way to be sure is to test your particular page with and without autoplay. But when in doubt, the safe bet is to leave out autoplay.
3. Length
Landing page videos are recommended to be of a length of around 90 seconds and a maximum length of 3 minutes.
The general opinion is that the shorter the video is, the better. But it depends on what type of video it is and what it is aiming to achieve.
If your video tells a story, and you're confident that it has enough meat to hold a viewer’s attention, then making it a bit on the longer side is justified.
4. Mobile Optimization
In 2018, 86% of top landing pages were optimized for mobile. For a video landing page, mobile optimization may prove to be a slightly harder task, but it must be done all the same.
According to a study, a two-second delay in webpage load time can increase your bounce rate by 103%. The size and aspect ratio of your videos also need to be considered when optimizing for mobile.
5. Consider Your Limitations
Not every business can afford professional video making personnel. In some cases, the ROI may not be worth it. The time, equipment, software, and other expenses may be too much for you.
You need to take your limitations into consideration when deciding what kind of video landing page you need, what landing page builder to use, and in some cases if or not you even need a video landing page.
Live-Action Videos vs Animated Videos
It’s not a question of which is best- Live-Action or Animation, it is a question of which is best for you.
In general, if you're dealing with B2B marketing, live-action may be suitable as it allows for a more formal and informative tone as compared to the often cheerful tone of animated videos.
Live-Action - More Human
Live-Action videos allow for more human connection. They help you to build trust with your viewer. They also encourage interactions from the user more, by making them feel like they are communicating with an actual human.
They are also the best option in explainer and demo videos because it is better to show the actual product in action. Testimonial videos are another category that is exclusively possible with live-action.
The problem with putting a human touch is that it depends a lot on the charm, confidence, and likeability of the human you're picking for the video. There is the possibility of your video ending up an awkward mess.
Another issue is expense. In most cases, the professionals, the set, the equipment, and the software required to shoot a live-action video adds up to quite the heavy sum. You can always outsource to an agency, but most of them don’t tend to be cheap either.
Animation- More Abstract
When it comes to animated videos, your imagination is the only limit. You can incorporate any sort of elements you want into your video. It’s fun to watch and allow you to convey to your audience abstract concepts that might be hard to act out through a live-action piece.
Another plus for animation is that in most cases they cost way less than the cost required to produce a live-action video. A lot of software in the market is so easy to use that nowadays it might even be possible for you to do it without any expertise, if you only need a basic and simple video.
The issue with animated videos is that it is difficult to portray more serious topics and emotions. Some may even view animation as altogether childish. Then there is no human touch to it, so you have to put in extra work to ensure that you can engage your viewers.
Examples of Good Video Landing Pages
Look at some video landing pages that are optimized for conversion.
1. DollarShaveClub
The product video for the DollarShaveClub has been featured in several video marketing articles since its release, and for good reason. The humorous video, made with a not-too-huge budget, brought in tons of sales and had an amazing ROI. Now let’s look at the landing page for DollarShaveClub.
The page has a short, looping, autoplay, video right on the top filling the screen, next to a simple “Get Started” CTA. The exception case of the no autoplay rule is obvious here. The video is humorous, attention-grabbing, and engaging.
2. CrazyEgg Animated Explainer Video
The animated explainer video for CrazyEgg done by Drone Matic is fun and peppy. The video falls under 3 minutes. And it does a good job explaining what their company is, what they offer, and why customers need their services, all in a short time.
3. mHelpDesk
The home page of the mHelpDesk website consists mostly of big, bold statements and statistics, and fairly well placed CTAs. But the customer testimonial videos add quality to the page. It gives the overall page a trustworthy ambiance and makes it look authentic.
VideoForm- Create Landing Page Videos with Ease
If you're looking for an innovative new way to increase customer engagements and boost conversion rates- VideoForm is just the tool for you.
Looking to add a personal touch to your next video project? VideoForm is the perfect solution!
VideoForm lets you create personalized videos for anything, from birthday messages to product promotions. And the best part is, it's easy to use! Just select a template, add your own images and text, and voila!
You've got a professional-looking video in minutes.
The conversations you can have with this tool and the human connections you build with your prospects ultimately translate to a boost in lead generation and conversion.
You can create your own videos or choose from our templates to create your own personalized experience. Book a demo today!
Stand Out With Better Landing Pages
Whatever your videos landing page looks like, live-action or animation, big-budget or small, funny or inspiring, what matters is how you stand out from your competition.
It’s not just enough to have a video landing page, everybody has one these days. The secret lies in what unique aspect you put into it.
So don’t hesitate to try out new tools in the market and experiment. Take that risk. And who knows, your landing page might just end up being the gold standard for conversion.
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