dan7000
7/19/2011 7:41 pm
JB,
FWIW, I would never watch a video to learn about software. I suspect that a lot of users are like me: we will give your page approximately 30 seconds to convince us the software is worthwhile, otherwise we'll move on to something else.
A video longer than 30 seconds, therefore, will never get watched by many of us. Additionally, if the video requires sound, nobody is going to look at it during work. I don't even have speakers on my computer.
Take a look at Evernote's page for an example of good marketing. They've convinced millions of users to download their software, and they do it, in part by simply explaining the benefits - what you will get out of it if you use the software. http://www.evernote.com/about/learn_more/
Note that they're not talking about philosophy. They're not explaining how the UI works - they don't even have a screenshot! They're not focusing on HOW the software works. They're saying what you can DO with the software, and they give a number of concrete examples (clip a webpage of a recipe, file it, and find it fast later). Its super simple, and it convinces people in 30 seconds.
FWIW, I would never watch a video to learn about software. I suspect that a lot of users are like me: we will give your page approximately 30 seconds to convince us the software is worthwhile, otherwise we'll move on to something else.
A video longer than 30 seconds, therefore, will never get watched by many of us. Additionally, if the video requires sound, nobody is going to look at it during work. I don't even have speakers on my computer.
Take a look at Evernote's page for an example of good marketing. They've convinced millions of users to download their software, and they do it, in part by simply explaining the benefits - what you will get out of it if you use the software. http://www.evernote.com/about/learn_more/
Note that they're not talking about philosophy. They're not explaining how the UI works - they don't even have a screenshot! They're not focusing on HOW the software works. They're saying what you can DO with the software, and they give a number of concrete examples (clip a webpage of a recipe, file it, and find it fast later). Its super simple, and it convinces people in 30 seconds.