10+ Best Practices to Increase Landing Pages Conversions with Video

Designing and marketing a landing page is hard work. You can drastically increase the chance of success by adding a video into the mix.

Today, all major stakeholders – businesses, marketers, and customers – agree that video increases engagement. So, it’s a no brainer that your landing page must include a video to boost conversions.

That said; a video landing page might fail for several reasons. Learning from the mistakes of others and adding tried and tested best practices can help increase landing page conversions with video.

Let’s get started.

1. Develop a Script for the Video

Here is a piece of useful advice that was presented back in 2016 at the Unbounce CTA Conference in Vancouver. The Director of Business Development at Wistia, Kristen Craft, mentioned in her speech that scripting the video will attract more viewers.

It is a bit of excellent advice that’ll stay true now and forever. Scripting a video is fundamental to success of your landing page. Irrespective of the type of video, whether it’s a product video, company introduction video, or how-to video, having a script ensures every second of the video counts.

Developing a script for a video is meticulous work. You need to pinpoint your target audience, work on the message that’ll engage them, and decide how to present the message to convince the viewers.

Never try to throw together a few points at the last minute and make a landing page video just for the sake of it. The message and vibe of the video must gel; only a solid script can convince your audience.

2. Have One Goal per Video

Any person wanting the landing page video to multitask is heading for a disaster. Trying to achieve more than one goal with a video will lead to a mess.

Many companies have attempted and failed. So, don’t even think of it.

The idea is simple. Have one clear goal for the video and let all other elements of the video work together to achieve this one goal.

Put down in writing what the goal or target of the video is:

• To make the viewers signup/register for an event.
• To convince the audience to buy a product or service.
• To encourage the viewers to download a book/app/lead magnet.

3. Use the Video to Educate

Those visiting your landing page want to learn more about your brand or product.

The video on the landing page is the best weapon in your armory. So, employ the video to educate the audience about your offering.

In the limited time available, try to include information that’s useful and helpful to the customer. The following will fall under the ‘useful and helpful information’ category:

• Who you are and what you do?
• How can you help alleviate the pain points of the audience?
• Why are you unique and better than your competitors?

 The landing page video of Rebump, the automated email follow-up software, is a good example of a short video that manages to convey the best points of their product.

4. Position the Video Above the Fold

Another advice from Kristen Craft that makes a lot of sense is posting the video above the fold. What she means is placing the video on the part of the page that’s visible to the visitor without scrolling.

The video is the landing page’s best asset. It should be the first thing that visitors see on the page. Although this isn’t an unbreakable rule, many companies have used it with great success.

Inbenta – the AI platform – posts its landing page video above the fold. The company says that 15% of those who watched the video performed the action which the company wanted. This is a huge jump compared to the conversion rate of 1% of people who visited the site but didn’t see the video.

5. Remove Distractions From the Video Landing Page

You have created a video exclusively for the landing page. So, keep the attention of your audience on the video. This can be partly achieved by removing all the distracting elements from the page.

By distracting elements, we mean things that don’t contribute to achieving your goal or don’t make the visitors take the action you want them to take.

For example, in an experiment conducted by Hubspot, one of the most distracting elements of the landing page – the navigation bar – was removed.

The results showed that the landing page without the navigation bar performed better than the one with the navigation bar.

So, what should you do? First, drop the navigation bar and other distracting elements from the landing page. Make the video the sole superstar of the page.

6. Vague Message Can Make People Ignore Your Video

Landing page videos must be clear and straightforward. Trying to convey the message in a roundabout way can confuse the viewer and make them leave the page.

If you want the visitor to buy a product, use a product tour video to showcase the features and functions of the item. If you’re trying to sell a service, employ explainer videos in the landing pages to clarify how hiring you can solve their problem.

You can increase the impact of the video by demonstrating how the product works. Preparing a recipe with the utensils you’re planning to sell, cutting grass with a lawnmower you’re promoting, or showing how a new accounting software saves time and effort, are good examples of clear messaging.

7. Keep the Landing Page Video Short

The majority of studies suggest that the collective attention span of internet users is shrinking by the decade.

Explain your product or message in a compact way, typically in a 1-2 minute video to keep the audience interested.

Information that would normally require thousands of words to explain can be conveyed in a short video. We recommend this length because studies show that businesses need only 45-90 seconds to effectively convey a message and convince the viewers.

According to a study by Wistia, the attention span of the viewers and the engagement with the video begins to drop after the 2-minute mark. You’ll lose approximately 20% of the users by the time the video reaches the 5-minute mark.

Sometimes you will need to exceed the recommended length rule for long education videos. In which case, make sure the content is worth the time spent watching the video.

