Is Your Website Connecting With Today's Buyers?

Is your website speaking in an ancient tongue that labels you as out of touch and behind the curve?

Does your website lay there, dead, lifeless, bloodless and unmoving?

If you, your staff or your prospects answer yes to any of these questions, it is time dump your out of date communication style and deliver your message using today's communication powerhouse, video.

Coming soon to your web site: Video, the better new way to deliver your message

Why? Moving images bring your message to life, communicate forcefully and make your product or service engaging, not mind-numbing. Moving images bring your message to life, communicate forcefully and make your product or service engaging, not mind-numbing.

Video helps turn browsers into shoppers and shoppers into buyers. That’s the message from marketers and consultants who study the buying habits of the public.

Think about it. Why do you tune into the "Stuporbowl", a/k/a Superbowl, to watch their hot new ads? Certainly not because you can hardly wait to spend 30 seconds to a minute reading dense small type with a few static photos selected from some uninspiring stock photo site!

Isn't it because those ads are engaging and hold your attention? (Whether these actually sell anything is a topic for later...)

"Pictures that Move"

If a picture is worth a 1,000 words, what are 30 pictures a second going to do for your ability to communicate effectively?If a picture is worth a 1,000 words, what are 30 pictures a second going to do for your ability to communicate effectively?
Video holds the attention of viewers by presenting a message in a more interesting and engaging way and that's more important than ever.

With short attention spans and busy lifestyles, it's difficult to get people to stop and wade through dense, even well done, copy.

All of us, not just the young and even senior citizens, have been trained by TV to have very short attention spans. Don't believe it? Count how many seconds each scene remains on when you watch your next program. Two to three seconds. How long will you watch a commercial before you start changing channels… That is, if you haven't already prerecorded the show and eliminated commercials altogether! Ever fast forward a movie past the boring parts?

We All Have… A.D.D.

How long do you wait for a website to load before clicking away? Three Seconds? Four?. If it loads sloooooowly? You are gone!

Do you scan a web page or read it line by line? The vast majority of people scan for what they are looking to find to satisfy a need, solve a problem or answer a question. It's why headlines and call outs of some of the most important clues to what makes your message worth reading.

Nobody Reads

Well, at least not like they used to. No more leisurely reading through the Sunday Times or local "mullet wrapper," provided you still have a printed paper! Magazines, newspapers and other printed media have been in steep decline because people have little time to sit and sip and read. Today's viewers are not going to dwell on your mind numbing pitch for lukewarm plain tapioca in a magazine, in a brochure or on the web.Today's viewers are not going to dwell on your mind numbing pitch for lukewarm plain tapioca in a magazine, in a brochure or on the web.

Sure, there are exceptions, but just watch yourself and your friends. They and maybe you both text entire messages using Twitter and do it all in less than 140 characters. In fact, to learn to be concise and pithy, try Tweeting. It's a great training aid.

Short and sweet

Even if today’s web site visitors love video, they still have short attention spans. A good 30 second video is OK, two minutes is beginning to push the limit for most subjects.Even if today’s web site visitors love video, they still have short attention spans. A good 30 second video is OK, two minutes is beginning to push the limit for most subjects.

You may be fascinated with your subject matter but your viewers are not. Get the point across fast, with impact. Then stop. You may as well, they probably won't watch past a couple of minutes anyway unless it is extraordinarily well done and highly relevant.

There are exceptions to this of course, but for promotional and introduction videos, short is better. Long is hard to watch. If it must be long, break it up into pieces so viewers can stop and come back later.

You Have to Engage

No secret how this trend started: Our culture has been trained by television for decades. Today, YouTube postings have escalated beyond all expectations to the point no one knows how many are there. Just how popular video has become is reflected in these statistics:

• In it's first six months after launching in 2006, YouTube had 100 million visitors a day, and had 65,000 videos uploaded daily.
• In 2009, they had 1.2 Billion videos shown daily.
• Today, the number of videos shown daily exceed 2 billion and YouTube has more than 490 million users.
• More video is uploaded every 60 days than all 3 major US networks created in 60 years.

