It’s no secret that video is one of the most popular content formats online. So a great way to keep fans on your website is by embedding videos on your site. In fact, we think videos are important enough to have their own page on the main menu of your website (Read our post: "The Magic 8: Essential Menu Options for Your Band Website")
However, many musician websites either don’t have a Videos page, or simply send people away to YouTube. Having a “Videos” section on your site with embedded videos allows you to curate which videos people see. With YouTube, there might be hundreds of live videos filmed by fans that might not be the greatest quality. Embedding videos on your site allows you to control the video content that visitors will see so you can put your best foot forward.
And remember, once you send someone away to YouTube, you’ve lost them from your website, and you've sent them away to a site that is filled with distractions. YouTube is a noisy site with tons of ads and lots of other unrelated videos to watch (cats videos anyone?). In today’s music industry, a fan’s attention is the most precious and scarce commodity. Don’t waste it!
Here are some tips for setting up a Videos page on your website:
For more ideas on the types of videos you can create, check out the blog post “Musicians: 8 Killer, Cost-Effective Videos To Add To Your YouTube Strategy”
Plus, embedding tons of videos on your page really slows down your site, taking more time to load, and chances are a person is not going to keep scrolling down and down to find more videos. Having between 2 and 8 videos embedded on your Videos page is probably the sweet spot.
With fewer videos, you should also take advantage of the design flexibility you have with your own website and embed large videos. Don’t make people watch tiny videos on your site, or worse, force them to click away to YouTube to see large versions. Give them nice big videos to watch right on your website.
If you really want to lots of videos on your site, one option is to create a playlist for specific types of videos and embed the playlists onto your site. Not sure how to create a YouTube playlist? Read this post: How to add a video playlist to your band website
Then to really add context, write a description for each video, telling the story behind it. Is it for a cover song? Why did you choose that song? Is it an original song? From which album? Where was the video shot? By who? Did anything funny happen during the shoot? Is there anything you’re particularly proud of with this video? Give people as much information as you can to encourage them to click play.
Your website should not be static. You should update your site on a regular basis to give fans a reason to keep coming back, so you’ll gain valuable data about where they’re coming from, get them signed up to your mailing list, and shopping in your Store. Videos are a great way to drive fans to your site, so make sure you’re using them to drive people to your own site, and not a site you don’t own or control.
However, many musician websites either don’t have a Videos page, or simply send people away to YouTube. Having a “Videos” section on your site with embedded videos allows you to curate which videos people see. With YouTube, there might be hundreds of live videos filmed by fans that might not be the greatest quality. Embedding videos on your site allows you to control the video content that visitors will see so you can put your best foot forward.
And remember, once you send someone away to YouTube, you’ve lost them from your website, and you've sent them away to a site that is filled with distractions. YouTube is a noisy site with tons of ads and lots of other unrelated videos to watch (cats videos anyone?). In today’s music industry, a fan’s attention is the most precious and scarce commodity. Don’t waste it!
Here are some tips for setting up a Videos page on your website:
Organize the Videos
Embedding video on your site allows you to showcase your best quality videos in a controlled environment, but chances are you have several different types of videos to choose from. Similar to how you would organize photos on your website, create different galleries for each type of video and post a few for each category. For example, you could create separate galleries for Official videos, Live videos, Cover songs, etc.For more ideas on the types of videos you can create, check out the blog post “Musicians: 8 Killer, Cost-Effective Videos To Add To Your YouTube Strategy”
Don’t Overdo it
Remember, the point of embedding videos on your site is to curate the content, so don’t overdo it. Having too many videos creates a similar problem for the visitor as going to YouTube: which video should they watch?Plus, embedding tons of videos on your page really slows down your site, taking more time to load, and chances are a person is not going to keep scrolling down and down to find more videos. Having between 2 and 8 videos embedded on your Videos page is probably the sweet spot.
With fewer videos, you should also take advantage of the design flexibility you have with your own website and embed large videos. Don’t make people watch tiny videos on your site, or worse, force them to click away to YouTube to see large versions. Give them nice big videos to watch right on your website.
If you really want to lots of videos on your site, one option is to create a playlist for specific types of videos and embed the playlists onto your site. Not sure how to create a YouTube playlist? Read this post: How to add a video playlist to your band website
Add Context: Titles & Descriptions
By posting videos on your website, it also allows you to add context to them. Sometimes embedded videos from YouTube don’t show the video titles, so first make sure you add a title for each video.Then to really add context, write a description for each video, telling the story behind it. Is it for a cover song? Why did you choose that song? Is it an original song? From which album? Where was the video shot? By who? Did anything funny happen during the shoot? Is there anything you’re particularly proud of with this video? Give people as much information as you can to encourage them to click play.
Keep it Fresh
And finally, don’t let your Videos page go stale. Have a new official video? Add it to the top of the page. Older videos feeling a bit stale? Filter them out. That being said, if you have older videos that are still getting lots of views, by all means, keep them on your site, but if you have videos that are performing better and need the space on your site, don't be afraid of doing a little cleanup on your Videos page on a regular basis.Your website should not be static. You should update your site on a regular basis to give fans a reason to keep coming back, so you’ll gain valuable data about where they’re coming from, get them signed up to your mailing list, and shopping in your Store. Videos are a great way to drive fans to your site, so make sure you’re using them to drive people to your own site, and not a site you don’t own or control.