How to Use Video Spokespeople to Increase Landing Page Activity

When we speak about the importance of landing page optimization, the question of embedded video and the use of video spokespeople is often brought up – and for good reason. Of course, the effectiveness of embedded video players and related spokespeople is dependent on a bevy of factors, the least of which isn’t the offer, product and context/intent of the audience…but the question still remains: Do video spokespeople actually increase conversion?

Recent surveys of companies that have utilized video spokespeople services such as those offered by Green Screen Talent Now suggest that dramatic gains can, in fact, be realized. Consider:

• Some companies that added embedded video to their landing page – followed by a video spokesperson – reported increased conversion rates from 0.5-percent to 1.0-percent and 2.2-percent, respectively.
• Select companies have reported increasing conversion on their lead-generation page from 0.75-percent to 2.2-percent by adding a web video spokesperson.
• Large, recognized firms have been jumping on this bandwagon as well, with success stories being reported from the likes of Napster, Service Magic and Rhapsody.

Still, with all this information and feedback, the misuse of video has been one of the most treacherous “design sins” on a landing page. But let’s be clear: Including video on your landing page isn’t the problem; the question is, does it support what you want your visitor to do?

How Using Video Spokespeople Increases Landing Page Activity

• Sets the Stage for a Good Performance – It is a fact that the human brain inherently connects with video because this medium is more closely relatable to the real world as compared to static text and images. Some marketing and visual communications experts argue that we already experience the world as “an unfolding, real-time 3D film” – beyond that, actually, because we can smell, taste and touch elements.

Any online element that boasts motion and sound offers a more immersive experience…and people automatically react to that. This is why video spokespeople on websites can be appropriate for very specific goals, such as telling a story or supporting another desired conversion action on the page.

• Sometimes, Simply Watching a Video is a Conversion – If the main conversion goal is for a visitor to simply watch a video, this is actually an ideal format in which to explore a “brand story” (think corporate social responsibility initiatives or benefits and outcome-driven experiences with customers). Now, videos mixed with storytelling can take things to the next level by creating an immediate emotional bond between a brand and the website visitor; often times, a video spokesperson can represent an ideal way of communicating complicated information or teaching.

• Video Can Support Another Conversion Action – Utilizing video as a one-two punch in support of another conversion goal can be a successful tactic. For example, suppose your goal is to have someone watch a video and then fill out a form; companies such as Green Screen Talent Now can easily add call-to-actions to the video in order to seamlessly move the user to the next step along the conversion path.

A Few General Guidelines for a Good User Experience with Landing Page Video Spokespeople

1. Length of Video – In most cases, your video spokesperson should not be talking for more than 30 seconds or so; our research has shown that 33-percent of video viewers bail out within the first 12 seconds of the video.
2. Type of Video – Believe it or not, videos that feature a borderless spokesperson overlaid or superimposed on a web page can yield successful results. From a conversion standpoint, these types of videos win in A/B tests time and time again.
3. Presentation – It’s best not to waste precious landing page real estate using an embedded player or YouTube-embedded widget that takes up half the page; instead, offer a small thumbnail of the video that’s instantly recognizable, and let the visitor choose to play it.

Your chance of video success rises when your production quality is of the premium type – meaning clear audio, ample lighting and a crisp video delivery – you’ve carefully considered the actor or actress in the video as well as the dress style and grooming that’s appropriate for your audience, the script’s content is professionally written and edited in support of the brand message and, perhaps most importantly, you continually test different components of your video production to optimize its effectiveness.