Every now and then we get asked whether or not online video “really works”. There are plenty of case studies that help prove the efficacy of online video (e.g. Dropbox, ZenCash, and Dollar Shave Club), but few more powerful and well documented than the studies published on the Crazy Egg explainer video (below) by Neil Patel at Quicksprout and the geniuses at Conversion Rate Experts. After Crazy Egg added our video to their site, it helped them generate $21,000 per month in extra income, and increase conversion rates by 64%. Not to brag or anything, but that’s a pretty incredible return, and a very solid argument for investing in online video!
So what did we learn from working on the Crazy Egg video?
A conversion-oriented script is essential. I’ve said it before, but it’s worth re-stating again here. A well written script is the the foundation of a successful online video (explainer, marketing, promo, you name it). It should effectively explain the problem, introduce your product or service as the solution, showoff your features, and get people to take action (e.g. sign-up, call in, buy now). The last part is the conversion part, and it’s the most important step. Without a conversion, it’s just another entertaining (hopefully) video in someone’s otherwise busy day.
Introduce yourself early on. Some people like to wait 90 seconds before introducing viewers to what it is they’re selling. This is a mistake. It’s great to illustrate the pain point and connect with your audience, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of the main goal of the video – exposing viewers to your company and driving them to action. With CrazyEgg, we put their value proposition right at the start of the video, so even if people quit watching 60 or 90-seconds in, they still received the core message (or at least a part of it).
Video placement is important. For a video to be effective, people need to see it. To see it, it needs to be easy to find and easy to play. People shouldn’t need to dig around your website to find the video, and they shouldn’t need to download any plugins or update their browser to watch it. CrazyEgg chose to place the video prominently on their homepage – you can’t miss it. In addition to the video, they have a compelling headline, some social proof, and a big, yellow button just begging to be clicked.
Use a professional voice talent. You can write the best script in the world and create award winning visuals, but without a voiceover that sounds great, you’re wasting your time, and money. An engaging, confident voice can do wonders for the effectiveness of your video. It will keep people interested and ensure that they understand the content being delivered. Likewise, a poor quality voiceover with subpar quality and lack of excitement can completely kill the flow and energy behind your video, making your company look unprofessional.
A/B test your video. Too many people “set it and forget it”. They add a video to their website and move on to the next thing. You can’t improve something unless you understand how well it’s working to begin with. In order to get the most value out of online video, you need to measure the results and continually try to improve on them. CrazyEgg used analytics to keep track of the video’s effect on revenue and conversion rates, and Wistia (our favorite video hosting service) to monitor video engagement. You can use A/B or split testing to try new variations of your video (e.g. different call to action, different voice) or placement on your website (e.g. front and center on the homepage, below the fold).
Have you measured the results of video on your website? What were the results and what lessons did you learn along the way?