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Create an online video for your website

Using a video cameraOnline videos can make your website more appealing to customers, attract attention from search engines and help with viral marketing. Kate Horstead finds out how to use video effectively

Using video to connect with customers can help you to show your knowledge, give your business personality, improve your search engine optimisation (SEO) or boost your credibility.

An online video can be a means of introducing your staff, demonstrating products, giving free advice, or asking a loyal customer to tell potential clients why they buy from you.

"The options are endless," says Tim Sargent, founder of video production firm Mint Video. "Video is very accessible and the costs are low.

"A promotional video details a particular product or service," explains Sargent. "And video testimonials quickly build trust in what you do."

Creating an online video

Making a video can be done cheaply and easily using equipment you may already have. You can use a video camera, a digital stills camera, your mobile phone or a web cam. "With practice, you can get good shots," says Sargent.

There is a wide range of free and paid for software, online tools and apps that you can use to create your own videos. You can create everything from time-lapse videos to animated films to spread your message with services like GoAnimate.

Screen capture tools like Screencastify (add on for Chrome) allow you create demonstrations and training videos for software and websites. It is even possible to create videos using film and photos taken straight from your smartphone camera roll with cloud-based services like Animoto and Shakr and apps such as Magisto (Android).

Using a webcam or video camera can suit a straightforward face-to-camera video, and customer testimonials can look more authentic if they aren't too polished. However, for a more advanced action shot — for example, someone wearing the sportswear you sell — consider outsourcing the work.

"If you have a budget to commission the work, search for video production companies in your area using Google," advises Sargent.

Video production costs can vary hugely, from £500 to £12,000. "Make sure they produce it 'web-ready'," emphasises Sargent. "And give detailed information about what you want to achieve."

Share your video

There are a number of video-sharing sites, including YouTube, Vine and Vimeo. Upload your video on to one of these first, instead of embedding it in your website. (Check the terms for the video-sharing site you choose. For example, if you want to upload commercial video to Vimeo you must use is Vimeo Pro.)

You can then use a screen shot of your online video, with a link to the video from your website or emails. This stops the large video file clogging up your server, and provides a format that most customers can download. Alternatively, the video-sharing site might give you the code to enable you to embed the video into your own site.

These sites will ask you for a title, description and tags. "Ensure you enter relevant keywords," explains Sargent. "So many good videos end up with low hits due to poor SEO."

YouTube or Vimeo will give you an 'embed code', enabling you to link to the video from other websites and blogs. Using the embed code means the video plays inline on your website – so people don't have to leave your site to watch the video.

Sargent urges caution about where you place the video link. "If you put several video testimonials on your homepage, visitors will think 'information overload' or 'hard sell' and hit the back button," he warns. "They'd be better placed on a dedicated video or testimonial section.

"A company portfolio video on your homepage can be effective," adds Sargent. "Visitors can click for a quick overview of the business, without having to trawl through pages of text."

However, while replacing some of your website text with video content can be appealing to visitors, it is good for SEO to have some text as well. You need to make the most of your online video by telling customers it is there.

"Once your video is online, promote it by sending emails out to your customers," Sargent concludes. "You can also publicise it by posting the link on Facebook and Twitter, and politely asking contacts to include it on their sites."

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