It’s been a long winter of…winter. Maybe it’s time to give your digital home a good old spring cleaning. Here are some tips if you need to dust off the cobwebs of an existing site, or just need some basic reminders of the elements of a good website. Break out your sticky notes! Here’s your to-do list.
Upload a trailer
Ok so you’re selling video. You have a trailer, right? Seems like a no-brainer, but we see a lot of folks that don’t actually show a trailer on their website. Your site should give a small taste of your style and content, so potential customers can see what you’re offering (what’s up, Sales 101!) The other part of the equation is making your trailer easy to find and click — it should be one of the first things viewers see when they land on your page. Get started today with Vimeo’s trailer maker. On Vimeo OTT, sellers who upload a trailer and display it prominently convert sales about 30% better than those who don’t.
Don’t have a trailer yet? Put together another kind of video teaser! It could be a short scene, the creative team talking about your project, or maybe a montage of past episodes of your series. Since everyone loves free stuff, you could even try uploading the first five minutes of your film or episode as your trailer.
Choose high quality thumbnails
When your video isn’t playing, imagery is king. Or queen. Or whatever gender-neutral monarch you’re into! Choose thumbnails for each video and product that grab attention and give a clear impression of what your content is all about. These thumbnails show up wherever your videos do: on your website, whenever you post links to social media ( Twitter cards, for example), and on all devices when viewers are watching via apps. So make sure they look great!
A high quality thumbnail is usually somewhere between a poorly-lit iPhone photo and a depressingly sterile stock image. You could use a nice still from your video, or maybe the graphics and logo that speaks to your brand. If you’re selling a film, make sure you convert your movie poster designs to something that fits on the internet. (We recommend a 16:9 image ratio.)
Write a smart description
Now that you’ve freshened up the visuals, let’s think about the verbiage. Each video product on Vimeo OTT includes a description field, so you have the opportunity to give a short synopsis. How do you describe your content? Imagine a brand new fan stumbling on your website for the first time, with little context. Your description should both inform and entertain; pull in your new fan and let them know what they’re getting.
Some Vimeo OTT seller examples:
- Harmontown captures the lively mood and characters of Dan Harmon’s podcast tour, and details the bonus videos included in the deluxe editions.
- Documentary Sensitive – The Untold Story uses audience quotes to draw viewers in.
- Fitness series Rachel Brathen Yoga gives specifics about the exercises in each episode.
- Blooper reels
- Behind-the-scenes clips
- Cast and crew interviews
- An extended cut of your original videos
- Director’s commentary
- Q&A with the creative team
- Epilogues of your story’s subjects
- New non-video material (soundtracks, poster PDFs, eBooks, etc)