Web Video: Making Believers of Us All

Using video on the web isn't a new idea, but where it was historically problematic, we're now playing a whole new game. It is now safe to say that the matters that made video risky in the past have settled enough to make video a worthwhile venture for a practice marketing itself on the web.

Bandwidth used to be the biggest problem. In order to put video on the web, you used to have to compress it until the picture was barely recognizable, and the viewing area had to be the size of a miniature post-it note. It is still true that different video platforms may require a visitor to your website to download software to be able to view your video, or that users with slow internet connections may not be able to view the video at all. All that said, the Internet has grown to embrace video, and some predict that the Internet and television will eventually merge to the point that websites without video will become archaic. But let's focus on the present.

Video can do so much more for you than just make your site look high-tech. By adding more types of media to your site, you increase your exposure on the web, and also your site’s appeal to various audiences. There are entire search bots and websites on the Internet solely dedicated to looking for video. If you have a video, we can submit your video to all of those video sites with the goal of getting more incoming links, and therefore more exposure. (In fact, we routinely do so for our clients who already have video on their websites.)

Search engines like Google and Yahoo have entire pages of search results dedicated to serving up video, audio, and images as search results. Not to mention the advent of Google's Universal Search, which some people are making waves about. This diversity in media can make your site more visible in the eyes of the search engines.

Video can also increase your credibility. The public perception is that video on websites is technically impressive, but it also gives you the opportunity to speak directly to your audience, which sends the message that you know what you're talking about, and are confident in the message you’re sending. Like it or not, if you say it on video, your message is more convincing: seeing is believing.

Video increases the time that the average person spends on your site. Not everyone will watch your video, and those who do watch your video may not watch the entire video unless it's very short, under a minute for example. Luckily, video length is not crucial. A visitor who views your video is more likely to feel a personal connection with you or your practice, and is therefore more likely to look around other areas of your site. If you can extend your average visitor session, you'll find you are getting more emails.

(If you’re interested in using video as a conversion tool on your site, but don’t have any yet, contact your AM. Page 1 offers video at about half the cost of a comparable package through the competition.)

In short, having video on your site provides three major benefits:

1. It can provide increased credibility to your practice.

2. It expands the venues through which you can market your site.

3. It encourages visitors to remain on your site longer, helping convert them from visitors to leads.

If you have a video you send out to potential patients, consider putting it on your website. If you're featured on the news, be sure to get that video out there. Even better, ask us to produce a custom video for you with you and your staff speaking to your audience and with testimonials to increase your credibility. Don't let a web marketing resource go to waste!