Use-case sample videos instead of industry ones: double-digit lift
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsAnimoto replaced industry-specific sample videos on a landing page with use-case videos that fit any business, and conversions rose by a double-digit percentage.
Animoto ran the test in-house, and it was published on the MarketingExperiments blog. The exact lift was not shared.
- Conversions: a double-digit lift for the use-case videos. The exact percentage was not shared.
- The result suggests visitors cared more about what they could make than about seeing their own industry.
The change
Above-the-fold samples switch from industry videos to use-case videos
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
The landing page showed sample videos above the fold, split by industry: real estate, professional photography and online retail.
Variant
The same spot showed sample videos by use case instead: a company overview, a product description and a customer testimonial.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- Visitors may think in terms of the job they need done, such as a product video, not the industry they belong to.
- Industry samples can make anyone outside those three industries feel the product is not for them.
- Use-case samples apply to almost every visitor, so more people see a video they can picture making.
Caveats: The source gives no exact lift, sample size, duration or confidence level, and the test dates from around 2015. Treat the size of the result as unknown.
Who ran it
Animoto ran this test and published the results (MarketingExperiments). The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
Read the original case study on Animoto →
How to run this test on your site
- Hypothesis
- If we show sample outputs grouped by use case instead of by industry, then more visitors will sign up because they can see the result they want regardless of their sector.
- Primary metric
- Sign-up or trial start rate from the landing page
- Guardrails
- Activation rate after sign-up
- Plan mix or paid conversion
- Video play rate
- Who should test it
- SaaS products that serve many industries with the same core features, such as content, design or video tools. It may not fit products sold to one regulated vertical, where industry-specific proof matters more.
Questions
Should a SaaS landing page show examples by industry or by use case?
Test it. Animoto assumed industry examples would feel more relevant, but use-case examples that fit any business converted better.
Is segmenting landing pages by industry always better?
No. A segment is a guess about how customers see themselves, and Animoto's visitors did not sort themselves by industry.