Video Is the Medium of Choice for Website Marketing – Part 2

The Classic Mobile User

Read part 1 of this article by clicking here first.

My recommendation is to assume mobile users are impatient.  People will patiently put up with a somewhat slow download on a PC or Mc.  They won't on a mobile phone.

A lot of our client request the nice looking slideshows at the top of the page.  They are nice, but they don't work well on mobile devices and can be slower to download.   It's a mobile phone user turn off.

Replacing that with a fast loading image combined with a strong call to action works better.  BTW, it tends to work better with both mobile and PC/Mac users.

Since your mobile users have a 2 to 5 inch display, you have to make the information easy to find.   Tiny link text and small buttons won't work.  Mobile users use their fingers (think fat thumbs) and not their mouse to navigate.  People over forty don’t see those tiny links very well.

Compared to PC/Mac users, mobile users require much tighter and concise copy. Don’t spread tons of information across multiple pages requiring a lot of clicking and loading additional pages.  Navigating to new pages is slow and cumbersome on mobile.  Consider laying your copy down a page so mobile users can easily "thumb" down the page.  It’s a much better option.

If it’s important that you do share something that’s long, consider publishing it as both a web page and downloadable PDF file.  Some mobile user like to download PDF files for printing or reading later when they get on their PC/ Mac.

Copy has always been important, but it’s critical that you address mobile users with clean, concise and short copy.  With the greatly reduced display space, you have to come up with ways to get ideas across efficiently with a combination of images, icons and shorter copy.

Now for the Video.  Introduce Yourself

You already know that video works best for getting your message out.  Mobile users are less patient with long copy, but they will view watch a video even if it's on the long side.  The key her is that:

• the content is interesting and engaging,
• it's well formatted and
• it downloads and plays fast.

In the past, video was a nice to have.  Today it is a MUST HAVE.  You can use video to provide information the mobile user wants, but most importantly, use it to up your first impression.  Make them feel like they've actually met you.

A video with you introducing yourself and what you does SO MUCH MORE than inform them.  It gives them a chance to know you in a more personal way before they have ever spoken to you.

They get a “feel” for you who you are.  This is very powerful.

We have to always remember that people do business with people they like and people they trust.  Video gives someone who’s never met you a chance to meet you and make a call on whether they like and trust you.

Recording a video, even a one recorded on your phone camera or laptop webcam, explaining what you know positions you as the expert. It give a visitor a chance to see if the like you.  It builds familiarity, credibility and trust doing something you can’t do with copy.

You have taken a big first step at establishing a relationship.

That First Phone Call or Meeting.

Remember that people buy with their emotions and justify their decision with logic.

So the buyer’s done their research.  They have gotten information from the available web resources including your site.  They’ve had a good experience on their mobile device and have watched your video.

This is a VERY different first call from the one you would have had with them otherwise.  If you've done the previous stuff right, you’ll be speaking with them and you'll notice they feel like they know you.  They will mention things they could only have known because they saw it on your site.  More than anything, they are confirming their first impression they got from your site. They now using logic to justify their emotionally driven buying decision.

If you have built your site using the right mobile design and put video to work right, your buyer has:

• the information they wanted,
• a good impression and
• a mental picture of who you are.

You’ve actively participated in the 75% buying process that was previously invisible to you.  You’ve inserted yourself into the buyers preferred process.  You have influenced and motivated them in ways you couldn’t before.

Hope this helps.