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Video can make a big difference in the effectiveness of your website. Most websites, including financial advisor sites are about conveying information. The easier you make your content to process for your visitors, the more likely they are to stick around. Video is a great way to do this.
Visitors who stick around are more likely to sign up for newsletters, fill out your contact form or reach out to you directly. To give you sense of what I mean, here are some numbers:
According to emarketer.com, a majority of business people surveyed by Forbes in October 2010 said they watched more video compared to last year.
-- 60% of respondents said they would watch video before reading content on the same page, and -- 22% said they generally liked watching video more than reading text for business information.
-- 75% of all executives said they watched work-related videos on business websites at least once a week.
-- 65% of U.S. executives surveyed visit a website after viewing a work-related online video.
-- 53% conducted a search for a vendor/product/service for more information.
-- 42% made a business-related purchase.
What this tells us is that decision makers like to gather information by watching videos.
Here are four ways to use video on your website that will improve your content, engage your visitors, and retain their attention.
Tell Your Story
Create a video for your “About Us” page that demonstrates your firm’s personality, vision, and philosophy. It’s a great way to bring to bring your firm to life in the eyes of your visitors. Doing so will help create an immediate connection and lasting impression. It will also be a welcome change from the standard copy found on so many “About Us” pages.
Share Your Expertise
A video on your firm’s services page can help attract and convert potential clients. Most people try to envision themselves working with you before they actually hire you. What better way to help them along than with a video?.
You can create informative videos that provide visitors with an in-depth look at your expertise. Or consider using video to present a hypothetical case study that demonstrates how you work with clients. Whatever you choose, you’ll be making it a lot easier for prospects to picture themselves working with you.
Curate Video Content
Not feeling camera-ready? Aggregate, curate and publish other expert videos. Feature videos that are interesting, relevant and valuable to your clients. Sources include news sites, investment management company sites (Vanguard has some great video content), and other financial industry sites. Think more about how the videos tell a story, rather than being sales driven. Look for videos that are related to the expertise of your firm.
Video curation can position you as a go-to resource for news, information and tips with potential clients and across the financial industry.
Increase Your Website Traffic
Search engines love video and it can be used to drive traffic to your website. Create a variety of videos, each focusing on a different search term, and incorporate targeted keywords when titling and tagging them on your site. Then publish them to video sharing sites like YouTube, Flickr, and Vimeo -- adding the same keywords you used when posting them to your site. Also make sure to post them to your social media profiles. Search engines will pick them up and publish them in their search results.
Are you using video on your website? How has it helped your business?
