The internet tells us that videos are the best way to communicate or sell stuff. The amount of video is surging by numbers. But in relation to that, it feels like there are not so many great business related videos around.
I think the reason is the expectation we have for a specific video. We don’t play all the videos, just because they are videos. And if we play a video, the expectation we had for it plays a major part in our whole experience with the video.
The way a video is found creates an expectation for it
For best results we need to create a stimulating, even an exited expectation for our business video. Ask Steve Jobs. He would say that every video, in any business, should be thought as purposeful act. It should be thought of like a product of its own. That is the only way to have great want-to-buy experiences. So it might be smart to position your video purposefully too.
Where to put my video?
1. Your Front Page.
You want to put your video on the front page, on the top half of the page. Because it is assertive and it creates an exiting expectation in your visitors head, like: ”Oh, they have a video, cool! Now let’s see what it’s like.“ Click. The visitor is alert, exited and engaged, because of the bold move you are making by positioning your video center stage.
And the best reaction you can get is:” Wow, that was great! I am doing this right now.”
If on the other hand you are positioning your video on the margin of page 4 with a stamp-size thumbnail, you are saying: “We put this video here, because we try to comply with the trends. Please, don’t watch it, because it sucks.”
So the best reaction if someone watched your video there is limited to: “ Hey, that was quite ok. Now let’s see how the other companies compare to this one.”
A major difference in the potential of your video is made in positioning it on your website.
2. In the Web, Contextualized
There really isn’t a common service yet that would give out personalized business video discovery, and there are no well-known video channels where you could expect to find good videos. (If you are creating one, please contact me. )But videos, for now, are like fish swimming in your feeds. What is the most exiting feed and context you think you would find a business related video? Examples:
- An upcoming company shares its video boldly, and it is shared by some relevant players.
- A major corporation shares an update with a challenging question. And it is liked by someone you now in business.
- A video comes up in the most relevant network for it, so many times, by paid advertisement, that you eventually decide that you must see it.
- Someone shares a video that she really praises a lot.
To create your experience, you must craft your own.
Antti Sipilä, CEO, Oneminstory