As a web developer, if you chance upon a comparison of the landing page and video landing page, what would be your first reaction?
Both have all the characteristics of an excellent landing page. So, what sets them apart? Why does the subconscious choose the video landing page?
It’s simple. It’s the video on the page. Boy, what a difference one element can make.
Nowadays, we see numerous landing pages with videos. Why? Because videos convert like CRAZY!
The Benefits of Using Video Landing Pages
It doesn’t make any sense. These are nothing but landing pages with videos embedded to help explain the value of a service or product offered to the visitor. So, why add a video to a landing page? How does it make a difference?
As a web developer, you must be well aware that videos embedded in the right place add aesthetic value to the page.
Are there other benefits?
A video landing page has a clear edge over its traditional counterpart. Here are two more reasons:
Make Complex Concepts More Comprehensible
Text content seems to lose appeal with almost everyone when complex products, services, and concepts are explained. In contrast, video landing pages appear to have no trouble at all. In fact, videos can deliver plenty of information in a short period.
Videos can both show and explain the intricate details of a product and small nuances of services often overlooked by prospects while reading text content. Video landing pages also ace at engagingly explaining difficult concepts.
Entertains and Emotionally Engages the Prospect
Here is a secret that consumers don’t know. A secret that marketing professionals have been using for decades. If brands manage to emotionally engage the audience, they have a higher chance of converting. That’s because people respond to emotions.
Videos excel in using emotional cues to attract attention, entertain and engage the audience, and make them take the action that brands want. While text and photo content is limited by the range of emotional cues they can convey, videos aren’t bound by those limitations.
Tips to Create a Video Landing Page that Converts
We both concur on an important point. Video landing pages are better than the text and image-only versions.
Next in sequence is the process of creating a video landing page that converts. These ideas should help you win people over.
Decrease Page Load Time
Page load time matters. It’s directly linked to user experience and SEO. Landing pages that take longer to load sees a higher bounce rate.
More than half of the visitors will leave if the page takes more than 3 seconds to load. Even a 2-second delay increases the bounce rate by more than 100%.
In this case, page speed assumes greater importance because videos can increase the file size. Hence, the page may take longer to load.
Nowadays, people don’t want to wait. If they don’t get what they want immediately, they exit the page. So, make sure the video landing page loads faster.
What can web developers do to decrease page load time?
- Use data compression tools to reduce video size without degrading the quality.
- Stream video straight from the server.
- Convert video files into HTML5 formats.
- Make the video load last; after all other elements on the page loads.
Avoid Using Autoplay Video
The visitor opens a landing page, glances over the text and design, and settles down to watch the video. By that time, the prospect has already missed a few seconds of the video. This is sure to annoy the visitor.
Avoid autoplay and give your prospects control over the video.
Some argue in favor of using autoplay. It’s an alternate view. It says you have only seconds to capture the visitor’s attention. Making the prospect look for the controls and ‘Play’ the video, you lose precious time.
You can settle the debate once and for all by A/B testing the video landing page with and without the autoplay feature. Eventually, you’ll reach the same conclusion and agree with us – people do not like autoplay videos.
Our opinion about avoiding autoplay videos on a landing page is echoed by other experts. Here are three reasons to not use autoplay video:
- Landing page visitors perceive the use of autoplay as an aggressive marketing tactic.
- Autoplay videos irritate the users. According to research by Treepodia, adding a play button to autoplay videos increased the views by 100%.
- Experts believe that the use of autoplay video makes the landing page visitors suspicious of the brand, service, or product.
Create Mobile-Friendly Video Landing Pages
The online community is gradually shifting from desktop and laptop to mobile devices. So much so, 75% of all video consumption is on mobile devices.
Consequently, your video landing page must look good on all devices – desktop, laptop, and mobile devices. Ensure all elements of the landing page are responsive – the text, video, image, and form. The video must play without a glitch on all devices.
What are some of the best practices of mobile-friendly video landing pages that will help you sell?
- Create a simple, clean, and streamlined design.
- Craft short landing page copy without sacrificing clarity.
- Use high contrast colors.
- Opt for a single-column layout.
- Add the click-to-call button.
Keep the Video Short
Does the length of the video on the landing page matter? Yes, our experience shows that prospects lose interest if the video is more than two minutes long.
On average, it takes no more than two minutes to engage the viewer and explain your product, service, or offer in a compact manner.
There are several types of videos you can feature on a landing page. But, no matter the type, no matter how good the video or how interesting the subject is, a short video converts better than the long one.
Reasons to use short videos (clips that are less than 2 minutes):
- People’s attention span is shrinking. So, shorter videos will make sure the viewer watches the video till the end.
- According to research by Wistia, the shorter the video, the higher was the attention span.
- Are you worried about losing prospects because you only have longer videos? Nowadays, video editing cost has gone down substantially. So, you can divide the long video into shorter clips.
Each clip should convey essential information. Besides, it should be short enough to engage the viewer.
Eliminate the Navigation Menu from the Landing Page
Landing pages are designed to engage the visitors and encourage them to take a particular action. That’s the sole purpose of a landing page.
Hence, all the elements of the page must directly or indirectly focus only on promoting the goal.
Reasons to avoid the navigation menu on the landing page:
- You would be sabotaging your efforts by adding unnecessary distractions such as the navigation menu.
- By adding a navigation menu to the video landing page, you’re giving them options. If you want prospects to focus and stay on the landing page, why would you give them a way out?
Give Video the Royal Treatment
If you’re a brand trying to inform or educate about your project or service, video is the go-to medium.
Information shared through video creates an impact, registers quickly, and stays in the memory longer. That’s the reason video content has become the most pursued marketing technique in 2020.
The versatility of video content makes it a better tool than text or photo content.
Hence, highlight the video on the landing page. Design the page, position the video, and use the colors and text in such a way that visitors are completed to watch the video.
How to make the video the main attraction of the landing page?
- Design the landing page around the video.
- Never make the video stand alone.
- Choose the video thumbnail that attracts attention.
- Add captions for visitors and metadata for crawlers.
Focus on Video Quality
This should be the first line in your video marketing strategy – Use high-quality video on your landing page.
Smartphone filmed, authentic video is fine for social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok. Video landing pages must include only high-quality videos.
Some video production best practices to follow:
- Be original and creative.
- Use tripod and quality video recording equipment.
- Pay attention to lights, sound quality, and background sounds.
- Storyboard the video before filming.
- Follow the rule of thirds.
- Make use of the B-roll.
Likewise, endeavor to share content that’s valuable to the target audience.
You have managed to draw prospects to the video landing page using various marketing techniques. Now, win their trust and loyalty with high-quality, valuable content.
Tips to improve video content quality:
- Use a script to develop the video.
- Do not sell or preach; create a video that’s useful and educational.
- Make the first 3 seconds count.
- The person in the video must be friendly and personable.
- Focus on your unique value proposition.
Finally, do not forget to add a Call-to-Action (CAT) on the video landing page.
Final Thoughts
You’ll eventually learn to create the perfect video landing page. But it may take a long time. The process involves A/B testing, analyzing analytics, tweaking features, etc. Cut the wait by following these simple tips to create an effective video landing page that converts.
