News

21 July 2017 Abdi

Using video to engage website visitors

Over the past couple of years we’ve seen a surge in the number of membership organisations looking to add videos to their online content mix. As a digital agency working within the third sector we’re always on the lookout for simple ways our clients can better deliver their membership offering and improve engagement with members. One of these ways is, without a doubt, video.

The average user spends 88% more time on a website with video

www.wordstream.com

Should you use video content on your website?

The statistics say yes. Video content is predicted to make up around 70% of all consumer traffic in 2017 and over the last decade marketers have embraced video as a serious marketing platform, with various household brands and third sector organisations now incorporating online videos into their marketing campaigns. The benefits of these include:

  • Dynamism grabs and holds a users’ attention like no other content
  • Content can be more creative and engaging than say in an infographic, article or image
  • You can reach an audience with stronger, more moving messages than static graphics
  • Videos can be indexed by Google in its ranking and can be used to drive traffic to your website.

Where to host the video content

Where to store and host your video is your next thing to focus on. If you’ve got an advanced CMS, like River (which we would, of course, highly recommend), you should have a media manager to store your videos. Another option would be to use an external providers’ service, such as YouTube, Wistia or for live streaming USTREAM.

Unlike River, it’s important to note that external providers such as the ones above often have limitations on how much you can customise elements of the video (e.g. frame, play button styling and instant play function).

How to engage members using video

Videos are a powerful tool which can help to grow your membership. Here are some tips on how to use videos to engage your members and gain new members:

Produce an engaging, professional video
To maximise impact ensure your video tells a story. Use real people where possible and ensure you have a call to action. This can be verbal or non-verbal and are known to have a direct impact on conversions.

Ensure your videos are relevant
Watching a video which does not contain the messages/content you were expecting or is located somewhere it shouldn’t is off-putting. If you’re adding multiple videos to the website ensure you have a library which is fully responsive. This will ensure it looks perfect for mobile users; the key audience for video.

Enable and encourage sharing
Making your videos sharable will help to drive your message on social media platforms and reach more current and potential members. Do this with credits in your video and using links and icons where possible.

Viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video compared to 10% when reading it in text.

www.wordstream.com

Video and Senior

We’ve a dedicated Marketing and Project Management team with experience in producing videos for a wide range of organisations. When creating a video you need to have a clear vision of the message you want to get across. Our team are happy to work with you to create an innovative, professional video to communicate your messages in your brand colours and tone of voice. Chat to one of the team today and check out our own YouTube channel for our own work!

View more like this: How to improve member retention

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