Month: December 2013

Worldwide, internet video usage will skyrocket to 71% of all online traffic in 2018.  With this massive amount of people using video online you should really be thinking about adding some video to your eCommerce website and following are 7 reasons why video is a must.

1. Your customers will like video content

If you can add some video content about your products, your clients will like this. It’s just an added feature that will ensure the way the user experiences your website is more enjoyable. Video can really push your products and sell it harder to your customer base. If they can see your products ‘in action’ this is a great sales tool and should increase revenue. Think golf, surfing, tennis, automotive,  education, travel, basically anything that you are selling can be captured on video and added to your website. It is just so much more powerful than 1 or 2 images.

2. Return on Investment is Massive.

A video can cost next to nothing to produce. So, the ROI is huge. If you are able to capture the essence of your product and the uptake is big, then this return on your investment is well worth it. If you are constantly updating your site with videos that you produce then the cost is nothing, only your time.

3. Helps your clients connect with your business.

Online photos are great but can only tell so much of a story. A well produced video, can have so much more impact  and can also connect customers with your brand and business. Videos can generate much more emotions than images and in turn will keep your customers loyal. Emotions trigger buying decisions and this is what eCommerce websites are all about. You want to kepp users on your web page and keep them very interested in what you are selling – videos are the perfect medium for this to happen!

4. Videos will help with your search engine rankings.

Posting fresh, new content is a great way to enhance your SEO and videos are another avenue for creating content. On top of this Google will rank new videos higher than content in some cases. Continually publishing videos on your ecomm site will ensure that the videos keep getting indexed which means that anyone searching for your product, should find your video – this is a great marketing tool!

5. Making the mobile phone experience better.

Rather than clicking on pages of content, a video that opens up on a phone will boost and maintain users interest in your product. People browsing the web on hand held devices want information and they want it fast, a video on your eCommerce website will provide this and you will be rewarded.

6. Videos will Enhance Your Reputation

If your customers can see you have gone to the effort of making videos and continually updating these, they will return to your eCommerce site continually. This will reflect really well on your brand and reputation. For me, like many consumers, if they can see the product they are thinking about buying on video, and they like what they see, they will more than likely end up buying from you.

7. Increase Conversion Rates.

Having a dedicated video about a product on its own page will keep users engaged and thus increase online conversion rates. Videos, should keep your customers entertained and informed, which will ultimately lead to much higher conversion rates than just plain old text and photos. People landing on these ‘ micro site’ product pages, will surely open the video and watch it – hence CRO ( conversion rate optimisation) is being utilised to it’s fullest potential. Ideally, you want everyone who visits your eCommerce website to buy from you – so each landing page that has a video should convert site visitors into paying customers.

 

Who Should Produce Your Video.

Getting a video produced for your website can be as simple as taking a hand held camera on your phone and going for it. On the other hand, you might like to work with a video production company to get a better finished result. Of course this comes at a cost, but if you really want to make an impact, then this is probably the best way to go.
One important point to note is that all videos on your website, need to load very fast. In fact, they need to be streaming in less than 2 seconds – anything more is going to have a negative impact. Keep this in mind when you are talking to your eCommerce web designers.

How Many Videos Should I Be Making?

This all depends on hoe many products you have and how many you want to promote. Ideally, you main best sellers should all be be filmed and each video dedicated to it’s particular product page. You might even think about a video on the home page introducing your company – this can be connected to YouTube and is now common practice.

 

Once your site is live you need to look at a few important factors to ensure that your website will be working for you. Following are a few points to consider, for your new web site.

 

How Am I Going To Generate Website Traffic?

Ideally, this should have been discussed during the very first web briefing meeting. Generating interest and web traffic is called search engine optimisation and really needs to be implemented from the early stages of site development.
At Hopping Mad, luckily our preferred  WordPress CMS platform, allows for easy integration of SEO title tags, content and description, so that any SEO ‘must haves’ can be implemented once the site is deployed.
Ranking your newly built site on page 1 of Google through SEO is the ultimate way to get the phone ringing and this process needs to be continually implemented once your website is live. If there is one thing that you should do for your website on a monthly basis, SEO is it! Keep it up and keep it going and this will ensure that your website will be your best sales person.

 

You Have to Keep Refining your Pages.

Some pages might work better than others and some parts of your site will be getting more traffic than others. Your web pages need to be continually monitored, analysed and refined for maximum performance. Even when you think that your main landing pages are looking their best, there is always room for improvement. Known as CRO or conversion rate optimisation, your web team will need to be on top of this and monitor site usage and bounce rates through your Google Analytics.
Constant testing and refining may seem like a daily grind, but if you manage to do this effectively, the rewards are huge.

 

Is My Site Technologically Up To Date

 

Never let your website fall behind the technology race. You should always have the very latest add ons and be kept up to date of new advancements.
Customers coming to your site will expect to see a contemporary looking interface with the newest online trends implemented. If they don’t see these, then it can reflect badly on your business.

 

A Final Point to Consider.

 

Your website is your ultimate sales machine and like all good machines, they need to be taken care of and maintained. What may seem like a burden and a waste of money, is in fact an investment in your business. So, once you have launched your site, maintain and nurture it, so that it’s performing as best as it can for your business.

The economic environment, especially the online and digital landscape is always shifting. So, if your company is to get ahead of the pack, then it must engage the services of a business consultant that is able to offer strategic advice and offer plans of action that are needed to drive sales and boost your revenue.

 

What Could a Business Consultant Do For You?

There are ten main areas of expertise that a business consultant can advice on:

Provide necessary information – you have to find the right consultant for your niche. The type of information provided is vital if you are going to place your trust in this. search online and you will find the right business consultant for your particular needs.

