Video sales are the hot tip du jour it seems. I can understand it, it is easier and takes less time in many cases to watch a video then to read. Also, video gives one the opportunity to demonstrate firsthand how to navigate through programs, changes in sales records over time, and most importantly it gives a greater personal touch to everything, making one feel they know the individual.
Then there’s the other side of the coin. Being in the ecommerce world, I receive lots of sales promotions via email, and click on numerous ads online. I can personally tell you I shut down 80% of the video ads I receive and never view them. Not because I don’t like video, but because it is extremely intrusive most of the time.
I work at home, in a room where my husband, a writer (among other things), works side by side with me on another computer. Frequently I will open an email or ad that takes me straight to a video, and it immediately starts blasting into the silence, bringing me harsh looks or worse. Then there are the early morning or late night hours, when I am checking my email or surfing the internet, trying to be very quiet and not wake him. All of a sudden I inadvertently open an email with a video and it comes blasting out at me.
Think about all those poor souls at work, that are trying to research ways to make extra money online, or find a way out of their dead end jobs, and are surfing the internet during their down time. All of a sudden, they click on something and their whole roomful of coworkers immediately knows what their up to.
My advice to marketers considering video marketing is this: Use your video, but include it as part of a squeeze page that tells about the product as well. Have the video on the page, but not as an auto play. Let the reader decide whether or not to view the video. That way they get the basic information on your page, but still have the option to see the video for more in depth information, and for that personal touch.