8. Make the First Few Seconds of the Video Count

No, we’re not finished with attention span. It’s a serious thing that plays a vital role in the success of a landing page.

Not all viewers who click on the video will watch till the end. You have only 10 seconds – the first 10 seconds of the video – to persuade the viewer to stay.

Hence, make the initial few seconds of the video count. If you can’t capture the audience’s attention within 10 seconds, you’ll lose 20-30 percent of the viewers.

Also, you get only 30 seconds to convince the remaining 70-80 percent to watch the landing page video.

9. Optimize the Video

People prefer video to text. That’s what the Hubspot research says about video content. Naturally, Google took note of this fact and made video content one of the top-ranking factors of a page.

Since video is such a valuable marketing tool, almost all businesses and marketers are using video content in their digital marketing strategy.

How to maximize the impact of your landing page video? Focus on video SEO.

Here are simple tips to optimize the landing page video:

• Google considers the usefulness of content as a ranking factor. So, make videos that solve a problem.
• Add the transcription of the video to the HTML of the landing page.
•  Use only one video on the landing page. More than one video can distract the audience.
• Optimize the title and metadata of the video.
• Do not use the same video in multiple places.
• Include social media share and embed options to increase the reach of the video. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram tools are available to measure the engagement of the landing page post on social media platforms.

10. Use an Enticing and Highly Relevant Thumbnail

The right video thumbnail can increase the conversion rate. That’s what Kristen Craft said at the conference. Since the thumbnail is the first thing the viewers see in your video, it becomes an important factor.

The mobile chat and communication company Yobongo affected a minor change. They used a new thumbnail for their marketing video. This move increased their conversion to 70.9%.

Another study shows that the right thumbnail can increase the click-through rate by 15%.

Tips to select the best landing page video thumbnail:

• Use an image that shows positive emotion.
• The thumbnail image must be consistent with the rest of the video.
• Choose a thumbnail image that reflects the content of the video.
• If the video has a main character or protagonist, use the image with the person’s face.

11. Add Caption Tracks to Increase Accessibility of the Video

You’ll be surprised to know that 85% of the people watch videos without the sound. You might have noted this while browsing social media pages. Almost all videos have closed caption tracks.

The visitors to the landing page may not be in a setting where they can enjoy the video with sound. Some people might not have headphones or earbuds to use.

There are other valid reasons to add captions to the video. It’s widely known that adding captions can boost the SEO of the video.

Caption tracks are a must if you believe more than half your visitors watch the video without sound.

12. Include a Relevant Call to Action in the Video

The direct method is always the best. Want the viewers to perform a specific action? You can ask them nicely. They might oblige.

Adding a call to action is a great idea. It’s a tactic that works for video, landing page, blog post, ad, newsletter, and more.

Again, don’t be vague about your request. Be plain, straightforward, and clear in the exact action you want the audience to take.

There is no point in spending time, effort, and money on creating a video if you’re not going to make it count by adding an effective CTA.

Tips for effective use of CTA in landing page video:

• For maximum effectiveness add both visual (graphic) and verbal call to action.
• Let the CTA stand out from the surrounding elements. Hence, use bold font and bright colors for the text and buttons.
• Do not confuse or overwhelm the viewers by adding multiple CTAs. Go with just one call to action.
• Convince the audience with the message then introduce the call to action.

13. Quality Content and Production Boost Conversions

It’s not an either-or situation. To impress the audience, both quality content and quality production are important.

Every element of the video must complement each other and work towards achieving the same goal. The script, message, performance of the characters, style, picture sharpness, sound quality, music, and CTA, really make the video high-quality.

A quality video is a product of intense research. Spend time researching on each element of the landing page video. For example, the right style to use in the video depends on the niche and the target audience.

You’ll be conveying several points in the video. Right at the top is presenting your unique value proposition. You don’t have to be very open about why your product or service is the best. In a subtle way tell your viewers what differentiates you from the competition.

The audience will be inclined to take the action you want if they feel the video is authentic and genuine. This can be achieved by making your employees or customers the star of the landing page video. Use employees in your company introduction video to show the audience the people behind the brand.

The viewers will turn a cold shoulder to the video if it’s not personable or friendly. The first step to make the audience like your product or service is to form a relationship. If the main character in the video comes across as cold and unfriendly, then they have no reason to continue with the video.

The video should be clear and succinct. Do not deviate from the main point or add fluff just to entertain the customer.

Visiting the landing page, your audience expects valuable information and quality experience. All the elements of the video must aim to fulfill these expectations.

Final Thoughts

Nowadays, people want to watch more videos. They find videos easy to consume, engaging, and entertaining.

Use these best practices to produce short and high-quality landing page videos to draw in visitors and turn them into conversions.