Posted by Catie Foertsch on Thu, Jun 11, 2009 @ 06:30 AM
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There are many reasons to use video on your website - excellent communication, emotional connection, engagement, relationship-building, message-conveying, etc. But perhaps the most important reason, the one big over-arching reason, is this: video allows you to differentiate your company. It lets you tell your story. Video is the best medium on the planet |
for conveying story, and your story tells potential customers who you are and how you're different.
You'd think this is what your website does, but the problem with websites is that to someone who's looking for what you sell, they all look the same. If you're an accountant, they all have a CPA-ish look. If you're a marketing agency, they're all creative but in the same general way. Law firm? University? Hotel? Software firm? Your websites have the same menu buttons. Click the ‘services' button and they list the same services. You've spent hours and hours picking your color scheme and agonized over just the right logo, but to people who are out there on the web looking for what you sell, well, you've got services and menu buttons and colors and a logo, just like everybody else. Your website just doesn't communicate - in an easily-accessible way - how you're different. What you offer. Why you'd be a good match - or not.
So why does video do the job? Because by its very nature - by being a little movie that tells your story - it fulfills the differentiation formula:
A+B+C=D
A= Authenticity. When I watch a video of you explaining an aspect of your services, or a testimonial video with one of your customers talking about one of your products, or video of your employees operating your equipment and making your product, I'm watching real people and I know it. It's authentic, you're authentic, and I get that immediately.
B= Believability. Do you know what you're talking about? Are you knowledgeable? Are you an expert? These are qualities we pick up on right away when we watch someone speak. You can fake it in text, but not when you're speaking. Do we believe that the customer who's giving a testimonial is real, and is really enthusiastic about your product? Again, you can fake it in text but not in video.
C=Chemistry. Chemistry is, simply, a feeling of connection. We have chemistry when we talk to someone we like, or someone we feel we could do business with. Chemistry goes a long way toward initiating a buy decision if people are already looking for your product or service. And if you're a business that involves face-to-face interaction (accountant, attorney, etc.), then chemistry is essential. It tells your potential customers if they could indeed do business with you.
D= Differentiation. This is what happens when your potential customers see that you have Authenticity and Believability, and when they feel Chemistry. Now you're different - now you're no longer one of the crowd of generic companies that all offer the same thing. Now there's a connection, and your potential customer has a reason to stay on your website and dig deeper, to find out more about you, and to choose you.
So - if you're wondering if video is a good idea for your website, ask yourself if it's important that people who visit your website understand how you're different from your competitors. If the answer is yes, then you know what to do.