Video is just about as common as images on the Internet these days, more and more websites are using it and with YouTube and other such services it is likely to increase.
Video is considered as one of the best methods for communicating with audiences but there a lot of sites that use video and it not doing them any good.
I came across a website recently that was of a graphic designer. The trouble was that when I visited the homepage, on the right there was a video it made me check it out but it was not related to the graphic designer. It looked very good, I actually watched the whole thing and it was just over ten minutes long. I don’t often do that but this video was very creative and it captivated me. Having a video on your website is great but it has to be for the right reasons. When it is not your video or it is not about you then you should question why should you use it?.
After I had watched the video I simply closed the browser tab and carried on what I was doing. I was not engaged in the website or who it was about in fact I cannot remember who it was or anything about them or their work, all I can remember is the YouTube video they had on their site.
Some good reasons to use video on your website are for example to use video to draw in your visitor to show such things as an existing client using your product or service, tutorials, before and after showreels or to bring something to life so the visitor can see it for themselves in action.
Video is best for communicating a simple, convincing message
Another problem with some videos is that they can be overly long and can also be overly technical. A long video, even if it makes some really good points, drives people away. A good video will communicate what your business is about and will further explain why someone should do business with you or engage with you on your blog.
Video blogging can be a great way of getting a message over to your visitor in a animated way either with you being filmed or with animated effects. How many of you do video blogging? Do you feel they are good or bad? Personally I feel they can be good but as I have explained above they can also drive your visitor away so don’t push them in your visitors face. I like ti when they are an option to view them rather than a necessity.
If you are going to use a video on your website make sure it is relevant to your site and does not drive your visitors away by being to long, too technical for your audeience or simply not engaging.
Yeah, video is great. I saw Yaro always posted video posts on his blog, I think that is one of the reason his blog is so successful. I am planning to post video posts too, but first I have to get a web camera or video camera.
Thanks for sharing the idea!
I love using video and I plan to do it more often now that kids are back in school and the house is quieter LOL I also plan to go back and "read" my old blog posts aloud and record them and make them an audio/video so I can redistribute them to get more mileage out of them. Thanks for the great post. *SmiLes* Suzanne
I shall keep my eye out for them
One thing bloggers might considers in regards to video is to take existing posts as a jumping off point for asides and riffs.
Instead of just reading an old blog post on-camera, take the ideas in it and apply them to a hypothetical situation or maybe expand upon them in ways that are interesting but didn't seem important enough for the original article.
Just like you would if you were doing a presentation, you wouldn't read from the slides you use them as bullet points and elaborate form there.