Dull? Boring? Did You Skip These Statistics?

No? Note the above is a bulled list, not a PhD dissertation. We like quick succinct messages easily found and absorbed.

Now compare these printed statistics ability to hold your interest vs. a video covering the subject.

"Social Media Statistics & Facts 2011"

Which was more engaging, which boring? Which did you prefer, words or a video?

Isn't it time to begin dumping all that dense copy and dull, boring words on your website and start using more video to communicate?Isn't it time to begin dumping all that dense copy and dull, boring words on your website and start using more video to communicate?

Welcome mat

What kind of video should you post? For starters, how about a video welcome mat?

“Consider a ‘welcome’ video on the very first page of your web site,” suggests Ruth Sherman, a communications consultant based in Greenwich, Conn. “Let visitors see and connect with you. Welcome them to your site and tell a little about your store and its philosophy and mission.”

This can be done very effectively using an actor filmed on a green screen background. The green background is knocked out and just the actor seems to walk on to your page and deliver your message.

As they say, "Don't try this at home." You may love to hear yourself talk and see your image - business owners are particularly bad about this.You may love to hear yourself talk and see your image - business owners are particularly bad about this.
Unless you are an actor with experience, about 90% of us frankly are terrible.

A walk on video is not always what you should do. It's simply one possibility. Effective communication takes expertise, experience and clarity of purpose and thought and it's particularly true with video. Anyone can use their cell phone to create a video and it will work if you are capturing the little green men getting out of a spacecraft… but for your business, you want a professional look even if that look seems informal, the difference has an impact that says "good, quality, smart, sharp" and not "homegrown, amateur, cheap, dull, unprofessional…" Keep that in mind.

Here are some additional video thoughts:

• Tips on using merchandise. “Demonstrate how to use your merchandise for the best results,” suggests Sherman.
• Testimonials. To paraphrase an old bromide "How do you know a marketer is lying? Answer: Their lips are moving." No one believes a word you say, unattributed testimonials are discounted.No one believes a word you say, unattributed testimonials are discounted.
  It's why people turn to peer review sites and testimonials for unbiased feedback. What better place than testimonials to get videos of your customers telling others what a great product or company you are?
• News. Tell your customers what to expect in the coming months in terms of merchandise, services, and trends that will affect their lives.

There are many other opportunities for using video effectively. The sidebar offers some suggestions for finding professionals who can help you create what you need to deliver your messages effectively and efficiently.

What To Do With Your Video

Double your video power by uploading your video production to YouTube. YouTube gives you more exposure because it has its own powerful search engine and ranks second or third in use along with Facebook and Google for searches. Double your video power by uploading your video production to YouTube. YouTube gives you more exposure because it has its own powerful search engine and ranks second or third in use along with Facebook and Google for searches.

Help people searching YouTube find your service or store by labeling all of your videos with titles and descriptive paragraphs with key words.

You can set up your own YouTube account with nothing more than a username and password. Drive traffic to your channel with hyperlinks on your website labeled “Watch our videos on YouTube.”

Production Advice

Just because you have a scalpel doesn't mean you are a surgeon!  Professional video production requires professional equipment, the skill to use it and professional help.

Some of today's prosumer video equipment is capable of producing excellent results near broadcast quality. One of the best is Canon's Vixia line of camcorders. They offer lot of capability and are reasonably priced. Besides the camera, you'll need a quality microphone, fluid head on a sturdy tripod and good lighting.

However, producing quality video is more than just having a the camera, a lot more. This is a mini-movie that requires experience crafting the very best way to present your company, its products, services, etc. Use professional talent and professional videographers, not just anyone with a video camera. It takes experience and professional equipment to do this well.

Framing, pacing, lighting, scripting, background... there are college courses on how to do this well and it takes years of experience to produce quality work.  Your viewers may not know what's wrong but will feel something is off, wrong.  Is that the image you want to project?

