Design in Motion: Top 5 Video Formats to Boost Website Engagement in 2020

Videos are an engaging and informative way to communicate with your customers. They can add a personal touch to your website, help move customers to the next stage of the buying journey and help cement your brand in the customer’s mind.

Video can be used in a range of ways both on and off your website, and it can be difficult to know where to start. To help you out, we’ve compiled a list of the 5 most effective uses of video we’ve seen on websites over the last year.

1. Demo Videos

When a user lands on your homepage they will probably see a lot of information. You’ll be talking about your brand, your target audience, your products and services, your testimonials, your company history… in truth, it can all be a bit over-facing for some visitors. A sleek 30-second product demo on your homepage, or indeed on any page, gives the visitor a simple alternative. A safe, simple, low-investment way to take it all in.

In your video, you can walk them through the journey you wanted them to take through your site content. In many ways it’s a much better method of communicating to users because you’re in control. Instead of having them scan through the content and get distracted, you can direct their full attention and tell your story how you want it to be told.

2. Expert Videos

Nothing gets a potential customer on board faster than offering them something for free. Having an industry leader or one of your internal experts talk to your site’s visitors is a fantastic way to build trust and kickstart relationships.

You can think outside of the box here too. In fact, we’d advise it. If you sell cleaning products for the home for example, your customers may also want to hear tips about interior design or hacks for hosting a dinner party. By branching out from your core offering to cover your target market’s interests, you can establish your brand more broadly as a source of value.

3. Animated Videos

Camera shy? Don’t have the equipment or budget for the quality film productions you want to create? Animation can be a great alternative.

The sky’s the limit for animated videos. It can be a lot cheaper to go for 2-D character design and animation rather than 3-D, however if you’re thinking of making a series of films then even 3-D character creation can become very cost-effective. Once you have your characters, you are not tied to locations and you can really start thinking big! For limited video production budgets, animation can open up whole new worlds, quite literally.

4. Video Case Studies & Testimonials

In many industries, your ability to sell hinges entirely on your ability to show strong testimonials and case studies. Rather than making your website visitors read a short dissertation for each project, why not have them hear your customers say how great you are in their own words?

It’s a well-established fact that reviews and testimonials increase conversion rate because people trust them more than promises from the seller. The nicest video case studies we’ve seen also include soundbytes from internal staff involved in the project, so the viewer gets to hear from your experts and your customers at the same time.

5. Video Customer Service

This can be done in a range of different ways to suit your brand and your customers. The videos themselves could be animated, screenshares or filmed. Regardless of the format, the idea is to create a series of short films that address a range of common questions and issues for your customers. Think of it like a video FAQ.

By investing a little into video production for your customer service, even if it’s only for a small number of FAQs, it will show the customer that you are investing in their satisfaction. Showing your customers how important they are by going the extra mile with this can really pay off.

Video Marketing

The beauty of video is that it is so versatile. A well made video can be shared on social media, sent via email, placed on your website or even embedded into other websites. Then of course there is the added benefit of having your videos appear in Google’s search results as well as gaining access to any potential customers who might be using YouTube.

Speak to our team to find out how you could harness the immense power of video on your website.