5 Tips For Creating An Effective Landing Page Video

This blog post was written by our friends at Instapage.

Landing pages have one objective: to persuade visitors to take action — whether that’s subscribing to a newsletter, downloading an ebook, registering for a webinar, or signing up for a service, among other things.

Looking to implement video on your landing page? These tips will help you get the most out of your investment and ensure that your landing page makes a great first impression.

Tip 1: Use high quality videos

You only have a few seconds to capture your visitors’ attention. If your video isn’t high quality and well produced, what you’re promoting will also appear low quality. To that end, high definition video certainly helps. Include unique graphics to add some creative flare to keep your visitor engaged.

Take one of Salesforce’s landing pages, for example:

What they did well:

This Salesforce video isn’t just a great example of high quality. They also did these things well:

• The video player is the star of this page because it’s located above the fold and large enough for visitors to see.
• The video gives precise examples of what the client’s experience would be like if they were using Salesforce Sales Cloud.
• The 1 minute, 39 second run time is just enough to demonstrate the value of Salesforce Sales Cloud without losing the viewer’s interest.

Tip 2: Keep videos short and sweet

When prospects visit your landing page, they want quick answers to their problem. Your video should convey your message within 45-90 seconds, because the longer your landing page video is, the greater the chance for page abandonment.

Main Street Hub made terrific use of video — more than one, actually — on their landing page.

Above the fold:

Below the fold:

What they did well:

• The main video is short. At just under 90 seconds long, this video is likely to hold viewers’ attention long enough to watch the video in its entirety.
• The positioning of the video is ideal. It is located right next to the form and CTA button, both above the fold, so it is sure to be seen when people visit the landing page.
• The examples in the video are very relatable for social media users. They are fun and cute, but still informative.
• The video testimonials below the fold are extremely clever and useful as well because they add trust to the landing page and overall brand.

Tip 3: Focus on just one goal

What is the goal of your video landing page? Do you want prospects to sign up for your newsletter? Do you want them to download an ebook or tip list? Are you attempting to generate donations or sales?

Whatever the goal, be straight forward so prospects have no doubt what you want them to do. When given too many options, or unclear options, people will not make a decision.

Take Mercy Ships’ page, for example. Their video focuses on raising awareness and generating donations:

What they did well:

• The form is available next to the video, so even as a viewer is watching they could be simultaneously filling out the form to donate.
• Visual graphics make it more enticing for readers who are skimming the page to get the highlights of how Mercy Ships uses donations to help save and transform lives.

Tip 4: Choose an intriguing thumbnail

Videos must be tempting for visitors to click play. The static image, or the thumbnail, that greets your audience before they press play should be A/B tested to see which type of image works best. Learn more about A/B testing on the Instapage website.

If your thumbnail looks unedited, with awkward facial expressions, or is unrelated to your main goal, the chances of your potential client pressing play diminish. Be creative and choose an effective thumbnail that will make them want to see more.

Rosetta Stone is a good example of a video landing page with a great attention-grabbing thumbnail image:

What they did well:

• The thumbnail is very colorful and displays a few common languages and greetings, reinforcing the fact that Rosetta Stone can teach you how to “Speak completely in your new language.”

Tip 5: Include a clear call to action (CTA)

Your video’s CTA should be consistent, singular, and align with both the video content and the landing page. Only ask your customer to do one thing. It’s imperative you understand your customer’s problem and how you can help solve it for them.

Provide your audience one option (like these examples from Vidyard) so they know exactly what to do like Act! does here:

What they did well:

• The CTA at the end of the video is clear and to the point. They lay out the problem, the solution, and conclude with, “Request a demo here.”
• The video flows naturally with Vanessa’s problem and busy work routine, then shows how Act! can be the solution to all those problems, ultimately making the only option following through with the CTA.

Creating a video landing page is worth it

Don’t give up on your first try when creating a video landing page just because it doesn’t perform as well as you hoped. Taking time to refine your production (A/B testing, re-editing and sometimes even re-shooting) will lead you to a highly successful video landing page experience.

Provide your audience with a simple experience, but persuade them that your solution is the best (and only) solution. In the end, high quality videos that are short, focused on one goal, include an intriguing thumbnail, and have a clear CTA will help you maximize conversions.