Solve problems  – if there is a serious problem or issue within your business and you can’t seem to find a solution, then a business consultant may be able to provide a full internal business audit; find the cause of the problem and offer advice on the necessary steps to fix this issue. Sometimes, being to involved with your business means that you can’t see issues which may be staring you in the face. A third external party is always a great solution.

Help realise potential opportunities – if you are looking at ways to grow your business and can’t seem to find  ideas and ways to do this, then a business consultant is your answer. If for example, you have little experience with the online world or internet marketing, then a business consultant with knowledge and past history in this area, can have an enormous positive impact on your business.

Understand, and re-evaluate problems – some problems in your business may seem  insurmountable. Business consultants can usually get a better understanding of the issues and provide alternative solutions that you not have thought possible.

Make sound recommendations that you can either adopt or not.

Implement business wide changes that can help improve internal processing systems, streamline sales techniques and marketing strategies.

Ensure that the changes adopted are carried out and strictly adhered to. No point going to the trouble of this exercise if it falls flat after 6 months.

Client training – this should be carried out on an on going basis and continued until the business is solid.

Keep the organisation on a path that will ensure highest growth and success.

Ensure that the business remains positive and that any negativity is eliminated, before it can cause damage. Positivity and the energy it brings with it is sometimes hard to maintain. A business consultant or mentor will be able to show you ways to keep you motivated and stay focused. Businesses that stay focused and are driven with high positive energy will always do a lot better than those that are not.

Why does a company engage a business consultant?

These are the 5 most common needs for consulting help:

Temporary help – they may need help for a very specific task or area. Specialist consultants who know how to provide help in niche areas are a great find – if you are looking for a business consultant Sydney then perhaps give Hopping Mad Designs a call on 02 9360 8514 – we are experts in the online and digital environment; especially web design and search engine optimisation. So if you are looking for a business consultant in these fields – we can help!

Overcoming a crisis – these happen all the time in the business world and sometimes you need to reach out for a third party that has the experience to overcome these hurdles.

Instigating corporate and cultural change – sometimes organisations can get stuck in a rut – unable to move because of cultural and sometimes family obstinance, business consultants can implement and manage change for the better.

Marketing Strategies – most  businesses; no matter the size are great at what they do, but when it comes to marketing, they can too often be clueless. This can be a real issue and cost vast sums of money to a business owner if they invest in the wrong marketing mediums and platforms. A stated previously, the online world is always changing and businesses MUST engage a consultant who has worked in this field. Leaving this to chance, can often be fatal for many businesses who ignore marketing opportunities in the online and social media space.

Educating and training staff– this is essential when it comes to keeping up with the latest technological trends. Management and staff need to be constantly trained and educated about happenings in the online world.

 

What is the role of the Business Consultant in your Organisation?

Having worked out a need for business consulting help, we must then consider the consultant’s position within your business.

Tutor – they will teach you all they know within their field
Professional – this is why you hired them
Coordinator – they will put the pieces of the puzzle together
Instructor – someone you can turn to when the need arises
Trainer – once you have the skills they can train you and your staff till you have solved the problem or worked out a solution.
Generally speaking, the business consultant’s job is a mix of point two and any of the others.

 

What NOW?

Consultants are there to help. Choosing the right consultant is a huge issue and based on the disaster stories I have heard over the years, you need to be very aware of the choices you make and who you finally engage.

Interested in speaking with a business consultant that has a wealth of knowledge in the online space? CALL 02 9360 8514.

 

 

Call to Action Buttons do not necessarily have to scream in your face with loud graphics; unless this is the intention, but some discreetly designed buttons can guide the user throughout the site, step by step.

Basically it’s about highlighting or spotlighting an important part of the website and getting the user to go there.

Overall adding a simple call to action button on your website can have a dramatic effect on user CRO or conversion rate optimisation. Adding a ‘free shipping’ button may add, in some cases 20-30% to your bottom line.

It’s all about finer tuning and testing what works and what doesn’t work. This type of testing should be carried out on a continual basis, until you have it just PERFECT!

 

Positioning Your Call to Action Buttons.

 

Where your call to action buttons go on your main landing pages of your website is going to have a massive impact in the way your site is used.

You really don’t need hundreds of different buttons all over your website. This is not on and WILL confuse and send mixed signals to your customers.

A couple of well placed call to action buttons at the top of the page will be enough to spell your message or intention out. For example, if you have a new product in sale, or a change in your shipping policy, this can go in the top right hand corner of the page. You may also like to put a ‘ check out what’s latest’ call to action on the right hand side of your home page.

 

Appearance of Call to Action Buttons

 

Try not to be overly graphic with these buttons as the tone may suggest that you are cheap n cheerful. Large brightly coloured, even animated buttons can send out mixed messages to your client base.

Keep button colours within your corporate style – nothing is worse than having busy yellow coloured buttons splashed all over a conservative blue looking coloured website. Contrasting colours are OK to make a statement, but be reasonable with how far you go with this.

 

Which Direction Do You Want your Customers to Go?

 

This can be quite tricky and is something that needs to thought put into – which direction and where are you sending your customers to? Again, this will depend on your overall conversion rate optimisation strategy, but speak with your web developer, who should be able to advice you on the best course of action.

If they are on your home page, and they click on a specials button for example, will this send them away, where they could be missing other important news, products, services or information.

Ideally, send users directly to your main purchase page where they can see the product. From there, the check out and sale is only 1 step away.

Are Call To Actions Easy To Design?

 

Yes they are. I suggest speaking with your current web agency about this in a bit more detail – if you find that your websites number of clicks it receives, is simply not converting into sales, then a quick call to action button just might be the FIX you are after to help improve those lagging inquiries.

 

Call to action buttons are an essential part of your overall conversion rate strategy. To learn more why not get in touch with people who understand this.