Where do your clients find you?

In 2012, more than ever, business people need to be where their potential customers are looking for their product or service. But where do you put your limited marketing dollars? It’s not print, it’s not direct mail, it’s not the Yellow Pages, and it’s certainly not telemarketing. You are smart enough to know that the web is where your potential customers are looking.

Your business website is the center of your marketing today. It’s the most accessible way for prospects to learn about your business and what you have to offer. And when they come to your site, they need to see the benefits of choosing your company, and they need to see it in a way that appeals to them.

After all, we now live in a world where people want what they are looking for right now, and if we don’t find it in a few seconds, we will simply look elsewhere.

Therefore, your message must be clear, concise, and compelling. In seconds, your website visitors will determine if you can help them.

And how do people get the quickest and most complete picture of what you have to meet their needs? The answer: online video.

Why put a video on your website?

If you don’t know about the web video revolution, you just haven’t been paying attention.

Just over 7 years ago, YouTube was launched to host free web videos, and in that short time, people now watch OVER 2 BILLION VIDEOS PER DAY – on YouTube alone! That’s almost double the primetime viewership of the three major television networks combined.

Hundreds of thousands of videos are uploaded to YouTube every day. In fact, an incredible 24 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube every minute.

While these statistics are staggering, you might be wondering “How does that affect my business?”

In these tough economic times, most companies find that competition for buyers is fiercer than ever. Today, staying ahead of the competition is vital to differentiate your business and attract customers. Today’s internet shoppers see one website after another, day after day. Sites that “make their way” to viewers present their message in an engaging way.

Web videos are a powerful internet marketing medium due to the unique way they engage your visitor, transforming your site into an entertaining and interactive alternative to a standard text-based site. In fact, one-dimensional text-based websites are becoming relics. After all, text requires action and energy on the part of the visitor.

In contrast, web videos allow your viewer to sit back and absorb YOUR message, as it is presented to them. What might require many paragraphs or even pages of text to communicate can be presented in a few interesting moments. Web videos captivate and entertain site visitors, who receive YOUR message.

But don’t take our word for it.

Author Jason Prescott, in a May 2010 report, says: “Video marketing has become one of the best promotional tools on the Web. Well-executed videos can grab attention faster than any other advertising medium. (emphasis mine) as videos continue to appeal to internet users Research by eMarketer shows that 66.7 percent of the 147.5 million US internet users watch online videos on a monthly basis By 2014, eMarketer estimates that the number will increase to 77 percent of Internet users (193.1 million people).

“Online video has gained popularity due to the rapid proliferation of advances in video and broadband technology. This has resulted in the production of profitable premium videos, a dramatic increase in traffic to video-sharing sites, and acceptance of online video in the conventional.

“Consumers are receptive to videos on websites, landing pages, search results pages, emails, and video-sharing sites because they are so engaging and self-explanatory. Video conveys information quickly and accurately, which makes it an excellent tool for marketers because consumers want to know more about the companies they deal with and the products / services they buy. “Video is a very memorable medium. A Wharton School of Business study found that video improves comprehension and retention by 50 percent compared to a live presentation. Other studies have indicated that video speeds up purchasing decisions by 72 percent compared to print. “(Emphasis mine)

Who puts web videos on their site and why?

The short answers: all marketers with a web presence and why it works!

Author Mark Robertson comments in a report from Marketing Sherpa that marketers currently using videos on their sites are quite satisfied with the results and hope to use them in the future. In addition, it reports that a PermissionTV survey states that “more than 2/3 of senior media and marketing executives identified online video as a primary focus of their 2009 digital marketing campaigns and budgets. More than two-thirds said they plan to launch video projects online in the first half of this year. “

In fact, video has become the fastest growing website feature for small businesses.

Recently, Jeffrey Grau, Senior Analyst at eMarketer, authored an in-depth analysis of online video usage for businesses. He notes that retailers are “quickly adding videos to their sites. They find that videos increase sales conversion rates.”

