How to use video on your homepage effectively (and 10 great examples)

Before we dive into today's topic about website homepage videos, let's forget about your own website for just a second.

Rather than approach this article from the viewpoint of a business owner or employee, I want you to put yourself in the shoes of a consumer.

It shouldn't be hard. You make purchases for yourself, for others, or for your business nearly every day.

So here's my question: when you're making an important buying decision online, how likely are you to watch a video first?

We could be talking about a cool, but expensive product you're interested in, a service you need performed around your home, or a piece of software that might make your job easier.

This could be almost any purchase, really. As long as it costs just enough for you to want to question if it's the right choice for you; makes you want to research the product just a little more, or maybe learn a bit about the company that provides the service.

How often do you find videos helpful in making important buying decisions?

If you're like the rest of us, then it's just about every time. If you suspect there might be any kind of buyer's remorse later on, you're going to want to read some articles and watch some videos before punching in your credit card number at the digital checkout stand.

Now how frustrated are you when you go to a company's website and can't find a video anywhere, let alone the homepage?

I'm going to guess somewhere between pretty darn and extremely.

Why? Because videos are the quickest and most efficient way to digest information.

More and more companies understand the value of having videos on the homepage of their website.

But maybe you're just not sure what kinds of videos you could produce yourself, or worry about the cost of producing a video.

In this article, we're going to take a look at a handful of businesses that have utilized videos on their homepage.

And we've got a nice mix too. There's some local home improvement service companies, a couple of SaaS companies, B2B, B2C, corporate, SMB, and all that's in between (that started to rhyme there towards the end, didn't it?)

So check these websites out. You might find some cool stuff you'll want to implement for your own website.

Website Homepage Videos in Place of Hero Images

There's a growing trend with using videos on the homepage of websites, and that's to replace what's commonly referred to as the "hero image" section with videos.

Rather than try and find that one perfect image that sums up who you are and what you do or, God forbid, use a carousel of images, more and more companies are placing short, silent videos in the top content section of their website.

Not only is it eye catching to see video in this location, but when done right, you can tell visitors a whole lot of information about yourself.

Here are a few websites using Hero Videos effectively on their websites:

1. Model Apparel

If you're a company with a fair amount of employees that are required to wear uniforms to work, keeping track of all those uniform purchases can get complicated. What you'll probably want is to work with a uniform fulfillment company to help simplify your process.

This is what Model Apparel specializes in.

What makes it effective?

In the video above, you basically get to see what it takes to get your uniforms created and delivered. From embroidery to fine tuning to boxing and shipping, this video gives you a bit of a behind the scenes glimpse into the typical day of a newly minted uniform.

You'll probably notice that in this video, and a few of the ones following that use videos in the hero section, is that they appear a bit dark. This is one of the challenges of using videos in this location. In order for your You Statement, Value Proposition, and CTA (the text overlaying the video) to really pop, it's helpful to darken the video. Otherwise, the text might disappear or fade at times when the video is of the same color.

2. Wishpond

Wishpond is a self-serve lead generation and marketing automation platform. They offer an all-in-one suite that includes tools for pop-ups, landing pages, forms, social contests, workflows, email drip campaigns, and more. Basically everything you know and love about marketing automation.

In this video they take you through the day of a marketer using their platform.

What makes it effective?

It's really hard to have a single still image that shows off your software. Most of these companies rely on an image of a guy at his computer with one page of the software open for all of us to see.

But that's not really telling enough.

What's cool about this video is that it's not strictly about the software. It's about the person using the software.

In under a minute, without any sound, they take you through the day of a marketer using their platform.  You feel as if your workday as a marketer might just be made a little easier by using this software before you even get a tutorial of it. We see the marketer using some of its tools on her desktop as well as her phone, and we get some helpful pop-ups explaining some of the benefits of those tools.

Sure we have to watch a few clips of people playing ping-pong, drinking coffee, and giving thumbs-ups to the camera, but you can only give those kinds of overly confident gestures if you're no longer stressed at work. And the software gives them that level of confidence.

