Video Is the Medium of Choice for Website Marketing – Part 1

I'm probably not telling you something you don't already know.  Mobile phones are everywhere and over 50% of the your website visitors on on them.  If you are in an industry with a lot of under 40 year old Millennials, the number can be as high as 70% or more.  You either cater to the mobile phone or lose business.

So have you asked yourself these questions:

• Is your website really catering to mobile devices so they get the best experience possible?
• Can mobile phone users really enter your sales pipeline and engage with you like PC/Mac users?
• Are you inadvertently shooing away these users?

Here are the facts:

• Mobile users have 2 to 5 inches of viewing space.  That's it.
• Mobile users are on screens that are taller than they are wide.  The like to "thumb" down your page versus clicking.  That's just so much easier.
• Mobile users have less bandwidth most of the time and they are less patient with slow downloads.
• Please note.  This is very important.  Mobile users LOVE VIDEO.

The Modern Mobile User Buying Process

Today people buy differently.  Over 75% of the buying decision is made before they pick up the phone or email you.  They don't want or need a sales person.

When someone sets out to buy something, they go into research mode.  "Leave me alone," is their mode of operation.

Depending upon who they are, they do their research at their leisure, at their own pace and that can be slow and steady, calculated or fast and impulsive.  It's really non-of-your-business, right?

They do this at work, during their lunch break, after dinner or maybe late at night when they cannot sleep.

• They want to know what the experts think. (Are you positioning yourself as one?)
• They are looking for advice from unbiased third parties.
• They want to know what your customers say, (i.e., Yelp, Amazon reviews, etc.).
• Oh, and they may want to know about you and your product too.

I mention that one last because who you are and what you have to say about yourself is NOT what they care about initially.

Video Stuff is Coming, But First the Role of Your Website

Given this research phase, the phone call or email you get is coming from someone who's informed to the gills.  They have found everything they can about you online.

They aren't calling you to learn about you.  They are calling to see if you are who you say you are.  It's like a confirmation call to see if you are legit or someone hiding behind the curtain.

So what you provide on your website must enable them to do their research conveniently and it must service them during this part of their buying process.

This Is Where Video Comes In

You never get a second chance to give a first impression.  Think about what your website says about you when people first visit.  You should think about it the way a retailer sets up their store for walk in traffic.

What questions does someone visiting a doctor's office the first time?

• What it easy to find?
• Was the parking convenient?
• Did I have to wait and was the waiting area comforable?
• Was the receptionist friendly?

The patients answer to this question works for or against you depending upon how good a job you do.  This stays with them forever.

Click here for part 2 of this article where we explore the experience mobile buyers want and how video plays into that