Embedding A YouTube Video About Your Business Onto Your Businesses Website Is Not A Very Professional Approach, Which Will Hurt The Effectiveness Of The Video! Here's Why...
There are a number of reasons why we'd strongly recommend against embedding a YouTube Video onto your business website, especially if this is a video about your business or about the products you're selling.
Why do we recommend against it?
YouTube videos just aren't as professional as one that is hosted at your website with a custom video player. On this page we'll discuss the problems we have with having a YouTube video on your business website.
Now, there is a time when it's fine to have a YouTube video on your website. Let's address this first and then we'll move forward with the rest of this topic of YouTube Videos on a business website.
The One Time It's Fine To Have a YouTube Video On Your Website
The only exception to using a YouTube video on your website is if the video is not a commercial about your business or any of the products you offer. For example, if you're a bed and breakfast you could put a YouTube video on your website that shows the surrounding attractions so long as there isn't any mention about your business in the video.
As soon as a video becomes a commercial about your business and includes contact information to your business, that's when you don't want it to be a YouTube video.
The Problem With YouTube Videos on a Business Website
First, keep this thought in mind ... your image!
Consumers expect more from a local brick and mortar business than an online business. Where a YouTube video might be acceptable for an online business, it's just not acceptable for a local business.
When a local business puts a YouTube video on their website using the embed script from YouTube the business looses a portion of the strength of the video and when competition is fierce you want that video to be as effective as it possibly can!
You need to show your professional business image, and you want to make sure you separate yourself from online businesses.
Here are the problems with a YouTube Video ...
1. You Have Very Little Control Over The First Frame Image
When a person comes to your website you they see you have a video, the image they see that represents your video is very important. You want that website visitor to watch your compelling video. The most influential way to make that happen is with what's called the First Frame image. On our home page you saw three videos.
Here are two of the videos First Frame Image, both of which we used our own player with so we could control the First Frame Image (along with other things) ...
With the third video we did what most people do, we just embedded the video using the YouTube embed script. To choose our First Frame image we went into our control panel and had 3 images that YouTube selected from images within the video to choose from, as represented by image below ...
We selected the 3rd image, which is NOT the one we wanted. But, of 3 bad images to choose from it was the best of the 3 bad choices.
Our video player avoids this problem and gives us the option of creating our own First Frame image. That way we can more effectively motivate the visitor to watch the video.
2. The YouTube Watermark Image in Bottom Right Corner
Online businesses have been able to get away with using YouTube videos on their website. You're NOT an online business so you're therefore being held to a higher standard!
Plus, in your video commercial you want 100% of the focus to be on the message you're presenting. The YouTube watermark is a distraction that dilutes the strength of your message!
Now, I do have to say that while the YouTube watermark is a distraction to the message it's not nearly as bad, as unprofessional, as tacky as what Yellowbook.com has done to their customers. Yellowbook also has a watermark throughout the video.
But, as the ultimate clincher, they put a 5 second commercial at the end of all of the videos they do about Yellowbook. The last thing a potential customer sees is commercial on Yellowbook, not your "call to action" information which is what they should last be seeing.
From a marketing point of view, that is just bad! You NEVER advertise more than one company in a video or advertisement, and the last thing a person sees in your video is very important!
So get this, the Yellowbook customer paid to have the video done and has to pay a monthly fee to have access to a video that also advertises Yellowbook as the last thing the viewer will see. That's just simply unbelievable, and totally unacceptable!
3. When the Video Ends, It Shows Other Similar Videos Which Could Include Videos From Competitors
When the video is over, it should go back to the First Frame image. With the YouTube embed code you instead get the option to watch other videos associated to the video you just watched, as demonstrated in the image above. This could even be competitors videos ... not good!
Our video player will take you back to the First Frame image after the video is over to avoid giving your potential customer a chance to watch a competitors video on YOUR website.
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