Do I auto-play my videos or include a play button? The answer depends on the context for which the video is being played. We’ve provided you with some data about where auto-playing your videos and implementing a play button work best!

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Once your video has been produced, edited and uploaded, you then have to decide how you’re going to present the video to your audience. Will it appear on your homepage or a landing page? Do they know they will be viewing a video or are you surprising them with it once they visit the page?

These are important questions you need to ask yourself in order to answer the next question: Should my video auto-play or include a play button?

I came across this topic in a recent Linkedin Group conversion that elicited a flood of responses. The question asked was “Does anyone have any data on the pros and cons of having your video auto play from your site.” We’ve presented you with both options to help you make an informed decision.

Deciding between the two ultimately comes down to the context for which your video will appear; in order to help you with the decision making process, we’ve formulated data from our database of Vidyard users. The data represents various locations a video may be placed and which locations are the most successful at maintaining viewer attention, based on whether the video started by clicking a play button or started because it was set to auto-play.

Why you should auto-play your video:

Are your viewers aware that the page they are going to has video? Understand where your customers are coming from in order to get to your video. If they’ve clicked a thumbnail of your video, go ahead and auto-play it! Your visitors are aware that they are being redirected to a video so they more than likely won’t be surprised to see one.

To provide you with quantitative data on the success rates of auto-playing your videos, we’ve included the graph below. The data outlines the top 3 spots where auto-played video was the most successful atmaintaining viewers attention. The percentages outline the amount of video watched (on average) from each location: 

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Why you should use a Play Button:

The play button can be your strongest Call to Action. Without using text, it clearly communicates what you want your visitors to do next. In light of this, we put together statistics showcasing where the play button proved to be most effective at maintaining viewers attention.  Webpages, blog posts, social media, training modules and company intranets proved to be the top 5 locations. The percentages outline the amount of video watched (on average) from each location:

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Maintaining viewer attention is essential to communicating the entire message presented in your video. These statistics are meant as a guideline to help you decide whether or not you should auto-play or use a play button for your videos. Still afraid people might leave your video half way through? Not too worry, you can implement Call to Actions at any point within your video to either maintain attention or direct viewers straight to the next step.

For more information about video and marketing strategies, make sure you follow us on Twitter!

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@stephLgoodman
Steph is the Marketing Manager here at Vidyard. She looks after Vidyard’s Marketing strategies, with a particular love for writing. Looking for a blog on a particular topic? She’s the one you want to reach out to! 

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