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How HLabs uses video to increase engagement on Webflow
With today’s consumer’s average attention span becoming increasingly fleeting, we’re all faced with the constant battle of getting people to stay on our websites.
And there is so much to fight off: slow loading times, poor design, mobile unresponsiveness, intrusive ads and pop-ups, technical issues, information overload… You’re not alone if it seems like your work is cut out for you in this tiresome bid for your audience’s attention.
But we’ve got good news. Here at HLabs, we know that video can do absolute wonders for audience engagement. It’s packed with powerful possibilities that will help you retain your site visitors and give them what they really want.
In this article, we’ll explore the great potential of leveraging video for engagement on one of our partner platforms, Webflow, and uncover our secrets and best practices. Let’s dive right in!
HLabs partnered with video hosting giant, Vimeo, for a webinar aiming to boost video engagement and storytelling
Using video on your Webflow site is an engagement goldmine — here’s why
Because it helps your audience consume and retain information
Videos are highly engaging digital content that can be used in many different formats on your site – they can be interviews, bite-sized educational content, demos, testimonials, how-tos, and more.
What sets video apart from other types of content is its ability to really captivate viewers with a blend of sound, visuals, storytelling and editing. This means you’ll be more likely to cater to a wide range of user preferences and create more connection with your audience.
What’s more, video will allow you to cater to more learning styles and help more users retain information:
- Visual learners: they absorb information best through images and spatial representations. Video content, with its graphics, animations, and on-screen demonstrations, is particularly effective for them
- Auditory learners: they learn through listening and verbal explanations. Videos, including narration, dialogue, and sound effects, engage this learning style effectively
- Kinesthetic learners: they prefer hands-on experiences. Although video can't replicate physical interaction directly; dynamic movement, interactive elements, and real-world demonstrations can engage them.
Ultimately, using video on your Webflow site fulfils your audience’s growing need for comprehensive, readily available, effortless information – because if your content is easier to digest, your audience will consume it more.
Because it will help you convert more
Yes, the data tells us that most users prefer video, but what lies deeper is that video helps your audience trust more and therefore buy more. You can leverage visual demonstrations for example so that users can better understand your products, leading to more confidence in your brand.
Videos can also drive conversions by effectively showcasing your offering and subtly nudging your users to take action. It all comes down to creating more of an emotional connection – when your users see faces, hear voices, feel emotions and understand stories via video, they’re way more likely to act upon their experience of your brand.
Including videos on your Webflow site can also improve your SEO by increasing dwell time and user engagement metrics, signalling to search engines that your content is valuable and relevant. In fact, videos are 53 times more likely to have a first-page Google ranking compared to plain text results.
Because it’s so much more shareable
In essence, videos are more dynamic than words sitting on a page, which means your audience’s reaction to these videos will in turn be more dynamic too. This will boost how much your users engage with your site, impacting all sorts of fun metrics like clicks, reach and impressions.
Videos are also so much more likely to be shared on social media, extending your site’s reach even further and attracting more visitors. These new visitors will then be encouraged to spend more time on your site as they’re more likely to consume video content, reducing those dreaded bounce rates.
And one added benefit here is that videos are really easy to optimise for mobile, so by making for a seamless experience of your content for users on different devices, you’ll be encouraging social media sharing even further. Too good to pass up on, right?
That being said, there are a few important Webflow video best practices you’ll want to have in your toolbox… Let’s explore.
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Some Webflow video best practices to keep in mind
Add compelling titles and thumbnails
Webflow video thumbnails are crucial for grabbing your audience’s attention and boosting your engagement rates. That’s because a well-designed video thumbnail gives your viewers a sneak peek before they commit, essentially reassuring them about what will happen when they start watching.
Thumbnails are also an opportunity to build brand recognition and trust, as well as spark curiosity and interest in your users to give them that little nudge they need to press play.
Place videos strategically
The thing about video is that you can’t just throw it anywhere on the page. You’ll need to place your video strategically if you want to enhance accessibility and convenience to really tap into that engagement boost video can offer. It’s really about placing your video where your user is most likely to interact with it, and where it won’t end up disrupting the flow of your page.
Carefully integrating your video will ensure that it complements the browsing experience without interfering with other media on the page – allowing users to hit the play button with minimal effort.
Prioritise interactivity
If you want to go the extra mile to provide a smart experience for your users and positively impact your engagement rates even further, consider prioritising interactivity.
Interactive elements like clickable annotations or quizzes within videos are amazing at actively engaging viewers. You’ll effectively be empowering users to control their viewing experience and encouraging them to stay engaged with your content for longer periods of time.
You can also utilise features like interactive hotspots or branching scenarios for even more immersive experiences – we love using these to make videos feel more alive and human to our audience.
Adding polls, surveys and interactive Q&As once the video finishes playing are also great tools to keep that engagement momentum up.
What’s a Rich Text element?
The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.
Static and dynamic content editing
A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!
How to customize formatting for each rich text
Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.
Optimise video length and quality
You can only hold your users’ attention for so long. We prefer keeping videos concise and focused to maintain viewer attention – aim for lengths of one to three minutes. If you’re not sure what length to go with, try adding videos of different lengths and monitor analytics to determine optimal duration for your audience.
It’s also a good idea to always maintain high standards when it comes to video, as a poor quality video will hurt your engagement rates more than it will help them. Keep your audio and visuals sharp, get your transitions smooth and your lighting immaculate.
Add video transcripts
Yes, video is powerful, but you always want to give your users the option to read too. It’s a good rule of thumb to provide written transcripts or captions alongside your videos, especially when it comes to improving accessibility for viewers with hearing impairments or language barriers.
This will also give you an opportunity to enhance your SEO by including keywords in your transcripts, making your content more discoverable. Transcripts also aid comprehension and retention so that your viewers can follow along more effectively and refer back to specific sections.
Enable social media sharing
Feel free to give your audience discreet nudges by integrating social sharing buttons directly into your video players.
You can also encourage viewers to share your videos by optimising them for different social media platforms – customise thumbnails, captions and aspect ratios to maximise visibility and engagement.
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