Video is fast becoming the most important type of content for websites, blogs, and social media. The trend toward video is hardly surprising; it’s an engaging and stimulating medium for communication with very little effort from the viewer.
More importantly, it’s also a good way to generate leads. Granted, this isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you think of video, but there are platforms that allow you to integrate lead generation into your videos in such a way that people are very likely to engage.
Wistia Turnstile
One such system is Wistia’s Turnstile, which allows you to collect emails at any point during your video. Wistia’s video-hosting service is already a favorite with businesses because of its user-friendly video customization and analytics.
With Wistia’s Turnstile, you not only have the ability to incorporate lead generation into your videos, but you can also easily measure when leads come directly from a specific video so you can incorporate this data in your video marketing strategy.
How to Use Turnstile
Wistia’s email collector makes it easy to collect emails, and leads by extension, when hosting your videos on their platform. The product allows you to insert a form within the video player, meaning you can collect email addresses without sending your viewers to another page.
That has obvious advantages, but if used incorrectly, this kind of lead generation can result in annoyed users and fewer leads, so it’s important to put some thought into how you use Turnstile. Here are a few things to consider before getting started with video lead generation:
To Gate or Not to Gate?
Gating content is a common but divisive practice. Essentially, gated content is any kind of article or video that requires the user to enter some of their information, usually an email address, in order to view the content.
This can be an effective way to collect leads, but your content has to be pretty darn enticing for it to work. If not, a more likely outcome is that people will simply leave your site. To be fair, asking someone to give up their email is a pretty big ask, which is why many marketers are against the practice.
It’s off-putting to have to give your email before you can watch a video, and most people won’t do it in case they get spammed later, so we generally recommend to avoid gating.
Where to Place Your Form
Of course, the start of your video is a viable place to put your form, but, as mentioned, it can have a detrimental effect on your lead generation if you make it compulsory. That said, you have the option to put the form anywhere in your video, to the very second. According to Wistia, videos with a form 10–20% into the content typically convert best, and generate the most leads.
Where you end up placing the video will have a lot to do with your content, so take this into account when you create your video. This way you’ve had time to engage with your viewers, and you can place the email collector at a logical point in the narrative.
Give the Option to Skip
Never make it compulsory for the viewer to put their email into view or finish watching the video. This will lead to a higher bounce rate, and most users will be annoyed by it, which will cause them to leave even if they are interested in your content.
Integrating Email Marketing
Turnstile allows you to integrate your favorite email marketing platforms so the emails you collect can easily be incorporated into your email marketing strategy. You can use services like MailChimp, HubSpot, or Marketo, depending on your particular email marketing needs.
Customization
Under the customize panel on Wistia, Turnstile has a number of customization options for the email collector. Features such as whether or not to make it skippable, what text to use, and setting up integration with your email provider can be taken care of here.
Embedding Videos on Your Website
Once your video is all set up and ready to go, it makes sense to embed it directly on your website. Under video actions there is an option called Inline Embed. This will give you some code which needs to be added to the page on your website where you want the video to appear.
By default, all embedded Wistia videos are responsive, but you can also make them a fixed ratio if you need to. There is also an option called Popup Embed. This will make your video pop up over the rest of your content.
Make Sure Your Content Is Quality
Finally, making sure your video is engaging and interesting is key. It should go without saying, but there is no point in having an email collector in a video that no one wants to watch.
Creating Video Is Easier Than Ever
Creating professional videos is no longer exclusively the realm of videographers and editors. There are plenty of online systems aimed specifically at streamlining content creation, which includes more complex types such as video.
Wistia has Soapbox, which uses your webcam and a screen recorder to help you create videos without needing a video camera. It also allows you to edit your video before sharing it.
How Automation Agency Can Help
Wistia is one of many online platforms that Automation Agency supports. Our team of experts is on hand to assist with embedding videos and setting up lead generation integrations. Our concierge service plans allow you to gain access to unlimited monthly tasks ensuring that your digital marketing and design needs are always met.
Is Automation Agency the right fit for you? Take a video tour to see our services in action.
