Trigger Happy
Relax, this is not going to be a blog post about gun control. Here at EyeView, a trigger is the name we have for the part of a webpage that lets you know there is a video to be watched. When you click on the trigger the video starts playing. The trigger can be a static graphic or it can be animated. It can just be a picture or it can have text. If it has text there is an unlimited number of variations to the text that you might try.
Once we have proven for a customer (using A/B testing) that the very fact of introducing a video to a site increases conversion, we like to make sure that as many people as possible elect to watch that video. Here we will look at a number of different triggers that we are currently experimenting with. The intention is not to present definitive evidence of which triggers are more effective at driving views, but to look at the different options. Of course even if you think you know which of two triggers would be more effective, the only way to be certain is to test them against each other simultaneously with real site visitors.
Leaving the comparison testing aside for a moment, let's just take a look at some really interesting triggers that the team here have been working on. Over the next few weeks we'll be testing these "in the field" and I'll be able to report back to you which ones were most effective and for which sites.
Try this one for starters:
The trigger sits on the page like any other element, but then every few seconds it rattles commanding your attention and giving you the call to action you need to click and start watching the video. Notice also that this trigger shows you exactly how long the video is going to last. Is this more or less likely to encourage someone to watch? Next up is a different kind of trigger. This one has been designed to reflect the messaging of the site and to encourage visitors who need more information to watch the video that will help them decide to download.
This next trigger is a cheeky introduction to the video that uses some of the elements of the video to encourage people to watch. The trigger uses the same kind of animation as the video itself and maintains the tone of the surrounding site. With all those arrows pointing to the play button, it couldn't be clearer.
Finally for this post I am going to showcase a simple trigger. This one is elegant and minimalist with a little extra encouragement for you when you roll the cursor over it. Go on, give it a try.
That's just a selection of the things we are working on here. Depending on the response I get to this post I may put up some more for you to look at another time. Let me know in the comments which ones you prefer and why you think they'd be more effective.
