A Beginner’s Guide to a Homepage Video
More and more people are watching online video to get the information they want fast. Including a video on your website can help explain your company, product, or service in 2 minutes or less.
Homepage videos can help keep visitors on your page longer, which is great for SEO. For example, according to research by Forrester, having a homepage video increases your chances of being on page one of Google by 53 times when compared to a plain text web page. So what makes an explainer video on your homepage successful?
A homepage video should be short and to the point
When you add the video to your website there are a few things to keep in mind to get the best bang for your buck. Make sure to display the video on your front page and ideally ‘above the fold’ so viewers don’t have to work to find your video. Make the video large, easy to see and be sure it’s obvious that it’s a video people can click on, and not just another image on your page. Use an exciting headline and a nice big play button, and be sure to include a call-to-action link or form directly below or beside the video.
Twisthink Live Action Case Study
When you're in the client services space, often times your people and your process are your product. So, that was caused us to adjust our approach when making this landing page video for Twisthink. With the help of their marketing team behind the scenes, we crafted the perfect prompt that would allow a team of Twisthinkers to cram 8 weeks of process into an 8-hour work day. Meanwhile, we acted as a documentary film crew—capturing authentic moments, a bit of mayhem and peppering in some interviews to help guide the story.
Surge Animated Homepage Video
Surge built a tool for publishers to help them get the same sort of valuable insight and data advertisers do, allowing them to adjust and present their content so that they can gain as much value as possible from the ads they serve. They wanted to develop an animated explainer video that helps explain their product to the publishers the value of this information, and therefore their tool, so we suggested utilizing fluid, water-themed design and animation that would reflect their branding and design.
A homepage video should tell the right story
To get viewers engaged in what they’re watching, you need to produce relatable content, content that people actually care about. For a homepage video, that means telling a story that resonates with your potential customer’s pain points. From there, you need to present your solution, focus on just a few key benefits, and end with a call to action.
We recommend considering the rest of your homepage design while you’re crafting the story for your homepage video. If there are elements that people seem to resonate with the most on your website prior to the production of your explainer video, consider adding more emphasis to them in your video too. Especially if you’re homepage video is at the top of your landing page, you’ll need to get people excited to explore the site more. Speaking of location…
Location, location, location
When you add the explainer video to your website there are a few things to keep in mind to get the best bang for your buck. Make sure to display the video on your front page and ideally ‘above the fold’ so viewers don’t have to work to find your video. Make it large, easy to see and be sure it’s obvious that it’s a video people can click on, and not just another image on your page. Use an exciting headline and a nice big play button, and be sure to include a call-to-action link or form directly below or beside the video.
When we helped Crazy Egg post an explainer video on their homepage, it helped them generate an extra $21,000 in monthly income. The video is easy to see, right at the top when you land on their website, and it’s just begging you to click play and learn more. Furthermore, it’s surrounded by a clear next step or call-to-action. You can even include annotations within your homepage video that allows people to actually click the CTA and move further down the funnel. That’s what we have on our homepage video!
Springpad live action homepage video
This live action video on Springpad.com shows the many features of their app in action. It’s a straightforward way to highlight how an average person can use the app on a day to day basis. The landing page video had well over 200,000 views just a few months after launch. It’s a little more difficult to find than the others, but it fits in well to the rest of the website, is complemented by a hero image that ties into the homepage video, along with some press and a call-to-action.
Showpad homepage video
Finally, this video we crafted for Showpad was dropped on their homepage along with accompanying still photography from the shoot as well. This created a nice cohesive user-experience as they navigated their site. While the video was embedded through their web hosting platform, separately, it has over 350K views on YouTube. So it's been effective outside of the website as well.
Always be testing
Don’t just plop an explainer video on your homepage and call it a day. Always be testing. Use Google Analytics, as well as the data provided by your video host (e.g. YouTube or Wistia) to keep track of how your video is performing and whether or not it has helped increase conversion rates. Tools like Optimizely and Unbounce are just another way to ensure your landing page video is a measurable success.
For help creating your own homepage video drop us a line.
Other Animated Homepage Videos
Identiq: Homepage Explainer Video
Lenovo: Animated Product Video
CloudHealth: Animated Explainer Video