Video for your website; How to...

Have you ever wondered about adding video to your website but thought it was too difficult or expensive? With todays technology and a little know how, you too can add engaging video content to your website and help increase your bottom line. In a recent survey conducted by PrWeb.com, online video can increase visits by 55%, phone calls by 18% and sales by 24%, pretty impressive numbers. So, how difficult is it? Lets look at it in 2 steps, creating the video and adding the video.

Step 1, Creating your video;

Creating your video can be as simple as contacting a local videographer. A local videographer will have the equipment, know how and ideas to help create your web video. For a simple video, an HD camera, tripod and wireless lapel microphone is all that's needed. A popular setup is the white screen background as seen in the photo. The subject is placed in front of a white screen and lights are added to "wash out" the white background to give the infinite appearance. With the popularity of Ipads and tablets, teleprompters and teleprompter apps have also given videographers the tools formerly only found in larger studios. The text is written and loaded on the ipad, then the teleprompter is mounted in front of the camera so the subject can read the scrolling text while looking directly into the camera. With the skills of a good videographer, the footage is then edited down to a reasonable viewing length, with smooth transitions, text and graphics, titles and logos, maybe a little background music and voila, your video is ready. A good rule of thumb according to a cbsnews.com article for web video, keep it short, 1-3 minutes, anything longer and the viewers attention span drops dramatically.

Step 2, Adding your video to your web page;

Going back to your local videographer, he or she should be able to help you with this task, but if not, don’t worry, this can be quite simple with just a little web-savvy know how. The best format for the web these days is mpeg4, also known as MP4. Anyone can open a free account at the 2 most popular video hosting websites Youtube and Vimeo. When your video is finished, your videographer can upload the video directly to your Youtube or Vimeo account (you will need to give him/her your login credentials) or ask for it delivered to you in MP4 format so you can upload. Once your video is uploaded, there will be an option for you to embed the video. Copy/Paste the embed code into your website where you want the video to appear, and you are finished.

Remember to share your video’s link on social networking sties too, Facebook and Twitter are 2 very effective ways to increase your buzz!

HarborView Video provides web video production as well as weddings & events in the Norwood area. Visit harborviewvideo.com