Video Headlines that Get Visitors to Click Play

Video is powerful. It can work for our business or against it. Here’s why.

Let’s talk a little bit about headlines, the words that go around your videos.

Headlines get people to read on.

In almost every medium that we work with online, the most important thing is going to be the headline or the equivalent to that. For email, the subject line is equivalent to the headline, and with today’s email clients, the first line of the email is often displayed along with it. The subject line is the most important thing, because it gets people to read the email.

On the landing page, the headline is the most important thing. It needs to tell the visitor they’re in the right place and give them a reason to keep reading – a reason that is important to them, not important to you.

Watch all lessons in this series on converting with video.

Landing pages must invite visitors to watch the video.

On a video landing page, we have two pieces of information that are really important. Number one is the title above the video, and it has to tell the reader why they should watch the video. Number two, on a video landing page, the video is going to be pitching to a call to action. This is usually a button or a form that’s on that page, and above that form is the reason to take action. So, you have two pieces of information.
One, why you should watch the video, and two, why you should then take action if you found the information in the video persuasive. We’re going to spend hours filming and editing, writing scripts, reviewing our videos. So, how much time are we going to spend on the headline above the video that gets people to watch it? Well, typically very little.

I would recommend that you write 20, 30, 40 different headlines and choose from those, and focus on one thing. If there was one tip I would give you, it is, don’t describe the video. Describe why they should watch the video. That’s what the headline should do. Rather than tell them that this is a video about a new offering from your product, make headline say,

“Did you know that you could lose weight quickly?”
“You could manage your employees with less time?”

Whatever your value proposition is, tell them why they should watch the video, not what’s in the video. You want them to watch the video to get that. Likewise, you’re going to find a very similar thing when you look at writing the call to action.

The Call to Action

The call to action, ideally, is going to happen in the video, usually the end, but actually, you’re going to find significantly better performance if you find a way to have the call to action in the middle, and even hint at it in the beginning. And it’s also going to be on the page typically where there’s a form or a button that allows the visitor to take the next step.

Don’t leave visitors stranded in your video. After an awesome video, you don’t want to leave them going, “Oh, that was entertaining,” and not knowing what to do next. Always have something that they can do next.

This call to action, though, needs to do the same thing as the headline. Why should they take action next? You’ll want to work in, for instance, if this is a limited time offer, if there’s a special discount, if there’s a bonus. And explain to them very clearly what’s going to happen when they fill out that form.

Are they going to receive a lot of spam?
Are they going to get a call from somebody?
Are they going to have an informative phone conversation or a sales call?

Set Expectations

Make sure that they know what’s going to happen so that all expectations are set, and you should have a high-performing page. You’ve got a nice headline that tells them why to watch the video. You got a great video that lays out the value proposition that you’re trying to communicate and then has them do a call to action. You have a call to action that is focused on them and what they want to accomplish, and viola – a complete landing page with video.

Watch all videos in this series

Author
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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