3. Fix Asphalt

Fix Asphalt is a professional asphalt, concrete, and pavement services company operating in Delaware and parts of Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey. And while they're capable of handling small projects like residential driveways, they prefer working on larger commercial jobs.

How large of jobs can they handle?

Take a look at the video below and see if you can guess.

What makes it effective?

If I was the owner of a hospital, church, movie theatre, or grocery store and I was looking to have my parking lot repaired, I'd want to make sure the company I chose could handle the scope of my project.

This simple shot of a drone launching straight up as it slowly reveals a gigantic, nicely manicured parking lot would prove to me in seconds that this company has the skills I'm looking for.

And if that wasn't enough, Fix Asphalt also has a cool little clip art explainer video that speaks more clearly as to who they are, what they do, and who they're a good fit for.

4. Alaska Tours

Have you ever considered traveling to Alaska? If you were on the fence before, the video below might make you finally pull the trigger on booking a trip to The Last Frontier.

What makes it effective?

When I first saw this website, I was initially disappointed in their use of video: I saw a fixed shot of some snowy mountains overlooking a fairly calm sea.

Nothing too exciting.

The only indication this was a video and not a still image was the subtle lapping of the waves and then-HOLY COW!! AN ENORMOUS HUMPBACK WHALE LAUNCHES ITSELF OUT OF THE WATER, TWISTS ITSELF AROUND, AND STICKS A PERFECT BELLY FLOP TO COMPLETELY DESTROY THIS PEACEFUL SCENE.

I've lived in Alaska for most of my life, and this video almost had me making reservations. It's that powerful.

The bears are pretty cool too. But that whale? That alone will create a tourist spike.

Websites that Have Videos In Other Areas of the Homepage

So maybe the hero section of your homepage isn't the best place for a video. You might have an amazing image that is just as effective as a video, or maybe some of those difficulties of darkening your videos or overlaying them with a pattern to keep your text crisp just doesn't look good.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't still be using videos. There is a bit more real estate on your homepage that a video might fit perfectly in.

Maybe you're featuring a product and want to show it in action.

Or you want your audience to get to know the people behind the service.

Could be you have some awesome testimonials you want to share.

There's a lot of great reasons to have at least one video on your homepage, and zero reasons to bury them elsewhere on your site.

5. ScribeMedia

Got some great ideas stuck inside that brain of yours, but just can't quite put pen to paper? Maybe writing isn't your strongest suit, or you don't have the time to dedicate to such a lengthy process?

That doesn't mean you should forget publishing a book. It just means you might want to leave the writing to the pros. This is where ScribeMedia comes in. You communicate your ideas to a team of writers, and they create a book for you, by you, using your voice.

So how did they choose to deliver that message in a video?

What makes it effective?

This one is kind of a hybrid. Similar to the videos shown above, this video automatically begins to play silently when you first access the site.

However, the CTA for the video entices you to hit the play button.

When you do, the full video opens up and your first introduction to the company is video testimonials of people that used the service and loved it.

Rather than have the company tell you who they are and what they do, they let their evangelist customers do it instead.

Before you have the details of the service (which are available in another video just a few sections down the page) you already have a good feeling about what it can accomplish.

6. Pro Lessons

Who doesn't want to learn how to play guitar?

Whether we're talking classic, electric, bass, or even their weird little cousin the ukelele, guitars are timelessly cool.

But taking lessons can be a bit of a pain.

You either need to schedule lessons at a music studio, have an instructor come to your house, or trust that the 15 year old kid on YouTube is going to effectively teach you to rock.

But what if you wanted to learn at your own pace, at an affordable price, and in the comfort of your own home from instructors you could trust?

Just watch this video real quick.

What makes it effective?

Remember all those questions and pain points I just listed above? They all get answered in a video that is a minute and a half long.

They even introduce you to their stable of pros: guys like Grant Mickelson, Noah Henson, Phil Keaggy, and others that have toured with some famous acts you may have heard of. Do you know who Taylor Swift is? You could learn from her guitarist.

