Auto-play video on website, or NOT?

bross

13 years ago

I personally don`t like that, but from marketing aspect I think it is good

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hashif16

13 years ago

Originally Posted by zannix

Hey warrios, what do you think, in your own experience:

Do visitors like auto-play videos on websites, or do they prefer to have an option to start them when they wish to?

Let's see your opinions

In my opinion its not good.. people will play the video if they like it..

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oneplusone

13 years ago

Test it and see what converts best!

Serious marketers don't do their testing by starting forum polls lol!

Whatever the poll says ... you should probably do the OPPOSITE!

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zannix 13 years ago

Originally Posted by oneplusone

Whatever the poll says ... you should probably do the OPPOSITE!

Now that's a radical approach lol
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- oneplusone 13 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by zannix
  
  Now that's a radical approach lol
  
  If I had no other information available apart from this type of poll result, I'd do the opposite of the higher vote without question.
  
  What people say they'll respond to, and what they'll actually respond to are two different things altogether.
  
  Sometimes they're the same.
  
  But you'd be surprised at how often they're not.
  
  Thanks
  
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  'If you hear a voice within you say "you cannot paint," then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced.' Vincent Van Gogh.
  
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B3som

13 years ago

I don't mind it personally, as long as the video is not too loud. As it would grab my attention and for that first 5seconds while I'm looking for the video to turn it off and you say something useful, I may watch the remainder of the video.

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colll999

13 years ago

For marketing I would use an auto start video, it grabs the persons attention.

What I don't like is when you cant even stop or pause the video, no control = bad, for me anyway.

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techservice

13 years ago

If the primary point of your page is for visitors to watch a sales video, then yes autoplay is a must because that’s what you want your visitors to see but I don't advise taking away the control bar because some people do go back and review parts of the video. You also need to take into consideration the niche you’re in and what sort of visitors you are getting. For example: a website selling high tech equipment to doctors needs to be quite different to selling to newbie’s in the IM space.

Remember you only have a few short seconds to grab the attention of your visitor so make the first 10 seconds enticing.

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Murt@gh

13 years ago

I think it depends if you think the content in your video is more valuable than the rest of the content on the page? For example, if you have an appauling video, you know, your run-of-the-mill cheesy over the top advert.. a person would likely close off the page because they didn't like the video. So in that example you can see you potentially killed potential conversions by having that content automatically play at them.

Of course the above is only one example, the scenario could go the opposite way and attracting conversions with the videos, providing the content is good and interesting.

So I guess overall, I'd say auto play should only be used if the video is of high quality and captivating.

Regards,
Ross.

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JohnMcCabe 13 years ago

Smart-ass answer:

Some do, some don't...

Serious answer?

Some do, some don't. As oneplusone implied, you need to find out if the people who actually buy your stuff do or don't. And the only reliable way to find out is to ask them - by split testing both on your traffic in your market.

I do agree with leaving the control bar. If I can't pause the video by using a pause button or clicking on the video, I'll do it by closing the tab. And the odds of me coming back are pretty slim. That's my 'consumer' answer.
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edakehurst

13 years ago

Is this a squeeze page or a content page that you are asking about?

If it is a squeeze page, I would definitely do some split testing. Test with no autoplay, autoplay with no controls and autoplay with controls. Personally, I hate autoplay (especially if it has no controls), however split testing has stated otherwise. I would always go with split testing over personal preferences.

If it is a content page, you can also do some testing. However, I think what was stated above about how the video relates to the other content on the page might make a difference. Is the video the main focus of the page or is it secondary?

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zannix

13 years ago

It is closely related to the website theme. To cut the bull, you have my website in my signature, and the video is near the top, that's the video I'm talking about - I don't know if I should make it auto-play or leave it as it is.

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1 reply

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JohnMcCabe

13 years ago

Originally Posted by zannix

It is closely related to the website theme. To cut the bull, you have my website in my signature, and the video is near the top, that's the video I'm talking about - I don't know if I should make it auto-play or leave it as it is.

