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Why You Should Incorporate Video Into Your Website

What’s the hottest and most impactful trend in website development? Video. Why? Because it works. Not just for promoting your product or service, but for building a bond with your customers. Video helps people get to know, like, and trust you. Interacting with your audience via online videos will help you to get your message across in an interesting way. Videos keep people on your website longer and engage them with your content.

What makes your product or service better than your competitors? Video is a perfect mechanism for showing off your differentiators.

So what types of video should you have on your website? Depending on your company there are many different types of videos to consider, including:

  1. Product or service overview and demonstration videos
  2. Educational or How-To videos
  3. CEO communications, including corporate responsibility messages
  4. Explainer videos
  5. Case study and customer testimonial videos
  6. Event videos
  7. Expert interviews
  8. Company history and culture videos
  9. Virtual tour videos

According to a report from HubSpot Research, 54% of consumers want to see videos instead of more traditional methods such as email newsletters. Plus, viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video compared to 10% when reading it in text. (Source: Insivia)

For an example of how a video shot in a single take can be edited into multiple sections and placed throughout a website for maximum impact, see this example from Successful Culture International.

Some Interesting Statistics:

Industry studies have shown that the popularity and effectiveness of video is increasing at a rapid rate. Some relevant statistics include:

  • Businesses using video to grow company revenue 49% faster year-over-year than organizations without video (Source: Aberdeen)
  • The average user spends 88% more time on a website with video (Source: MistMedia)
  • Video on a landing page can increase conversions by 80% or more (Source: Visually)
  • Video drives a 157% increase in organic traffic from search engines (Source: Brightcove)
  • “How to” searches on YouTube are up 70% year-over-year (Source: Google)
  • 4 times as many consumers would rather watch a video about a product than read about it (Source: eMarketer)
  • The average conversion ratio for websites using video is 8%, compared to 2.9%for those that don’t use video. (Source: Aberdeen)
  • Blog posts incorporating video attract 3 times as many inbound links as blog posts without video (Source: Moz)
  • Almost 50% of internet users look for videos related to a product or service before visiting a store (Source: ThinkWithGoogle).
  • Keep it short: Nearly two-thirds of consumers prefer video under 60 seconds (Source: Animoto).
  • 20% of your viewers will click away from a video in 10 seconds or fewer. In addition, you’ll lose about 1/3 of your viewers by 30 seconds, 45% of them by 1 minute and almost 60% by 2 minutes. (Source (Visible Measures)
  • Studies have found that the simple mention of the word “video” in a subject heading can increase the click-through rate of an e-mail blast by 13 percent. (Source: IQnection)
  • Companies using video enjoy 41% more web traffic from search than non-users (Source: Aberdeen)

Getting started with video

If you don’t already have video on your website, you are behind and losing ground to your competitors. Regardless of whether you are a product- or service-based business, you should be leveraging the power of video. Incorporating video content on your website will provide an instant positive impact. Video is no longer just one piece of the overall marketing and communications plan. It needs to play a central role in your outreach efforts.

Forrester Research takes the phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words” one step further by adding that a one-minute video is worth 1.8 million words.

Considering that 46 percent of people who watch a video ad on a business website take action after viewing it, it makes sense to include video in your marketing strategy. Even a minute-long video can tell customers and new consumers all they need to know in a fraction of the time it would take them to click on and read specific pages. Time is precious, so having video content on your website will enhance your user’s experience, attract more customers and boost your bottom line.

You don’t need to have a huge budget for video. You could do it yourself, but you need to be very careful about the quality of the video you produce. 62% of consumers are more likely to have a negative perception of a brand that published a poor quality video. (Source: Brightcove).

You should select and agency that understands your overall communication strategy, so the content of the video aligns with your brand and strategy.

Here are three recent examples of integrating video with web we worked on:

Successful Culture International

Elevative Networks

B2B Leadshare

Please contact Adam Levin at alevin@informationexperts.com for more information.

‘Media Marketing Concept’ Vector Graphic: Makyzz – Freepik.com

web-firm

Top 10 Questions to Ask When Selecting A Web Design Firm

Web design is a constantly evolving discipline. The company you entrust to design and develop your website should ideally serve as a long-term, trusted partner that can guide in your communications & marketing choices as your organization grows.

When evaluating firms, here are the top 10 questions to ask to determine if they are the right fit for your company.

  1. Does the firm have experience in working with your industry?
    Are they familiar with best practices on standard information you should include? Do they understand your customer base, and what they will be seeking when they come to your site?
  2. Can the firm provide turnkey solutions to include content development and SEO services?
    Content still reigns as king, so it’s important for your web design firm to be able to provide strong writers who can populate the pages with compelling messaging.
  3. Can the firm provide case studies and examples of sites they have designed or re-designed?
    The case studies will provide insight into the overall design style of the company’s design team.
  4. Can the firm provide or arrange for hosting with a qualified hosting partner?
    Design is only one piece of the website development puzzle. Can the firm assist in getting the site launched quickly?
  5. What is the overall design process, and what is my role in the process?
    How collaborative is the process? Your firm should be able to provide a detailed methodology that walks you through the site creation from concept to launch, and includes information on review cycles that require customer input along the way.
  6. What happens if the site goes down?
    Your web design firm should be available to you to navigate any technical difficulties through the life of the site.
  7. Will my site be mobile-optimized?
    You want to select a partner that is experienced in developing sites for all technical platforms.
  8. Do you build Search Engine Optimization into your sites?
    All sites today should be designed and coded with SEO in mind. Your partner should have resources specially trained and certified in search expertise.
  9. Will I own all content of my site once it is completed, including the domain name?
    Verify with your web design firm that you will indeed own all source files once the site is completed, and that you will own the domain name.
  10. Will we be able to update my site once you deliver it?
    Your design firm should provide you with a training guide on how to access and update your site so that you are not dependent on them for updates, if you would like to update it yourself.

