By Keith Goeringer

Putting video on your website is a very important piece of your marketing. Used correctly, it will get people to stay at your website longer, they will make more inquires, and they will get to know you.

Used incorrectly, your video will chase your visitors away faster than a New York Second…..

To place video effectively, on your website, follow these Ten Rules:

Rule #1 – Avoid having your video start automatically when visitors arrive to your website. Along with having different models of computers and speakers, your visitors may have their audio setting at full volume, may already have their speakers in use, or may not even have speakers at all. Customers may very well leave your website if it starts blaring noise as soon as they arrive. It’s much more difficult to look around to try and figure out how to turn off your audio than it is to simply leave the website or hit the back button.

Rule #2 – Make sure it looks professional! Make sure your video both look and sound good, otherwise you will appear to be an amateur. The good news is, for about $100.00 you can purchase a decent camera. Even the least expensive digital still cameras have the ability to film movies surprisingly well. Also, always dress the part.

Rule #3 – Keep promotional videos short and lots of camera angle changes! The place for long audio messages online is almost never the main page of a website. Your messages will be most effective if kept concise, direct, and easy to interpret. This can be what makes or breaks the video message. A good length for your video is between 30 and 90 seconds. Keep in mind, commercials are only 30 seconds long and manage to convey their messages clearly; use them as a model when making your video. Also, the goal of Hollywood is to change camera angles every 7 seconds.

Rule #4 – Prepare yourself by shooting tons of videos! It helps to practice out loud after writing a complete word for word script and then change it as necessary. People will know if you are just “winging” it. Prior to recording your script, be sure to have other people listen to it and offer their criticism. Then remove unnecessary words; reduce the length and change wording to better convey your message.

Rule #5 -Smile! Always smile and appear friendly on your video. Most people find those who enjoy what they’re doing much more enjoyable to do business with. Be sure to convey your passion for your loan business to the viewer. Body language is also much more of a factor on video than voice.

Rule #6 – Avoid putting too much video up on your site. People will not choose a play button at all, if there are too many to choose from. Visitors are more likely to watch your message if you limit the number of video buttons on your site. It’s usually sufficient to have a properly done single play and pause button to get your point across.

Rule #7 – Allow them to see your personality – let it shine. You are making a video in order to let people get to know you. Believe it or not, they want to learn about who you are. Television is filled with reality TV shows. American viewers are intrigued by other people’s lives. Let them get to know you, your family and your pets. Your Voice should also have a Cadence to it or a natural rhythm.

Rule #8 – Make sure your video actually has a point! While this may sound redundant, people often put video on their website for no other reason than simply because they can. If there’s not much of a point to your video, it won’t make any difference to anyone how fancy it is. Your video must have a well-defined purpose.

Rule #9 – Instruct people to view your video! Simply having a play button available on your website isn’t going to be sufficient. Let people know what to expect – what’s it about, how long is it, what can they expect to hear – and, obviously, where to click to start it playing. People need to be given instructions online, so it’s a mistake to assume they will figure out on their own that they need to watch your video. It can also be helpful if you let the audience know how long the message is, because people will be more likely to listen if they know how long it is. Sometimes, as research has shown, people will not click on a play button to a video message for fear that it may be too long. Let your visitors know if it’s a long message so they will be prepared for it.

Rule #10 – Perform a test run on your video! Don’t assume that simply putting video up on your website will increase sales. Test it out, get opinions from your visitors, friends, and family, and then do split testing. With your video, figure out if there is an increase in conversions. You’ll never know if your video messages are helping or hurting your website without a measurement of your results both before and after its addition.

Learn More about video marketing from Author Keith Goeringer at http://www.keithgo.com

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