8 creative ways you can use talking head videos on your website.

In this post I will be sharing 8 of the most popular applications talking head videos can be used for. You probably have the perfect opportunity to use a video in this style and don’t know it yet?

For those that don’t already know, a talking head video gets its name because of its commonly seen format of a person on screen, usually showing just their torso, or even just their shoulders and head. They are generally addressing the camera directly or talking to someone just out of shot.

Talking head videos lend themselves nicely to being used in conjunction with other video footage, which can be overlaid whilst the “presenter” continues to talk - sometimes referred to as “B-roll”.

Why should I use a video at all?

Watching video online is an audience trend that is growing and growing. People like to watch videos over reading long form content and, although they are often seen as “a bit cheesy”, talking heads style videos are everywhere, and for good reason.In recent years, low cost but high quality recording equipment combined with affordable home broadband and superfast 4G mobile internet has caused online video to explode in accessibility and popularity. Here’s a few top level statistics that demonstrate online videos meteoric rise:

Sixty-four percent of consumers make a purchase after watching branded social videos (via tubularinsights).
YouTube has over 1 billion users, almost one-third of total internet users.
More video content is uploaded in 30 days than the major U.S. television networks have created in 30 years.
One-third of online activity is spent watching video.
Marketers who use video grow revenue 49% faster than non-video users.
According to Forbes, Internet Video Traffic will be over 80% of all consumer internet traffic in 4 yrs.
They also claim “Video marketing creates stronger customer engagement”
55% of people watch videos online every day (Source: Digital Information World)

These are just a few of the staggering statistics available that demonstrate the power of online video, There is some further reading at the bottom of this post, including the sources for all the statistics I’ve mentioned.

Hopefully, by now you can’t wait to start creating video content for your website, so here are 8 creative ways you can use talking head videos on your website.

1. Testimonials / Case study

Getting a few of your customers/clients in front of a camera and asking them some questions about their experience of working with you or your product is a really effective way to show prospective customers the sort of service they can expect from you. They come across as much more authentic than just have a written testimonial on your website, and require less effort on the viewers part, therefore increasing the chances of engagement.

If you make several different testimonial videos these can either be edited together into one broad “what our customers think” video, or, split into short snippets and placed around your website as supplementary content.

2. Company overview

For many companies, the dreaded “about us” page can become a dry, corporate feeling and internal focused page that fails to engage with visitors. The addition of a talking head video can instantly give the company a more human feel and can turn a wall of text into a short engaging video that communicates the same content.

This type of video also works well when combined with some additional footage to better show what your company is about. Some examples would be to show your workplace, your production process or some client interactions.

3. Explainer / Demonstration / Tutorial

Complex processes or products can be much better explained via video than they can by text. It requires much less effort from the viewer, yet so much information can be shared and retained in a short amount of time.

There are many explainer videos around that do not feature a talking head, instead just showing a screenshare, or close up of a product depending on what is being explained, however starting your video with a person on screen creates a more engaging experience and a more professional feeling video.

With this particular use case, it’s important to add that whilst an explainer video can be very useful, be sure to include a text version of this content as well. People all have different learning styles and whilst many will benefit from a video, some will prefer just reading. Having a text alternative to your video is also useful for returning visitors who wish to search for a specific topic or refresh their memory by skimming the content.

4. Interview

Interview videos can be used for a broad spectrum of applications and a well executed interview with probing questions can provide content for multiple short-form videos or a longer more in depth video.

You can invite an industry leader to talk to your company about hot topics within your industry, but most likely you have your own experts within your company and the casual feel of an interview sets up a great platform to discuss and share thoughts around specific industry pressures or challenges. An interview is a great way to start positioning your team as thought leaders whilst also providing valuable insight and knowledge to viewers and potential customers.

5. Product walk through

Whether your product is software or physical, seeing someone use and interact with it in a video can be a powerful way of onboarding viewers. As with many of these types of video, so much more can be communicated in a video than text and images alone can do.

Some products are not quite as easy though, what if your product is less tangible, such as financial services or design? You can still offer a product walk through, just use the video as an opportunity to explain to customers your process, consider using some representative examples of past scenarios to educate viewers. Whilst often overlooked as not necessary, this type of content is often exactly what potential customers are looking for and could make the difference between choosing your company or not.

6. Tutorial / Problem solving / Industry knowledge

No matter what industry you look at, you will find that within that industry customers are asking the same questions and experiencing the same challenges. Compiling and answering these questions provides a powerful resource which will keep people coming back to you. Ideally suited to a regular blog style format, these short form videos have several benefits.

Establish your business as a thought leader

If you keep answering the burning questions with your industry you will quickly establish yourself as a thought leader within your field, an engaged and present member of the community, ready to solve problems and innovate.

Build an online resource and save time

This style of content offers a wealth of content to keep your blog up to date and current, something that can be challenging for many companies. By making a commitment to answer one client/customer question each week your blog could quickly become a useful resource that depending on your business could even save time for staff as they have a wealth of resources to point clients/customers to instead of answering the same questions over and over.

Improve SEO

After creating this content consistently for some time you will amass a large amount of useful content. Content like this encourages repeat visits, increasing overall views of your website and potentially positively impacting your page rank with search engines and improving your websites visibility through SEO.

7. “Meet the team” interviews

Short casual video content introducing viewers to key team members and sharing their skills and experience is an effective way of getting closer to your potential customers, and allows you to put faces to your business.

You can feature these videos prominently in the “about” section of your website, or use them more sparingly. Try featuring them on a product page (as a key contact) or as a series of blog posts aimed at showing visitors the people behind the business.

8. Encourage job applications

We’ve all read job descriptions that try just a bit too hard to make their workplace sound like the perfect working environment.

Using a video to talk directly to potential applicants is a fantastic way to stand out from the crowd and share so much more than can be articulated in a job advert. In one short video a prospective applicant could meet the CEO or their new manager, see the workplace, the team, and get a great feel for what working with you would be like.

Summary

This is by no means an exhaustive list of applications for talking head videos, but hopefully it’s given you some food for thought about how your business could expand on, or start using video to better interact with your audience.

Whilst big brands are already leading the way with video, there is a perception that video is expensive to produce and more of a “nice to have” than an essential part of their marketing plan.

At Liquid Light we feel strongly that video can and should play a key part in communicating your brands message and with the right planning and execution it needn’t be expensive or time consuming to create.

So give it some thought, perhaps you have even more ideas of how your business could utilise video content? Drop us a comment below, we’d love to hear what you are thinking!