Video Hosts Improve Website Conversion

Does your website need a video host? Should you use animation or interactive streaming media? Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have conducted studies to find out just how successful interactive media websites really are.

Results have revealed that interactivity within a brand’s market strategy does help to create “uniformly positive attitudes” with consumers. The study reaffirms a previous study conducted by Microsoft in 2001 which showed interactive media content could improve brand metrics by as much as 194%.

Overwhelmingly, the University of Pennsylvania research found that correctly executed interactivity is a strong psychological prompt aiding the overall persuasive function of online ads.

And according to the research team, this is not exclusive to online advertisements (banner ads) but is equally effective with general website execution as well.

Respondents displayed a significantly increased positive reaction to interactive websites as opposed to static websites with pictures and text only.

However, using animations which do not interact with your audience can have a negative impact. Non-interactive animations are poor at establishing brand association.

Websites which contained random flash or streaming video were found to create distraction rather than enhancing their brand recognition. This was in spite of positive viewer reactions with regards to technical achievement or execution of the animations. Those who viewed these ads were more likely to remember the ad and not the brand.

The shapes you choose were also proven to be significant. Ad shapes and logo designs were shown to influence audience receptiveness when using interactive streaming media websites and banner ads.

Studies have shown that people respond more positively to symmetrical shapes and human forms. And advertisements or websites that use interactive animated characters were found to be more favourably received and memorable.

Live, interactive, streaming video website ‘hosts’ can help to establish instant connections with consumers and generally convey more individuality and personality.

Services such as Video Persons are becoming powerful tools to help companies establish immediate consumer interaction with their brand. Researchers believe this is crucial to creating consumer brand recall.

And interactive streaming media combined with a website host such as Video Persons raises the memorability of a brand’s website one step higher. Researchers found that three-way interactions produced the most positive consumer responses.