Weekly Links Roundup – Contact Pages, Phone Numbers, Branding, Video Editors

The top website and online marketing links of the week.

Contact pages – not the most exciting topic, right? But so important: getting that user to get in touch with you may be the most critical conversion on your site. Here’s a great post on 25 amazing contact pages that may help you rethink the typical boring contact us page and make it something a bit more special for your users.

And speaking of contact pages… should you put your phone number on your website? And do you? This article on posting phone numbers (or not) grew out of a forum discussion on Australian entrepreneur site Flying Solo, and goes over the pros and cons of posting a number.

Did you know that research shows (PDF) 54% of users say that a lack of phone number/contact info will drop the credibility of a site and the likelihood of buying from you or filling out a contact form? But what about junk calls and so forth? If you’re a very small business or solopreneur, consider getting something like a Google Voice number that allows you to forward calls and provides voice mail when you’re not available to talk.

You’ve probably heard that you need to work on ‘building your brand’ if you run a small business. But what does that really mean? And why is it so important? Learn more about the benefits of branding – including increased credibility and trust – even for the tiniest of companies.

Finally… video marketing is hot! Studies show that customers are 4x more likely to watch a video about a product than read about it. But how do you get started? First, choosing video editing software is a key step. Here’s a review of 16 video editors, both free and commercial, that can help you get started.

Did you find this information useful? Please share with your friends and colleagues! And comment below with questions or observations.