How to use web videos and playlists to showcase your products online

Several social media analytics companies and organizations have reported the growing popularity of embedding online video on websites, blogs, and other online portals.

The reason is very clear as website visitors often prefer the high interactivity provided by online video players to get information about products and services.

Just take the growing popularity of YouTube (which is now a Google company), for example. The staggering popularity of video sites like YouTube, as well as their impact on social networks like MySpace or Facebook, is a clear indication of the power of video marketing. Millions of video clips are watched daily, from boring self-made home footage of someone feeding their pets to commercial-grade product presentations, commercials, and movie tours.

Video is an attractive and effective medium to showcase any product or service. It would be to the advantage of webmasters if they had some sort of video player that could run automatically while the site loads, or engage customers with an interactive thumbnail playlist that allows them to choose which particular video they would like to view. Videos can be set to go viral, which means viewers can share them with friends or their networks. This would be a great way to share information about your product, at minimal cost, with an almost unlimited number of viewers and potential customers.

Products and services can be presented more efficiently through a video player much better than can be represented in any writing. Given the choice, most web visitors would probably be drawn to and watch a video presentation rather than read a lengthy article containing the same information. Compelling images, music, and other audio elements can draw in any viewer, making them want to know more about a product and ultimately convert them into paying customers.

There are two ways to put a video on your website: host the video on your own server (own hosting) or embed a link to the video on a third-party host like YouTube. There are advantages and disadvantages to using any of these resources and it will depend on how your website is set up and how you would like to display your product. For many, combining elements of these two options would be the best way.

Many website owners embed videos on their website hosted from another video site like YouTube. The problem with this arrangement is that people usually follow the link that goes to YouTube and watch the video from there, not on your website where they can learn more about your products and services.

However, it would be more effective to have a lite version or preview of your video on a third-party video platform and link it to your own website where the full, high-quality video is hosted and viewed. Coupled with a thumbnail playlist, such a setup can create a compelling and interactive user experience – they would want to know more about your services or products and stay on your own website longer.

The following are some tips and tricks on how you can effectively embed a hosted video on your website.

First of all, keep your videos short. Most people’s attention spans are short, and they would usually stop watching videos if it’s too slow or takes up too much of their time. Three minutes is the ideal time and will depend on the type of content you have.

Second, be original and authentic. Avoid using advertising-style presentations that many people simply avoid. Keep it simple and viral, showing your product at its most compelling essence: how it can benefit the customer.

Last but not least, add a call to action. Your video would be useless if you don’t compel the viewer to take action, either to learn more about the product or get them to contact you for potential business.

Clearly, having a flash video player and a corresponding thumbnail playlist can do wonders for making a more effective presentation for your product or service. There are various tools available at your disposal and you would be very smart to try them out and see which one would be best for your website and take it to the next level.