Small business owners and marketers can always use an online marketing tool that’s proven to increase interest and sales among their (hard-earned) web site visitors. Product or service Internet videos can increase the so-called ‘conversion rate’ of a website according to some business owners’ anecdotal feedback.
Photo: My partner’s video cameras, Flip Minnow and 3-year old, Sony HD
Conversion Rates Matter
If you’re working to improve your website conversion rate, an online video maybe a useful marketing tactic.
‘Conversion rate’ refers to the percentage of the people that visit your small business web site that take the action you’re hoping they’ll take. The action might be to:
- Join your email newsletter list
- Download your how-to articles
- Bookmark your site for future visits
- Subscribe to your RSS feed to follow your content updates in a news reader
- Or (best) call your company for more information, or to make a purchase
Video Is Ideal for Telling a Story
Social media marketing is all about creating an online conversation and telling stories that connect with buyers. People that need your products to get things done. A great way to turn web visitors into buyers is to tell a compelling story about your company and your products and services that draws them in. A story that makes them want to contact you!
Bedhog, an ecommerce company, does just that with their video. The entrepreneur briefly tells the story about how, as newlyweds, she and her husband debated over who took up more room in bed and a charming new bedding product was born. Check out the Bedhog video by TurnHere here. Sleepsquad is a time-saving concept for mattress buyers.
Not Ready to be a Video Producer?
It’s been my experience when working with business owners, that the biggest challenge is the time involved. It can be relatively easy with today’s easy to use digital video cameras to make a video. But it does take time and a bit of experience using the camera. And some level of editing is usually needed to prepare a somewhat professional video. That’s why the Internet gods have created outsourcing.
If, after checking out the results many businesses are experiencing, you’d like to dip your toe into the online video pool, you could try outsourcing to a company like TurnHere.
TurnHere creates and distributes online videos for small business owners among others. They manage creating the online video for you from beginning to end—making it easy for small business owners that are not ready to buy a digital video camera and do it themselves.
TurnHere has many happy customers and some interesting data about the value of online video to increase interest and sales. Here are some results shared with me by TurnHere. Their partners and some third party research organizations compiled the results:
- 52% of viewers take action after watching online videos
- 30% of viewers visit a store
- Clicks for more information increase by 30-40%
- Phone calls to your business increase 16-20%
TurnHere does a nice job of helping professional services companies to tell their stories in an interesting, non-slick-advertising way.
Is an online video that educates your web visitors about the value your company offers an answer for improving your sales? It will depend on how effective the video is at demonstrating exactly how your products and services fill a need for the web visitor, potential buyer. The video must be short and compelling without being too salesy.
TurnHere Benefits
I think—if you haven’t already got a friend, child, niece, or local provider that can do a video within your budget—the TurnHere solution is worth a look. Here’s why:
Video producers that are recruited by TurnHere are experienced film folks. That means they know how to help you, the business owner, tell your product or service story in a compelling and professional manner.
- Brevity is key. They help you create a video that is 60 to 90 seconds in length.
- You review the finished video online. Best of all, you don’t have to learn how to “edit” video.
- You only spend part of a day shooting it and the producer comes to your location.
- TurnHere will distribute your video to online video sharing sites for you, if you wish.
- The videos are professional and polished.
A small company I know here in San Diego is trying out the TurnHere service. I will let you know about their experience.
Meanwhile, if you’re not up to producing a DIY Internet video for your business, check out TurnHere. They often have promotions and specials running.
Full disclosure: The nice public relations person for TurnHere, Alison McNeill, sent me a note about this service and I really liked the quality, and the short, to-the-point length of the videos. So I am posting about it.
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