So you want to upload videos to your website. For space, load-time and other reasons, the better option is uploading them to a third-party video site and embedding them on your own site.

But which service do you choose? We’ve done some research breaking down the pros and cons of arguably the two biggest players today.

YouTube:

When it comes to video online, YouTube reins king. If you want your video seen beyond your site, YouTube is the way to go

• High definition
• Upload files up to 20GB in size
• Up to 15 minutes in length (you can raise your limit by verifying your account)
• Allowed file formats
• Private videos (give specific people access)
• Unpublished videos (won’t list in searched, but assigned unlisted URL)

One big drawback to YouTube, according to some of our clients, is the related videos that appear at the end of the videos. But for others, the social sharing ability is worth it.

Vimeo:

Vimeo is newer than YouTube and tends to have videos of a more artistic nature.

• 500MB per week (up to 10 files per day)
• No video length restrictions
• High definition
• Vimeo Plus (which you pay for) allows for up to 5GB upload per week
• Allowed file formats

There are no related videos on Vimeo that come up at the end. For a site that is solely embedding the video for viewing on their site, this is the recommended way to go.

Still looking for some other ideas? Here are 30 more.

Do you have an idea for a video but aren’t sure how to execute? Are you looking for some advice on creating videos for your site? Ask the online video experts at IntelliSites.

Filed under: Content, Social Media
Tags: Content, video, video hosting, vimeo, youtube
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Everyone perceives things in a different way. That’s why the take-away from your website needs to come in many forms.

Fifteen years ago, websites were pretty much just text (albeit occasionally multi-colored) and small images.

Thanks to broadband Internet access and compression technology, website developers can include higher quality and larger graphics without sacrificing an end-user’s load speed.

That speed also means there are other senses and attention spans to address.

Thanks to companies like YouTube, online video is more than a marketing tool. For some people it’s a way of life.

Video allows you to show and tell at the same time.

Audio, while obviously part of video, can be used alone for its own punch (think radio before TV).

The best practice now, concerning audio and video on a website, is to let the user decide whether to press play. Think of the times you’ve gone to a site and can’t figure out how to turn off the music or video.

If you’re telling viewers to click play in the right way, you will get a high percentage of plays without annoying someone and keeping them away.

Are there elements of your company you can show online? Do audio recordings make sense for your business to have online?

Let the Albany web design experts help out with your audio, video and other marketing needs.

Filed under: Content, Conversion
Tags: audio, Content, video
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When it comes to online video, YouTube and other Google video sites are still king.

A comScore Video Metrix report found that 180 million Americans watched an average of 18 hours of online video content in August. That’s what the company called “a record 6.9 billion viewing sessions.”

Not surprising, Google sites and Hulu logged the longest viewership – with an average user watching 5.7 hours on YouTube and 3.2 hours on Hulu.

That means video ads aren’t going away anytime soon.

Americans watched more than 5.6 billion video ads last month — 996 million on Hulu, according to comScore.

More than 85 percent of Americans using the Internet watched some form of video online last month. The average length of video – whether viral or favorite TV show – was 5.3 minutes.

Want to learn more about online video and how it can help your company? Ask the Intellisites’ Albany web design team.

Filed under: Content, Experiencing the Web
Tags: Content, videos, youtube
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We’ve seen it far too many times.

A company rushes to get on Facebook or pay for banner ads on some website before thinking about the customer experience to follow.

It’s kind of like buying paint and furniture before you even hire a construction company to build your house. But it’s worse because you’re not only losing potential customers – you could be leaving current customers with a bad taste.

The first and most important piece of advice is to follow up your social media brainstorming session by taking a step back.

What do you really want to accomplish?

If you’re planning a big event for your business and you’re telling people about it through a social media ad, are users who click being directed right to your home page clueless as to where to click next?

Or did you have the IntelliSites’ Albany web design team design a custom landing page connected to your site with information specific to what you’re advertising?

Have you ever clicked a link and then been utterly confused as to where to go? That’s the result of poor web design and most likely limited forethought.

Things like the text you use, the images and especially the layout of a page specific to bringing in new customers play a HUGE role!

Knowing how your customers will approach a web page is especially helpful if you’re using social media to get people to sign up for a specific e-mail list.

Perhaps you’re launching a new line of products next year and want to remind everyone when it happens.

Let your Facebook friends know (but make sure not to post too often and SPAM them — they’ll end up ignoring you) and point them to a sign-up form on your website.

Make sure you’re clear as to what they’re signing up for and stick to it. You’ll build a stronger base that way.

If you want to have your social media followers sign up for additional e-mail reminders, you can offer that as separate checkboxes in your form.

Not sure where to begin? Let the experienced Albany web design team at IntelliSites advise you.

Filed under: Social Media, Usability
Tags: Content, experience-based design, marketing, Social Media
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There are a number of pieces that make up the puzzle of your website. A lot of them – like graphics, colors, and videos – are there to add visual appeal. Others are there to add functionality to your site. But one of the most important pieces is the one that delivers your message – the content.

A lot of people think they can write website content, and if you surf the web, you’ll come across content in a ton of different styles. But you’ll also find some sites that have content that’s effective – and some sites that don’t.

Here are a few things that the good ones have in common:

• A point. That they get to, quickly. Rambling on and on doesn’t work on your website. Good content writers know exactly what they’re trying to say, and say it succinctly. There’s a place for long paragraphs and complicated language, but your website isn’t it.
• A consistent tone that works for your brand. The writing across your site should really sound like the same person wrote it. And that person should seem like your brand in human form. If you’re an upscale, sophisticated business, the writing should be formal. If your business is casual and laid-back, the writing should be light and relaxed. Be sure that your business vibe and your writing jive.
• Plenty of emphasis on benefits. The writing’s gotta be persuasive, and benefits persuade. A lot of web content focuses on the features of businesses or the services they provide (i.e., what the services do), but writers who take the extra jump and explain the benefits (i.e. what the services will do for the customer) always end up with more effective content.
• Well-placed keywords. Let’s face it – search engines are reading your web content too. In order to get noticed by Google and Bing, you’ll need to incorporate keywords that clients may be searching for. But you have to get them in there stealthily so the search engines see them but the humans aren’t annoyed by keywords that don’t seem like they fit.

Don’t let your website be like one of those people who look great until they open their mouths. Make sure your content is written by a pro so your website will look and sound fantastic.

For more pro services that you probably need, check out IntelliSites’ Albany Web Design services section.

Filed under: Content
Tags: Content, keywords, writing
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