Gisteo creates best-in-class website intro videos. Since 2011, we’ve been a leading producer of diverse animated videos for organizations of all types, worldwide.
Welcome to Gisteo
In 2011, we launched Gisteo with a previous iteration of the website intro video you can see at the top of this page. Little did we know then that our quirky little “Gisteo Guy” would be so effective. He connected with people on many levels while presenting our value proposition in a clear, concise and entertaining way.
The Gisteo brand was born and the rest, as they say, is history. Since then, we’ve been creating unique website intro videos and custom-made animated videos of all kinds for clients across over the world. We combine affordable pricing with a clear, proven process and diverse styles to offer the best video animation services available anywhere.
The importance of website intro videos
A website without an intro video is like peanut butter without jelly. If you don’t engage your audience, you risk losing customers to the competition. You need to capture their attention, communicate simply and effectively and be memorable. Just like great movies connect with their audience, great website videos connect with your target and inspire them to take action.
Here are just a few stats that point to the importance of website intro videos for any organization:
- Forrester’s Dr. James McQuivey says “a minute of video is worth 1.8 million words.” Research hyperbole perhaps…but the power of online video for marketers is undeniable.
- 70% of marketing professionals report that video converts better than any other medium, according to MarketingProfs.
- Forbes insights found that 75% of executives watch videos on business websites at least once a week and 59% of execs agree that, if both text and video are available on the same topic, they are more likely to choose video.
- Homepage intro videos can keep people on your site longer, which is an important SEO factor. According to Forrester, having a homepage video increases your chances of being on page one of Google by 53 times when compared to a plain text web page.
- Reel SEO reports that homepage intro videos can help improve conversions by up to 20%.
- And Vidyard study revealed that 82% of B2B marketers reported achieving success with their video marketing initiatives.
3 keys to creating effective website intro videos
Your homepage is likely the single most visited page of your website. You’ve got precious few seconds to communicate the essence of what you’re all about before visitors click off your page and move on to the next site or online activity. Here are three keys you should keep in mind when producing an intro video for your homepage:
1. Keep it concise
Intro videos are ideally high-level, company overview videos that clearly and succinctly tell your story. Like we say in our brand name, you want to communicate the “gist” of your solution to potential customers with your homepage intro video…not force-feed them a bloated manifesto that nobody wants to finish. You may very well want or need to create specific product tutorials, demo videos or more in-depth landing page videos, and that’s fine…but there’s a time and place for everything. Website intro videos should be big-picture and two minutes or less in length.
2. Keep it consistent with your overall branding
Intro videos should be a reflection of your overall brand. You want your intro video to look and feel as though it’s a seamless part of your company branding. It shouldn’t stick out or look like a separate one-off you had produced by a company that ignored your brand guidelines. Also, when it comes to the script, the tone should be in line with your overall brand voice. If you’ve got an irreverent, quirky brand, embrace this with your video. If you’re all corporate and buttoned-up, a homepage intro video with over-the-top humor may seem inconsistent with the rest of your messaging. Be true to yourself and your brand!
3. Give it prominent “real estate” on your homepage
You’ve spent good time and money getting your website intro video produced. The last thing you want to do now is bury it somewhere where people can’t find it! Ideally, it should be “above the fold” or at least prominently displayed. Make it easy to find and don’t be afraid to put a fat “play” symbol over the video so it’s crystal-clear that you have video content for the viewer to watch. Add in a catchy headline to call further attention to your intro video. You may also want to mention the running time so your audience knows that it’s not a significant time commitment- e.g. “Learn more in just 90 seconds.”
Intro video best practices, applied
Here’s a good example on one of our website intro video productions in action, keeping in mind the above-mentioned “3 keys to effective website intro videos.” Our client, Argos Homewatch offers a diverse range of services that go far beyond traditional house sitting.
Concise video? Check. Just under 90 seconds. Consistent with overall branding? Yep, totally seamless. Prominent real estate? Big-time. As you can see in the image below, the video is the first thing you see when you visit their homepage.
”Gisteo did an amazing job with our animated explainer video. We originally tried to outsource our work, but ran into an immense amount of problems which kept extending the deadlines. I called Stephen at Gisteo and explained the situation to him and in just a few short weeks (with minimal intervention) had a completed 5 star product.
Jason HackbarthFounder, Argos Homewatch
A few of our many website intro videos
Below is just a quick sampling of the many website intro videos we’ve created here at Gisteo. For a more thorough review of our animated videos organized by style, be sure to check out our portfolio page.
