Business Video Intros Chase Viewers Away in the First Seconds

One mistake can cost you visitors in just seconds.

The First Question

Let’s take an example of someone coming to your site, who has just done a search for your products. They’re clearly looking for your product, but what is the first question in their mind? Is it “Is this the right product for me? Will this solve my problem?” No, the first question in their mind is “Should I spend time on this page to solve my problem?” That is the first question, and business videos have very little time to answer that question.

Headlines and calls to action can really help people understand if they should spend time on your page and watch your video, but there are some mistakes that we also make in our business videos that I want to point out.

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The First Mistake

One of those things is that when the video starts, the first thing you see is the rotating logo with some sort of whooshing sound, and surround sound rumbles, so that you get the idea that company making this video is powerful and can solve all problems… I think I’ll just go back to the search page and start there again – see if I can find something else.

We see this effect in the data. While you are spending time making your company look good your visitors are leaving. We see a drop off in viewers. I’ve seen drop offs between 15 and 25%, but I can promise you there are certain situations when the drop offs are going to be even more.

Another Meaning for Attention Deficit

By “drop off” I mean drop off in attention, and this is one of my favorite graphs in YouTube. They will actually let you see what percentage of the people are still watching your video for its entire duration.

When to Insert Branding into Business Video

My recommendation is this: If you want to brand your company – don’t do it at the beginning. Your video needs to start with a message that says, “There is a good reason for you to watch the rest of this video.” Do your branding later. Do it at the end, do it at the middle, I don’t even care – just don’t do it at the beginning.

If you combine a great reason to watch the video in your headline and immediately jump in on your video, you’re saying “Here’s something that is going to be important for your decision making process.” You’re going to have more people watching your video longer, getting the message, and taking action on your pages. That’s what makes your business grow.

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Brian Massey

Conversion Scientist™ at Conversion Sciences

Brian Massey is the Founder and Conversion Scientist™ at Conversion Sciences, a sought-after international speaker, and author of Your Customer Creation Equation. He is passionate about transforming websites through a steady diet of visitor profiling, purposeful content, analytics, and AB testing.

Expertise: conversion rate optimization, AB testing, marketing strategy, digital marketing, analytics, landing page design, computer programming, entrepreneurship

Speaking: IBM, Inbound, LeadsCon, Content Marketing World, Affiliate Summit, and more

Books and Training: Your Conversion Creation Equation, Video CRO, Marketing Videos that Convert, CRO Best Practices

As Seen On: ClickZ, Search Engine Land, Marketing Land, Conversion Sciences Blog, Intended Consequences podcast

Education: Texas A&M University, BS Computer Science and Management