Strategy
Video marketing: the mighty power of the moving image
March 2022E-commerce businesses have a plethora of marketing tools at their disposal, but none pack quite the punch that video does. It's powerful. It’s compelling. And with people watching an average of 18 hours of online video per week, a staggering 7.5 hour increase per week across the past 3 years, it’s a marketing tool that can’t be ignored.
Combined with the roll-out of 5G mobile phone networks, the rising popularity of video is set to accelerate even more. Faster and more accessible, 5G will offer businesses a friction-free way to offer video to their users. Without the buffering and technical limitations of older networks, this new iteration opens the door to a world of opportunities to marketers looking to try everything from interactive videos to live streaming.
With these changes no longer just looming over the horizon but actually here, there’s no better time to harness the magic of video marketing than now. Because the future is here – and it belongs to video.
Down the rabbit hole
From lifting brand awareness to driving engagement, there’s much that a great video can do for brands. Incorporate video and people will spend more time on your page or site, an important metric for Google’s SEO. The tech giant adjusts its algorithm to align with user preferences and the latest trends and getting in on the video boom is an almost sure-fire way to boost a brand’s Google rankings: web pages that feature at least one video are 45 times more likely to rank higher on the search results page.
“If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth a million.”
The benefits of video marketing go far beyond Google. Videos on e-commerce sites close the gap between shopping in-store and online, reducing the uncertainty that comes along with not being able to touch, feel and try a product. Videos lessen the risk of purchase, and potential buyers who can see what your product is all about through videos (which 95% of consumers find helpful) instead of mere pictures are less likely to return what they buy. And that means more savings for you. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth a million.
But not all videos are created alike, their ability to engage customers make videos a quintessential part of marketing. But with all the possibilities out there, the challenge is knowing where to start. The options are many and depend on your business’s needs, budget, and goals. Here’s a look at just a handful of some of the most popular types of marketing videos to help you get the camera rolling.
Watch and shop
The way people shop has changed, but the things that influence purchasing decisions—seeing and testing the actual product, customer reviews and referrals—remain the same. This is where shoppable video enters the fray.
Shoppable videos direct viewers to purchase on your store through clickable links that are imbedded throughout the video. It’s a format that opens up a new world of possibilities for brands by allowing shoppers to discover and purchase products within video content. It keeps consumers engaged in your brand while encouraging a transaction, which means that what happens in the video, stays in the video.
“It’s live streaming meets online shopping and it’s as fun as it is effective”.
Traditionally seen as recorded content, shopping videos are now going live. Deployed through social media and platforms like Google’s new video-shopping app Shoploop, live shoppable videos are essentially the new version of telemarketing. Consumers watch videos of someone presenting products and can purchase directly from the video window with a simple click. It’s live streaming meets online shopping and it’s as fun as it is effective: from the total views, 70% view a product page (almost twice as many as with traditional e-commerce) and 10% of all visitors convert to buyers (almost 5 times as much as traditional e-commerce).
Target audiences also appreciate instructional content like how-to videos. From a tutorial video about how to apply skincare products to a DIY home project manual, these types of educational videos can help brands establish their credibility and expertise. They can also lead consumers down the sales funnel without resorting to the hard sell by offering insights into why customers should go with your brand.
Seeing is believing
Consumers are 2.4 times more likely to say user-generated content (UGC) is authentic compared to brand-created content, while marketers are 2.1 times more likely to say brand-created content is authentic compared to UGC. Businesses can bridge the gap by offering reviews in the form of customer testimonials. Simply seeing a customer talk about a product boosts trust that the review wasn’t made up, while being able to see the customer’s face and emotions make a video review more impactful than a written testimonial.
Another increasingly popular video trend is product unboxing – people filming themselves opening up products and talking about what they’re seeing and doing. This specific corner of YouTube has reached across almost all categories, from game consoles to dog toys, and unpacking videos are now being extensively shared on Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook.
“Turn testimonials into shoppable videos and you’ve hit the sweet spot.”
Doubling as social media content, these user-generated videos have the power to lower the high costs most brands pay. Turn testimonials and unboxing clips into shoppable videos and you’ve struck the balance between building meaningful customer connections and marketing success.
Wrapping it up
Now the most popular and preferred type of content across practically all online platforms, the crowd is eating video up. Video creates a range of formats and channels that brands can leverage to reach out directly to consumers with fresh, data-backed content. Once you get them to tune in, keep them engaged with a frictionless interface that 5G will help usher in. Brands that can do that will hit the sweet spot, putting consumers in a prime position to make a purchase.
“Customers want to click play – you just need to give them a reason to.”
With no shortage of content to choose from, the question then becomes how to grab consumers’ limited finite attention. And the answer is for brands to fine-tune their message in keeping with their goals, budget and brand persona. Create video content that meets audiences where they are and offer a seamless, engaging, and interactive experience that brings commerce and content closer together. Customers want to click play – you just need to give them a reason to.
Illustration: Anna Sarvira
Related links:
https://wyzowl.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/pdfs/Wyzowl-Video-Survey-2021.pdf
https://boldist.co/marketing-strategy/product-videos-for-ecommerce/
https://www.knowband.com/blog/ecommerce-blog/importance-product-videos/
https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/consumer-insights/consumer-trends/multicultural-marketing-insights/