One thing you'll totally miss until you do it is that editing video into a polished work is a real art, special software and a lot of time. It takes a lot of experience, skill, software, robust hardware… and time, time, time to do it well. For example, it can take as 8 hours or even more to produce just one finished minute. Now you understand why it takes so long, sometimes over 2 years, for a feature length movie to be released after it finishes production.

The Producer

An experienced producer is essential to creating a professional video.

A producer works with you from concept through delivery, bringing in and coordinating in the talent needed to take a concept and turn it into a video message that accomplishes your goals.

In summary, good video is the result far more than the lighting, sound, framing, camera angles, etc. Good video results are not accidental, the process is not cheap and takes a lot of skill to do well. Anyone can do something but it's not remotely close to a professionally produced video.

But then again, it's part of your brand, image and reason why someone should buy from you. How do you want to face up to the world?

How to Hire a Video Producer

Start by doing some homework before you start talking to producers.

• Be absolutely clear about what the purpose of your video is and what specific business goal or goals is it designed to help achieve? What outcome do you want from your video: people to pick up the phone and call? Contact you for more information? Come in your store?
• What are the #1, #2 and #3, etc. things the video must communicate to accomplish those goals?
• Who is the target audience? Are all your customers the same or are they different ages, incomes, backgrounds? Are the goals above the same for each or do they change?
• How can you measure the impact of your video? Can you tell if your video accomplished its purpose?
• What is your budget for the video? If you are thinking "under $100" consider that professionally produced video goes for $1,000, even more per finished minute plus the cost of any "talent," that is, professional actors or voice over specialists. A TV commercial can easily cost as much as $20,000 to $30,000 a minute to produce.
• Good video is expensive, is your message worth paying the price to deliver compellingly?

You should think "$1,000 a minute" for your video although sometimes you can get it for a good bit less depending on the type of video but that will give you a good budget figure to work from. If you are doing a series of videos you may get a break if they can be done in one or two sessions. The point is, to get quality work takes a reasonable budget. That said, most videos will have a good shelf life and can be repurposed for multiple uses so on an effectiveness scale it is a good investment.The point is, to get quality work takes a reasonable budget. That said, most videos will have a good shelf life and can be repurposed for multiple uses so on an effectiveness scale it is a good investment.

Find and Interview Producers

Google "video production" in your area. You'll get a lot to choose from. Look for firms with broad experience and who have experienced producers on staff. That means people who have done a broad range of projects for clients. The wider the experience set of their producer, the better results you will get.

Interview at least 3 firms if they are available. You may be surprised that you can find great producers who can do a great video for you who work virtually so don't count them out because they don't have a shiny studio. They know how to pull together everything needed to do a great video using freelancers and rental resources.

It's not the shiny studio that makes the video, it's the producer, within reason of course. Looking at producers who operate virtually may get a better price because you are not paying for a building that sits idle… and today, the studio is hiring freelancers who come in and do the work and studios are for rent all over the place anyway.

Don't let it be about the "art," or the flashiness. It's easy to get seduced by glitz, equipment and many production companies play on that. Your video is about driving business, its' not about the glitz, the equipment or winning ADDY Awards. It's about getting more sales for you.It's easy to get seduced by glitz, equipment and many production companies play on that. Your video is about driving business, its' not about the glitz, the equipment or winning ADDY Awards. It's about getting more sales for you.
Equipment and flashiness may help do that but you need to understand how all that translates to reaching your goal. You'll be supporting the art, equipment and glitz enough with your payment, thank you.

Help and Information

Want to discuss how you can put video to work in your business, contact me to get some ideas and advice on developing the goals for your video messages, I'll help you focus your message.

If you would like to learn more about custom video and how it can work in your business, email the author. We'll do our best to help you discover if this may help you sell more, quicker.

by Chris Dekle, FocalPoint of Georgia Area Developer, Atlanta, GA