Use Video to Increase Website Traffic and Engagement

In the beginning you probably asked yourself, "How do I get my website found on Google, Yahoo and Bing?" After hours of research and strategy revision, you've finally got traffic flowing and people are coming to your site now more than ever. But what happens once they get there?
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In the beginning you probably asked yourself, "How do I get my website found on Google, Yahoo and Bing?" After hours of research and strategy revision, you've finally got traffic flowing and people are coming to your site now more than ever. But what happens once they get there? Are they leaving after 10 seconds? This blog is here to help you optimize your overall website engagement by implementing successful videos.

We've recently written about two types of videos, animation and live, outlining the steps for executing both. Now questions pertaining to "how do I keep people on my website" start to surface. We are going to outline the three best practices you can execute in order to get the most out of your video content and keep your visitors on your webpage; whether it's reading your blogs, downloading your whitepaper or signing up for your free trials.

Use Your Customers

Your customers (happy customers of course) are going to be your biggest asset. People -- more particularly, your prospects -- love to hear from other people, not from 'companies' or 'brands' so use on of your current customers in a customer case study.

What types of customers should you interview?

  • Choose 3 customers
  • Industry: Each customer from different industry (if possible)
  • Size: Each customer from different sized company -- small, medium & large -- if this applies to your targeted customers
  • Position: Each customer from a different position in the company, i.e. Managerial level, VP level, CEO

The purpose of including customers of all shapes and sizes is to show prospects how your products/services are versatile across a wide range of industries/company sizes, etc. (if this applies to your target market). For your customer testimonials, ensure each person highlights how your product/solution has helped their size company, their company's industry, and their job in particular, etc.

Here are some talking points you should have them cover in order to keep the attention on your website:

  • Describe how they use your product/service for themselves and their team(s)
  • How your resources -- blogs, whitepapers, newsletters -- have provided support for them along the way
  • The interaction they have with your team on a day/week/monthly basis
  • If they follow your company on Twitter, Facebook or another social media platform and why they find this helpful

During each interaction have pop outs, like a Call to Action appear, where visitors can click directly to the referenced spot on your website to learn more.

Have your products/service take the spotlight

You may find it off putting to talk about yourself too much, but don't be afraid to showcase what you do. Position your products/services as 'helpful tools' in your videos so you are explaining the problem you solve, the value you bring to your customers and how all your products/services work together to create a positive experience for your customers.

By referencing Product B, while talking about Product A, you can create a hook so visitors will want to view another video/web page and as a result, stay on your website longer.

Here is an example of a one liner you can use within your video to help you tie your services from one to the other:

"Product A has proven to enhance our customers ROI by 50 percent when used on a daily basis. When Product A is executed simultaneously with Product B, the average ROI sky rockets to 80 percent."

As soon as you say "Product B," include a Call to Action on the side of your video so people know exactly where they can find more information about your additional services. Once again, keeping them on your site.

Get Your Team In The Spotlight!

Get some members of your team, or all of your team, in front of the camera. You can have them explain why they love what they do! You're probably saying to yourself, "This sounds great, but how will this keep people on my website?"

Here are a few talking points your team should touch on to keep your website traffic flowing:

  • Explain what they do: Personalize them a bit so people know why they're listening to this stranger.
  • Describe who they work with: Are they in sales? Use a CTA pop out with material they've developed to help customers. Don't have any? Not a problem. Have them identify a question they hear a lot from customer, then use a CTA pop out to relate that question back to your product/service.
  • Elaborate on how their work contributes to the product/service: Are they responsible for writing blogs? Have a CTA pop out for your blogs as soon as they mention them.

The goal of including your team in videos is to personalize your brand and create dimension. Having different employees describe your products/services highlights your features and benefits through multiple perspectives and voices.

Keep in mind that there many different ways to make a successful video; the goal is to figure out what works best for your business. In this case, you want to keep your visitors on your website after watching your videos, with the goal of generating visitors into leads/trials/customers.

Remember to include: customer testimonials that describe why people love your business and your online tools (ones available on your website); verbal references to your products/services and how they help your customers; and lastly, Call to Actions that direct traffic to other spots on your website.

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