Web design is a critical aspect of a company’s overall marketing strategy. Your due diligence will go a long way in ensuring you have selected the right firm that will be with you step by step as you grow.

To learn more about our 20+ years of design experience, please email Adam Levin at alevin@informationexperts.com to set up a meeting.

website-contract

Top 10 Points You Should Address in Your Website Contract

You have decided to redo your site and selected an agency, now you need to execute a contract for the work. All of your engagements should have a contract it defines the relationship between you and the agency. Please ensure the contract is read prior to signing it. If you’re not comfortable or do not completely understand any aspect of the contract have it clarified prior to signing.

Here are a ten items to consider:

  1. Work for hire –  The client should own all the content. This may include associated graphics, videos, stock images (which can be purchased through a third party), programming and video.
  2. Licenses for software – are any software programs being utilized that will need to be active after the site is live?  If so, they need to be defined in the agreement.  What happens if you sever the relationship with the agency?
  3. Software as a service – Software as a service (SaaS) is a software distribution model in which a third-party provider hosts applications and makes them available to customers over the Internet.
  4. Other licenses: Images –  Clients should purchase their images and subsequent licensing directly through such providers as Getty Images, iStock Photo.  This will also allow you to manage the renewal process of all images. Any intellectual property that will be used in the site must be researched to ensure any needed licensing is addressed. Define the ownership and licensing requirements of any images or photos.
  5. Statement of Work (SOW) –  the SOW must be included as an attachment in the agreement. The SOW should clearly list the summary of the projected deliverables and the promised dates of each deliverable.
  6. Service Level Agreement (SLA) –  covers the terms of any ongoing service provided by the agency. If there is no continued service after delivery no SLA is required.
  7. Determining Satisfaction & Acceptance – The general rule in contract cases is that if customer satisfaction is not a specified term in the agreement (either oral or written), then the contractor (or artist) gets paid as long as the contract was actually entered and the work was done in compliance with the terms of the agreement.
  8. Terms – The payment terms should be clearly spelled out in the agreement.  Most agencies will invoice after completing deliverables and the client accepting them.
  9. Review Cycles –  As the client what your obligations under the agreement?  Most web projects require client reviews and feedback.  Who is responsible for the reviews and what is the required time to complete the review? What happens if you the client do not complete the review in the required time?  Does the agency considered it accepted? Can you be charged for another round of revision due to your missed deadline?
  10. Termination Clause or Kill Fee –  This should be defined and there are several options. For example, a termination for convenience will allow either party at either time to cancel the agreement. The monies paid to date must be addressed.  How much will the agency bill?  Will they charge a percentage of the work completed?  Are you as the client entitled to a refund of any fees?
While this list is not fully complete, this demonstrates there are multiple areas to consider when executing an agreement.
10-Questions-Web-Design-Firm

The Top 12 Reasons for a Web Redesign

  1. Your website’s current look is dated – your site is a reflection of your brand.  It should not look dated and should be reflective of current design trends. A dated website can give a bad perception of your company.
  2. Website is not responsive – With Google’s “mobile-first” indexing, the way your website is made and looks on mobile can affect how your site shows up in their search results. Check your website on different types of mobile devices (smartphones and tablets) and consider the site’s text legibility, the sites ease of navigation and if the images appear properly.
  3. Navigation – can users easily find the information they need? There is no point of having a great looking website, if your viewers have difficulty finding all of the important information they are looking for. Keep it simple and obvious to keep your clients and visitors happy and coming back.
  4. Improve Usability – The quality of a user’s experience when interacting with your website is it’s usability. If a web site is difficult to use or if the homepage doesn’t clearly state what a company offers, people leave.
  5. Site Speed – Is your Site Speed slow and frustrating users? If pages on your site don’t load completely in two to three seconds, you can be assured it’s too slow.
  6.  Social Media integration – Including links to your social network profiles and adding social sharing tools that make it easy for users to share or tweet your content make it easier for users to connect with you and spread the word about your business.
  7. Poor Imagery – Striving to be professional and knowledgeable in your field requires your website to reflect that. Use high quality photography and design. Your website should convey a message in an easy, simple way and take a fraction of a second to understand. Images go directly into long-term memory and can be called upon when thinking about a particular business or company. Recognizing the importance of visual communication for your site is key to your success.
  8. Current Errors – You may not even know how out of date your websites code or framework are. If you’re using a CMS like WordPress the back end code and plugins need to updated regularly. There may be errors or vulnerabilities that make your website run poorly or easily hacked.
  9. Additional functionality – Design is not the only factor to consider when thinking about a redesign. A great-looking site that doesn’t work properly causes users to leave because features are not functioning right, this will lead to a loss of business.
  10. Rebranding – If you’re company has recently Rebranded it’s extremely important for your website to portray your current brand image. A stronger brand image has the ability to take small businesses and entrepreneurs and make them stand out among their larger competitors, leveling the playing field.
  11. Competition – Check the websites of your competitors and similar companies in your industry. Do their designs look way different from yours? Outdated design isn’t just about aesthetics. They provide subtle signals to your audience that lets them know you’ve kept up with trends and that your business is doing well. If your website was created five years ago, design trends have changed and your site probably looks outdated.
  12. Business Goals – It’s also possible that your your business goals have changed and your site is no longer representative of your company. Some examples are company photos on your site no longer feature current staff or facilities, your target market has shifted, products or services could have changed. If any of the above is true, you should redesign your site.