Benefits of Adding Video to Your Website

I keep hearing that 2013 is the year for "video on the web".  Now, this is FANTASTIC for me, since my company, Pirate Pictures, creates video for small (and large) businesses!

That being said, I keep doing research to find out who is saying this, and why exactly.

First, who is saying this?  Are 'they' actually saying it… and the answer is ‘yes’… If you have a small business, the word on the street is that you should really be using video on the web, whether it is on your website, in your social media, or in your email campaigns.

A website called DIYThemes.com has an article they titled "8 Best-Practices for Small Business Websites" and the #1 best practice they list is "Use Video on Your Website."  The article states: "When you’re a small, local business, your main strength is your personality. To highlight that, you should create videos so that your local customers can “meet” you before they hire or buy something from you."

Business Week recently had a article entitled "Three Benefits of Adding Video to your Website" and they claim that "Today, video is a must-have for e-businesses concerned with SEO [search-engine optimization], conversion rates, and brand identification—essentially any company with an online presence and intent to succeed."  (granted, this article was from 2010, so I can only imagine that this statement is even more true today!)

And an article from Forbes Magazine says "Video is becoming a powerful part of modern business—if you’re not using it, you’re missing out on endless opportunities."

There truly are tons of articles on the web about video for your website if you are a small business, and I will continue to post more of the info here in upcoming articles.

But the real question is "Why?"  "Why do I need video on my website?"  "What are the benefits?"  And those should be the questions.  If you are going to invest the time and money (yes, there is money involved) to create videos for your website, you should know why you are doing it, and what will the return be.

Again, citing these articles from above, here are a couple of reasons why video for your website/social media/email marketing is a good idea:

• Video Makes Your Website "Sticky": The engaging nature of video encourages users to spend more time on a page, thereby increasing stickiness and ad revenues.

• Interactive videos help you "upsell." Videos can convey more essential data in a shorter time. The viewer does not have to read long texts or jump between pages. Instead, he or she gets "fed" exactly the data you want to deliver.

• Videos drive traffic: Search engines now offer video as part of integrated search results. With proper SEO, videos can drive traffic that might otherwise be directed elsewhere to your website instead.  YouTube is the second-largest search engine in the world. “Google owns YouTube and places higher value on inbound links from their own platform," says Ariane Fisher, co-founder of Storymix Media.

There are many many uses for video on the web, and we'll talk about that in an upcoming article. 

If you are using video in your business, how are you using it?  Share your thoughts in the comments below.

For more on ways to use your video for your website, or to schedule a free consultation, please visit our Business Builders Video website at http://www.PiratePictures.net.