“If a picture speaks a thousand words, a video speaks a million.”
The foreword may be a tad bold, but we believe it sets the right precedent for the significance of an e-commerce product video.
E-Commerce product videos are quickly developing to be one of the most effective ways to convey the intent of your business and sell your product effectively.
Don’t believe us? Studies show that 52% of marketers agree that e-commerce product video has the best ROI (Return on Investment). Most e-commerce businesses prefer to outsource their videos to a marketing agency, lest they bear the cost of the expensive equipment.
In this article, we will be exploring why product videos are bankable investments to grow your business and how you can use them to drive conversions and offer a truly remarkable shopping experience. Here’s what we’ll be looking at in this article:
- What is an e-commerce product video?
- Types of e-commerce product videos
- Deciding the intent of your product videos
- Advantages of using product videos for your e-commerce store
- Creating simple and effective product videos
Related Read: Ecommerce Payment System?
What is an e-commerce product video?
An e-commerce product video, in essence, is a detailed visual tour of your products, an experience that only brick and mortar shops could achieve before the era of the video.
The main purpose of the product video is for any business to convey what they do and how the customer can use their product to better their lives. After the advent of the Internet, the attention span of the human mind is constantly on the decrease and video formats engage the new-gen customer, more than ever.
[bctt tweet=”It’s safe to say that product videos make up for brick and mortar stores in a way by humanizing the experience with a visual representation. ” via=”no”]
Types of e-commerce product videos
Over the years, it’s futile to ignore the massive transition from consuming images to consuming videos all over the internet. From YouTube to TikTok, some of the biggest video platforms are the most effective mediums to drive your message more effectively and increase sales for your e-commerce business.
According to the late-2019 Wyzowl Survey that polled marketers about their video tactics, the number above was up from 78% in 2015.
Here’s another interesting statistic that can change your view on video marketing- 96% of people have watched an explainer video to learn more about a product or service!
So, how do you nail the right videos for your e-commerce business? But first, let’s look at some types of e-commerce product videos that you can use:
Product walkthrough
The key to making a sale is providing the buyer with an offer that they can’t refuse. When it comes to product walkthrough videos, you can replicate the experience of shopping in a store without actually being there.
Keeping that in mind, some pointers to remember while shooting your product video is to provide a closer look (literally) at your products.
For example, an online clothing store that sells leather jackets should have product videos showing the jacket in clear, close-up frames so the customer can gauge the quality of the texture.
How-to videos
How-to videos are the core of every video marketing strategy and the best way to give your customers a fulfilling experience without them having to ever get in touch for support.
How-to videos apply to products that need to be assembled after arrival, that need specific instructions. Make sure your product videos are easy to understand and concise. This can go a long way in saving you support hassles and other complications.
Comparison videos
Every product is unique and comes with its own unique set of quirks and features. When dealing with indecisive customers, a comparison video can help quickly clear their thoughts and pave the way for a purchase.
A comparison video will compare your products’ quality to the industry standard and significantly improve conversions by helping a confused customer at the crossroads.
Lifestyle videos
How do you sell perfume on video? That’s what lifestyle videos help you discover. Lifestyle videos don’t describe the product but the reality of it. It’s important to know that your customers are not just purchasing your product; they are investing in the way of life you are offering.
By showcasing lifestyle videos, you can transcend your customer to experience what happens after buying your product. Lifestyle videos are heavily aesthetic and provide a touch of class to your online store.
Testimonial videos
Social proof plays an integral role in improving conversion rates and pushing the customer to finally make that purchase. Personal testimonies can help the buyer relate to your brand more effectively.
There’s nobody happier than a customer who has received an excellent product and a better service to top it off. When you provide experiences like these, make sure to get the customer on board for a testimonial video. This will not just benefit your e-commerce business, but will also boost your engagement rates with the customer.
Deciding the intent of your product videos
A tangible way to start off on making your product videos is to first, decide the intent of your video. We recommend that you keep the following intents in mind whilst creating e-commerce product videos:
- Provide the window to a wholesome, hassle-free, and safe buying experience from your e-commerce website
- Increase conversion rates by clearly explaining the intent and mechanisms of your product and uplifting customer experience therein
- Increase AOV (average order value) per customer, to generate higher revenues for your online store
- Attract new customers by offering genuine and useful content that helps answer their queries as easily as possible
Advantages of using product videos for your e-commerce store
Just to put things in perspective, here’s a statistic for you: When asked how they’d most like to learn about a product or service, two-thirds of people (66%) said they’d prefer to watch a short video.
