A photo might be worth a thousand words, but a product video is worth much more in terms of engagement and conversions. 96% of consumers find video content useful when shopping online. eCommerce merchants featuring product videos on their sites report an increase in conversion rates of up to 85%. Other benefits of video for ecommerce include: prolonged session duration, more site pages visited, improved conversion rates and more site traffic.
Let’s take a look at some of the basic things to consider when developing a video marketing strategy for your business.
How to select the right video marketing strategy for you
Before you dive into the creative aspect of video marketing, you should evaluate what kind of video strategy works best for you. What do you expect to achieve with videos on your site? What kind of resources do you have in terms of time, money and skills? The role you envision for videos on your site and the effort you are prepared to invest in video marketing should guide your strategy. There are three main routes you can take:
1. Make your own videos
Creating your own videos is the most resource-demanding strategy, but also the most rewarding one in terms of giving a voice to your brand. If you are selling products under your own label, then making your own videos makes sense, as this strategy allows you to promote your own brand, values and vision.
2. Source videos from brands, experts and users
Not all online merchants have the drive to create their own videos, and that’s fine. If you are pressed for time and resources or simply don’t feel comfortable in front of the camera, make use of existing videos about the products and brands you sell. YouTube and other video-sharing platforms are overflowing with videos by brands, experts and users that are available for re-sharing on ecommerce sites–and, best of all, they’re free. This is a great way to test how shoppers react to videos on your site without making major commitments to video production, especially if you’ve never experimented with video marketing before.
3. Combine your own videos with curated videos
Finally, take the best of both worlds and offer your shoppers a mix of your own videos and those curated from other sources. This is a great way to diversify your video content, keep shoppers engaged, and demonstrate your product expertise.
Select the right type of videos
After you have selected the right video strategy for your business, it’s time to think about the kind of video content your shoppers will value the most. Videos should engage shoppers with interesting stories about the products and motivate them to click the “add to cart” button. Some of the best types of videos for ecommerce are:
Product review videos. They let shoppers know what the main features and benefits of the product are, as well as how it performs in action. These videos set expectations about a product before shoppers commit to a purchase and help prevent returns.
How-to tutorial videos. Instructional videos showcasing how to assemble, use and maintain products are especially valuable for complex products such as consumer electronics, appliances, cosmetics and baby products.
Unboxing videos. Having a video which demonstrates product packaging and how it’s unwrapped helps shoppers visualize their purchases better. These videos help reduce shopper anxiety and spur interest in the product.
When selecting videos for your site, think about the kinds of questions shoppers are likely to have about your products and let the video answer them. Remember, video should act as a virtual salesperson on your ecommerce site, so choose videos that will help tackle any uncertainties shoppers might have.
Best practices for product videos for eCommerce
When done right, videos can bring tangible improvements to engagement and conversion rates of ecommerce sites. Here are some practical tips online merchants should have in mind when developing video marketing tactics:
Get inspired. Research YouTube for videos about the products and brands you’re selling or about products in the same category. Search for videos by brands, users, experts and retailers. Take notes on the information they provide, the style and length of their videos and calls to action. Use these insights to decide what kind of videos you could make or curate for your site.
Start by adding videos to your most lucrative products. If you haven’t used videos on your site before, it’s a good idea to start with your best-selling products or product pages with the highest traffic. This will enable you to quickly gather data about the effects of video on engagement and conversion.
Bring videos closer to conversion points. If you want to track how video affects your “add-to-cart” conversion rates, then make sure you add videos directly to product pages, rather than category pages, to maximize their effect on the purchase intent.
Make video easy to spot. Place product videos alongside product photos and product description. This grabs shoppers’ attention right away and prompts them to engage with the content. Try to place video above the fold when possible. Avoid placing videos at the bottom of the page, as this makes it difficult for shoppers to discover them.
Add multiple videos to product pages. You have multiple product photos on your pages, so why not have multiple videos as well? Try a combination of different types of videos to engage shoppers. Mix up your own videos with user-generated videos, customer testimonials and product reviews to give shoppers an authentic experience. Don’t be afraid to test different video gallery options to discover your winning formula.
Make sure videos display well on mobile. We live in a mobile world and shoppers want a seamless experience, no matter what devices they use to access your online store. Don’t forget to apply responsive design to videos as well, so shoppers can see videos in full quality when browsing your site from mobile.
What’s next?
Once you’ve drafted your video marketing strategy, make sure to test how well video works on your ecommerce site. Here are some of the things you should be monitoring:
How do shoppers behave on pages with video versus pages without video?
What percentage of shoppers actually watches video?
How long do shoppers engage with video?
How do videos impact session duration and the number of pages visited?
What are the conversion rates on pages with video versus pages without video?
Answering these questions and monitoring shopper behavior will help you understand which approach is right for you. Video is an excellent addition to your marketing efforts, so keep on experimenting and perfecting it. If you haven’t started with video yet, don’t miss out on the opportunity to give your shoppers a great customer experience with videos they’ll love to watch!
About the author
Miljana Mitic is the Content Marketing Manager at Goodvidio, a SaaS solution that helps online stores bring the best product videos from social media to their product pages. Miljana has a PhD in social media marketing and writes about how online stores can make the most out of product videos. She loves discovering new restaurants, reading, playing with dogs and watching YouTube haul videos.
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