On my screen, the video is below the fold (meaning it isn't on the initial screen and I have to scroll down to see it, for anyone who did not know). I would avoid the autoplay in this instance, as sound coming from an unseen source would tend to startle many people. Most would simply close the window rather than investigate.

If you swapped the video for the picture above it, you'd be able to get a better test, IMO. At least if you did autoplay, people could see the video playing and choose to watch or not.

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Merchant Prince

13 years ago

I think most people would prefer to have the option of playing the video themselves rather than it automatically playing when the webpage comes up.

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Steven Dybka

13 years ago

Originally Posted by zannix

Hey warriors, what do you think, in your own experience:

Do visitors like auto-play videos on websites, or do they prefer to have an option to start them when they wish to?

Let's see your opinions

I would say no,I don't like it when I go to a website and the video play automatically,I would like to be the one to choose if it plays or not.

Steve

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Michael Lee 13 years ago

I prefer NOT to auto-play because it can really irritate some people who are caught by surprise.

Some people may be using a computer while their family members are sleeping. Guess what happens if they forgot to turn the speaker volume down?
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sting82

13 years ago

I don't like auto play videos on website..

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LogoNerds

13 years ago

Michael Lee makes a very valid point about being caught by surprise. That actually happened to me and I was so annoyed I left without a second thought. Also, if you don't allow me to control, pause, stop the video...I'm leaving. Think about it - if my phone rings when I'm watching your video and I can't pause it, I'll probably leave during or after the phone call because I don't want to watch it all over again (it's very annoying and if you annoy me, you lose me.)

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John Hocking 13 years ago

If the only thing on the page is your video, then auto play may be a good idea. Otherwise I would not use it and allow users to read the page content if they want to without the video running.
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Tsnyder

13 years ago

Originally Posted by zannix

Hey warriors, what do you think, in your own experience:

Do visitors like auto-play videos on websites, or do they prefer to have an option to start them when they wish to?

Let's see your opinions

If it's a page where I Have text as well as video I give
them the choice to play or not play.

On pages where I have nothing but video with
an opt in box I autoplay the video with some bold
text above the player that says "The video will
begin playing in 10 seconds. Please adjust your
speakers accordingly."

Tsnyder

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SB274

13 years ago

I prefer not to have auto-play on. Especially if users continue to visit that webpage.

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1 reply

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Bradley J Anderson 13 years ago

Originally Posted by bross

I personally don`t like that, but from marketing aspect I think it is good

'Ditto' with this.
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omk

13 years ago

I think the majority of visitors would find it annoying. Once the page loads, your visitor will press play. With the autoplay's a lot of times the user is surprised by the audio or the audio is too loud. The final call is up to you, the type of traffic you have and your test results.
The only instance where I would use an autoplay is in a situation where the traffic is very flaky. In this cenario your only chance is to get them before they know what hit 'em and click off your page.

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magnates 13 years ago

I would say let people decide . Don't force people to watch your to the video . I find it to be a turn off
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frontiergold

13 years ago

Interesting question since it's one of those things that many people have opinions on. Most people that make comments usually say they hate self starting videos. But what about those who never comment? Since most IM Superstars seem to have videos that self start there is a good clue that they have tested and the self starting videos work.

Now to answer the question about this specific site. Since the video is below the fold your customers would be very confused if it started automatically. They would be looking at your site and suddenly the audio starts. Since they don't see the video the first step they might take is to click away to stop the video.

The only time you want an automatic playing video is when it's actually on the screen so that it makes sense to your customer.

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pmbrent

13 years ago

If a person doesn't have their volume up then auto-playing it wouldn't do any justice. Rather have them start the video on their own (with controls) and if they can't hear it that would be a signal to them to turn their volume up. Your conversions will be higher for people who decide to watch the video versus people being forced to watch it.

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Auto-play video on website, or NOT?

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