7. OSV

Have you ever bought a car from a dealer? Then you know what a royal pain it can be to have a car salesman give you the information he wants to share, but not the info you're actually after.

Buying a car should be an enjoyable experience. You shouldn't have to mull over a decision that costs tens of thousands of dollars while some greedy salesman breathes down your neck, whispering sweet nothings in your ear as he tries to convince you to sign on the bottom line for a car that might not even be right for you.

OSV isn't a car dealer, it's a broker. So rather than working with a single lender to get a deal on a car, they can source multiple lenders to find the best deal.

That allows them the luxury of not being pests trying to force you into a bad deal.

What makes it effective?

OSV has dedicated it's website to educating consumers on all things car buying: from reviews of popular car models to to guides on all of your finance options, they want you to be educated.

This video details what their website and company mission statement is all about: reducing buyer's remorse by helping people make well-informed purchasing decisions.

8. US Waterproofing

Sure you could spend a ton of money on a fancy fiberglass pool, or you could wait till a freak rainstorm floods your basement with water.

Suddenly, going for a quick dip doesn't sound so fun.

US Waterproofing started repairing leaky basements in Chicago and the surrounding areas the same year Elvis bought Graceland. Before you leave this article to look up the year on Wikipedia, it was 1957. I have Wikipedia too.

To this day, they're still a family owned business. And while techniques for repairing basement cracks may have changed, one important factor never has: great customer service.

What makes it effective?

Watching this video you know the people working for the company are genuine. They're personable, helpful, and are great at educating their customers during what is very likely a stressful situation for them.

It's something that seems to be lacking in a lot of company websites: the personal touch. And these guys nail it. From this video alone, not only would I trust them to fix my foundation, I'd probably offer to have them stay over for dinner.

9. Zendesk

Let's say you have a ton of customers already using your product, that would be awesome right? The more you have, the more love and support you're going to have to show them. But what if you don't have the time or manpower to answer all customer inquiries?

Zendesk provides customer service solutions software that makes providing customer service quick and easy. And they have this quirky little video to illustrate the problems you're experiencing and the solutions they offer.

What makes it effective?

There's just something pleasantly fascinating about watching these shapes interact with each other. The circle and the square have that movie trope will they, won't they kind of relationship going.

it's intriguing, and even though after watching I only have about a 50% grasp of what they do, it makes me want to learn more.

Sometimes you don't have to give away all the answers on a first meet, a little mystery can still go a long way.

10. The Sales Lion

Just in case you were wondering, we're no slouches over here with videos ourselves.

C'mon, as if we would tell you something's a best practice without implementing it on our own site first.

Currently we have two videos on the site. One is a special promotion for Marcus' new book They Ask, You Answer (subtle plugs are my favorite), and the other tells you more about the services we offer, how to find the best content on our site, and how we help businesses stay competitive in the digital world.

What makes it effective?

How about on this one I ask you what you found effective? Leave us a comment below.

Bonus

I couldn't help but share this one for personal reasons.

Go Pro

You know what a Go Pro is. You either own one, or at least have a buddy always wanting to show you his [insert extreme sport] POV action shots.

Go Pro has been the leader of high quality action cameras for close to a decade now. They're small, light-weight, versatile, and come with a waterproof casing.

On Go Pro's homepage they're currently featuring one of their newest cameras: the Hero Session 4.

What makes this video cool is that instead of just showing you action footage from the camera (like 1/4 of all of YouTube does) it shows you the camera itself in a variety of awesome situations from another Go Pro!

That's some matrix level stuff right there.

What makes it effective?

In 2010 my dad and I were training to race in a half snowboard half snowmobile contest in Alaska called the Arctic Man.

It's kind of a big deal up here.

We were planning our trip when he said, "hey, I found this cool camera online I think we should each buy to film the race. It's called a Go Pro."

"Go Pro?"

"Yeah, Go Pro. Be a Hero. Here let me see if I can find their website real quick."

He pulled up the website which featured the video below.

We ordered two Go Pros less than 20 minutes later.

That's the impact a powerful video can have on your consumers.

Be like Go Pro. Be a Hero to your audience.