Video Takes on New Importance on Web Sites

My big buddy Greg - the interactive guy - pointed me to a video on Dassault System's web site yesterday which piqued my interest. (You can watch it at: http://www.3ds.com/fileadmin/industrysolutions/application.html and I strongly suggest you do!)

According to Greg this is what he has been chuntering about for nearly two years and he is gratified to see communication using video, on internet sites, start to take hold. Someone as big and loud as Greg is difficult to ignore at the best of times, and so we did pay attention, but it seems that finally bandwidth and 'vision' is starting to understand the power of the video on a web site.

Here's how the video helps:

Often a complex product (and CAD products are particularly prone to this) is very difficult to describe accurately in words. I often hear clients saying "You have to see it to really understand how it will help you." I admit, I have said that myself about some products I am involved in! Using video with other combinations of that nebulous 'interactive multimedia' thing can mean that you are able to adequately communicate a process, software product or 'faster/better/cheaper' message very well.

However, the way the video is used on the site is important too. We often spend long hours convincing clients that many individuals who you would regard as being potential prospects often do not wish to reveal themselves until they are ready to do so. My case in point - for one client, all web site visitors were funnelled into a long, lengthy questionnaire where someone who was researching the technology was required to reveal all contact details before they could get at any useful information. Our view - and backed up by some good research - was that people research on web sites first for the very reason of staying anonymous. A frustrating result for the sales teams who were eager to get every name, but the lengthy questionnaire was prompting people to disqualify themselves before they really got to understand the product.

With this in mind, the video presentation has to be freely available to make this kind of selling successful.

Configure One has a not bad animated presentation (http://www.configureone.com/contact/walkthrough.html) again with no strings attached. Their presentation leads the viewer to a point where they can sign up for a live demo, but by no means was there any invasion of privacy beforehand. (Also please note, the animated presenter reminds me of a blow-up doll, but that's just where my mind levels out I guess...)

We predict that there will be an upturn in video presentations and this is something that effectively communicates a vision or technology. It is definitely worth looking at, and, depending on the voice-over, or choice of speaker, can fit almost any budget.

We shall be seeing more of this. Comments and additions to this posting with other examples are very welcome.