This compares to 18% who’d rather read a text-based article, website, or post, 4% who’d like to view an infographic, 3% who’d rather download an ebook or manual, 3% who’d rather attend a webinar or pitch, and 2% who’d like a sales call or demo.
This only goes to show the might of video performance over the rest and its true impact on the actual purchase. So, here’s the final cut- why you should invest in more product videos for your business:
Boost your e-commerce website ranking
The Google Algorithm is constantly evolving to suit user preferences. As more and more users and shifting towards video content, adding a product video can greatly boost your website’s ranking.
Videos with relevant, rich content see a significant boost in SEO because they show that your page has information pertinent to search requests. Videos can also help you create additional backlinks to your site, in addition to providing views and shares that will increase the value of your content consequently.
Guarantee trust with product videos
The Indian consumer demographic bases their purchase largely on trust. This can be attributed to its strong connection with traditional ways of business like brick and mortar stores.
Your product video should aim to replicate the trust of buying in-store by providing reliable and relevant information about the product.
It’s basically a virtual demo
The biggest advantage of an effective product video is perhaps time it saves you and your sales team in explaining the product to every customer in excruciating detail.
Product videos aim to minimize stress on human resources by providing sufficient information to buy the product without the help of additional support.
Videos are easier to consume
As the war between written content and video goes on like any other, we’re not going to lie- videos are simply easier to consume because of their nature. Pages of overwhelming text that are difficult to consume can instead be repurposed into an engaging video that many more will watch.
Customers get information that is easy to understand, remember and even share across their circles. Remember, there’s nothing better than good ol’ recommendations from friends and family.
Boost clicks and shares
Videos are easy to consume and easier to share. Studies show that using videos can boost your click-through rate by 200 percent! From Snapchat to Instagram stories, these generations are fully embracing digital marketing and video content.
Leverage social media platforms to promote your content and maybe, your video could go viral someday!
Creating simple and effective product videos
Come up with a plan
When you begin planning your video, make sure to plan it out well. This includes deciding the target audience, the format, the actors/voiceover artists, the script and the tone of the video.
Keeping the above factors in mind, you can narrow down your ideas on how you can create a beautiful product video that compels every visitor to buy your product. Finetuning your audience effectively can help in increasing the ROI on your videos, too.
Begin with a basic format
If you’re just getting started on making product videos, here’s a handy checklist of things to include while writing your scripts:
| Visual cues | Refers to the design and other visual elements/cues that will appear in the product video. |
| Supers | Refers to any text that will appear on the screen during the course of the video. |
| Voiceovers | Denotes the scripted content needed to be provided to the voiceover artist. |
Decide on the length of your product video
The length of your e-commerce product video is crucial. Studies show that videos below 60 seconds usually perform better than longer videos due to the sheer amount of time saved.
When the customer is willing to make a purchase, make sure to reward their time optimally by showing them videos that are just long enough to give them clarity, yet short enough to hold their attention.
Make your videos mobile-friendly
Smartphones are the accessories of the millennium and it’s important to optimize your business to suit that. Most, if not all of the millennials and Generation Z base their purchases on their phones.
Social platforms like Facebook and Instagram come with specific dimension requirements for uploading videos. Make sure to keep the product and message visible on the screen for viewing, as mobile users find your e-commerce video more convenient than reading a tiny description.
Provide options for sharing
One of the best things about consuming a video is how easily you can forward it to the next person. That being said, it greatly helps to add social sharing buttons to enable users to share their thoughts from their social handles.
Social sharing options can help increase brand awareness, make the whole experience more fulfilling, and of course, increase conversions.
Final thoughts
Many brands have carved their niche better with effective video marketing. While all the above steps may seem a little daunting, rest assured that the results are completely worth it.
We hope this article helped you gain clarity on why your e-commerce website needs product videos, now more than ever. Want to know more about how to increase the profitability of your e-commerce website? Check out how Razorpay Thirdwatch is helping e-commerce businesses reduce their RTO losses and boost revenue with Artificial Intelligence.