And the future looks even bigger for commercial videos on the web. The multi-channel marketer advises that video is a “must have” for commercial websites, insisting that site owners should “Get their site’s video program in motion … videos can help your site sell more Retailers have learned that … (video) clips can drive site conversion. “

In fact, a report using that same title by author Mark R. Robertson gets to the core of the growing demand for web videos. “Any form of advertising that captures the imagination of cost-conscious local merchants has to be effective. And to that extent, online video is all the rage.”

Get to the details. “It would be difficult for small businesses to stay in online advertising if they couldn’t see increased conversions as a result. Small businesses rarely have the luxury of spending money on brand awareness campaigns. That’s why these increases in Spending Are Exciting – Shows Online Advertising Is Working For Many Small Businesses. In my experience, these small business owners rarely make marketing decisions based on gut feelings. Even when they do, their focus quickly shifts from novelty from means to measured effectiveness In the end, it is usually something measurable in the bottom line that informs and guides your spending decisions.

“The conversion statistics are quite impressive, with 35.5% of clicks generating conversion actions.” (emphasis yours)

He concludes by saying that “more small businesses are spending their money on online advertising, implementing online videos, and targeting search … leading to better click-through rates and higher conversion rates.” (emphasis mine).

In a powerful look at the responsiveness of consumers to web videos, Sally Evans discusses a recent study in Marketing Sherpa. She says “It would be crazy not to get more involved with online video as a marketer. Why? Her study showed that including a video in an ad can increase responsiveness by 49.5%.” (emphasis mine)

In a recent whitepaper, author Justin Foster shares several reports on increased conversions from using video on websites. Some examples:

“So far, the videos have been a success. Testing them on laptop product pages increased conversions and increased accessory sales by 12% in some cases,” said Rich Lesperance, Circuit’s Director of Operations and Web Sales. City.

“We A / B tested 50,000 visits to the product detail page in eBags and measured the conversion rate in Omniture to track the impact of video at the product page level. What we found was that the Conversion rate increased 50.1% for those users who clicked the “play” button on the video compared to the control group, and 138.9% for those users who watched the full video compared to the group of control “. David Witzig, Director of Video and Ecommerce for ShopNBC.com.

“Ice.com, a web-only jewelry retailer, has seen a 40% increase in conversion rates on featured products in online videos, says co-founder and president Mayer Gniwisch.”

Translation: Your customers watch videos on the web before making their marketing decisions. And they are buying based on those videos.

But this is still a vast untapped area in which your competition is likely no taking advantage. By embedding web videos on your site, you will set yourself apart from your competitors.

But the benefits of web video don’t end there.

First, your web video can be a permanent part of your sales effort. While a direct mail article or even a TV ad can generate business for a limited time, a web video stays on your site and sells for you for as long as you want.

And web videos not only do a better job of selling to your customers, but they also help get them to your site in the first place. Placing a video on your site can significantly improve your website’s ranking in search engines.

Internet marketing guru James Burchill says: “Web video marketing is big business now that Google’s new universal search strategy includes videos in search results. According to recent research data, there are 53 times as many chances of your video showing up on Google page 1. (for your selected phrase) than just using a corresponding text-only entry. “

Did you see that? 53 times better!

In another article, Burchill states what we have known all along. “Video is going nowhere. It’s online and it’s here to stay. In fact, it’s only going to get better. So every marketing strategy, regardless of its objectives, will have to incorporate video in some way.”

And now that?

So now that you know you MUST get a video on your company website and other sites as well, now what?

One of the keys is that your video is made in a professional way, as the image of your company deserves it. Professional equipment has gotten cheaper, so your professional video doesn’t have to be too expensive. There are many video production companies available that can do the job for you, but as always, check the references and get a company that has experience. This is not a job for the high school kid who lives on the street with a cheap camcorder …