There’s huge enthusiasm for putting videos on websites, often for no better reason than it’s the thing to do. However, the power of video needs to be handled with care. Here are some suggestions to ensure the beast doesn’t turn round and bite you.
If you are evangelising a product, delivering a tutorial or cooking a curry then you can’t beat a video. But if the purpose of your site is to establish your brand and your credentials, video’s value is less clear. By video I mean a narrative communication, not the ubiquitous Flash animations.
Video will always win the battle for the user’s attention
The premise for using videos on websites is no different than for using them anywhere else; only use video if there isn’t a more economical or simpler way to get the message across. Using video on websites adds a further complication in that you are blending two very different narrative experiences. Being by far the more powerful of the two, video will always win the battle for the user’s attention. And if the video stinks, it will not only steal the show, it could also sink it. Video is very often added as an afterthought, which can be the equivalent of pinning a clown’s nose on a beautiful portrait. Ideally, you should revisit the whole site and build the video into the experience.
Draw users into your site to establish your brand, then show a video
The challenge is to get the video to work in harmony with the website; complementing the text, not reiterating it. If a video on the landing page tells the whole story, users have little incentive to explore further. You could start by drawing them into the site to establish your brand and then show a video that say, reveals your creativity or humour or concern for social issues.
If a video isn’t focused on a customer need, it’s wasting the user’s time
By planning the overall user experience, it’s possible to create a single narrative in which video performs specific tasks, communicating the things that video does best. The worst use of video is a self indulgent rant, telling everyone how wonderful you are or showing off you edgy style. If a video isn’t focused on a customer need it’s wasting the user’s time.
My dos and don’ts for videos on websites:
- Don’t subject visitors to a cheesy animation before they enter the site
- Don’t reiterate the site’s messages, complement them
- Do integrate the video into the site’s narrative experience
- Don’t just talk about yourself, focus on customers needs
- Do invest in high production values
- Don’t feel obliged to put video on your site, it may be better without it
For further reading, my blog Creating the Customer Journey covers the planning of websites in more detail.
August 31, 2010
Jonathan you’re absolutely right. I found myself trying to buy some screwdrivers online the other day and the website asked me if I wanted to see a video…
Perhaps the best use of video online is currently with various fashion sites where there is a clear benefit to see what clothes actually look like when someone wears them..
But Lord preserve us from the MD doing the video PTC on his website to introduce the company.