Landing page videos are usually short (1-2 minutes) video content that presents a condensed explanation of your offer, featuring user-oriented language and visuals.
There are many kinds of landing page videos: animated explainer videos, live-action explainers, talking heads, screencast tutorials, and more.
Are landing pages with videos any good? Absolutely.
Many websites receive benefits and conversion lifts after adding videos to their landing pages. We’ve rounded up some of the best examples for you to read:
CrazyEgg
In one of their blog post, CrazyEgg says they received a 64% boost in their conversion rates AND a $21k increase in their monthly revenue after their investment in a landing page video for their site.
Vidyard
Vidyard saw a whopping 69% conversion lift on their landing page after implementing a video.
Interestingly, they also tried using a lightbox popup for their video, and the conversion jumped 100%, even better than with a standard embed video they had before.
Why do landing page videos work?
Using videos on landing pages is one of many ways to optimize conversion rates. In fact, it’s been documented by EyeView that using a video on a landing page can increase conversion by as high as 86%.
One reason why landing page videos are good for conversion rate optimization (CRO) is that they replace the function of copywriting on your landing page, allowing you to clear out excessive amounts of text.
DesignBoost implemented shorter copy on their landing page back in 2012 when their website was brand-new. They generated a 13% increase in their sign-up rate.
Let’s say your website is a novel, and an explainer clip is an epilogue that shows your offers in a short and value-packed way in order to save visitors’ time.
What are the rules for landing page explainer videos?
Like everything else in marketing, the area of using videos on landing pages has its own best practices. In this post, I’ll lay out the ground rules for using landing page videos.
#1 Make your explainer the center of attention.
It’s crucial that you make your explainer video the center of attention on your landing page.
It’s crucial that you make your explainer video the center of attention on your landing page.
Aside from improving the user experience when surfing online, especially on your website, the purpose is to make the video stick out so whoever visits your website can’t help but click the play button.
For example, one of our clients, Bubbl.us, has a nice video placement on their website. The centered position at the top of their page makes it hard for visitors to miss it.
After all, what’s the point of having a landing page video if your visitors don’t notice it? Placing it in obvious spots means making the most out of a video’s potential.
You want your visitors to watch the video unless you are 100% sure that your landing page’s design and a copy will convert. (Chances are, though, they won’t.)
#2 Keep the video and the copy short
The ideal length of an explainer video is anywhere between 90 to 120 seconds. We didn’t arrive at this figure just by guessing. We did a little research on our own data.
Out of 400k views we received from our YouTube channel, we came to learn that 320k views came from videos with a duration of 90 to 120 seconds.
It’s not a good strategy to have an entire landing page with only an explainer video. Some copy and content are still needed, no matter the quality of your explainer video.
However, the reason to upload an explainer video to your landing page is to explain, in a simpler way, what you have to offer. In other words, you provide more accessible resources. Most internet users tend to avoid reading long texts. They prefer watching a video if one is available.
Here are some suggestions I want to share for the best content you can use to increase your landing page’s credentials (and also build brand trust):
#3 Testimonial and client lineup
It’s common sense to put a lineup like this on your landing page — it showcases your success with clients and what they think about you. Among the many types of social proof, client testimonials can be one of the most impactful on new customer acquisition, plus it’s quite easy to make.
#4 Results showcase
A client showcase is not as strong as client testimonials in terms of providing social proof since they’re only a gathering of company logos to some people. If your past clients include Fortune 500 companies, you will increase your chances of better conversions to your product/service.
#5 Make the video look professional.
This is a no-brainer. Just because you can install Adobe Creative Suite or other tools on your computer doesn’t mean you can (or should!) make your own explainer video.
Always use a professional video production company for your landing page, or any page, for that matter.
To make your time more effective, you can start by mining your brain for basic ideas for preparing your explainer video script. Once you’re done with that, you can hire an explainer video company or freelance graphics designer. (I recommend the first option.)
Explainer videos are not always affordable for startups with tight budgets, but they’re worth investing in. Also, there are numerous kinds of animated explainers you can use for your business.
One of our clients, Access, has experienced the benefits firsthand: They received recognition by an influencer in their niche because their explainer video caught his attention.
#6 Do not auto-play your landing page videos
Only a handful of things annoy people more than autoplay media.
However, an ongoing debate has been taking place as to whether or not autoplay should be used between marketers. After all, they come to your website looking for a solution to their problem. Yes, that part is true, but give them control over the information they’re trying to digest.
If you feel that autoplay is a must for your website, try using silent full-screen contextual video.
What’s a silent contextual video?
Story and Heart use silent contextual video with subtitles on their home page. Go take a look to see what a silent contextual video looks like.
#7 Test its value
A landing page explainer video is only one of many key elements in a landing page. Thus it should be tested just like the headline, copy, call to action, etc.
You can easily grab a couple of metrics from your video:
Play Rate
The video play rate is the comparison between landing page visits and the number of times your landing page video is played. If the video doesn’t get a significant enough play rate, you might want to reconsider its positioning and thumbnail.
You can use a heat map tracker to guide you decide a better position, like CrazyEgg, to track which elements of your landing page are working well and which are not, including your landing page video.
Combined with your video analytics, like what Wistia has, you’ll get a better insight into how landing page visitors interact with your video.
View Counts
The view count is obviously a big deal. When your video receives a lot of views, it means that you’ve found the sweet spot on your landing page for the video.
If you think it should get more views than it has, runs an A/B test by trying different locations for your landing page video. If it still gets fewer views than you think, it should try changing the thumbnail for your landing page video using these tips.
View Duration
The purpose of keeping your landing page explainer video short and sweet is to ensure that your visitors watch its entirety. This metric will help you find out whether or not its duration is right.
Closing Thought
An explainer video is already awesome marketing content on its own. If you can score a great explainer video and follow these rules, your landing page conversion should increase in a heartbeat:
- Always leave the video production to the professionals.
- Ensure the video placement is obvious.
- Test and measure are supporting elements (headlines, showcase, call to action) on the landing page.
However, keep in mind that a landing page works as a whole. All its elements, like headlines, sub-headlines, copy, and design, play their parts in making a landing page work.
Your explainer video won’t work magic by itself. Do some fine-tuning on other landing page elements, and don’t forget to run tests to find out what works and what doesn’t!
Author Bio
Andre Oentoro is the founder of Breadnbeyond, an award winning explainer video company. He helps businesses increase conversion rates, close more sales, and get positive ROI from explainer videos (in that order).
Twitter: @breadnbeyond
Email: andre@breadnbeyond.com
