According to eMarketer, the average adult in the U.S. will spend an average total of five hours a day watching videos, and more than an hour engaged with video on their digital devices. Brands that don’t add the medium to their overall strategy stand to lose not only a significant number of transactions, but also lose out on creating the kind of repeat engagement that drives that most important metric—loyalty.
Not to mention the fact that more than 50 percent of marketing professionals worldwide name video as the content type with the best ROI, according to Brainshark. This data should whet the appetite of all e-commerce marketers. That being said, some video themes are more effective than others for e-commerce brands.
When it comes to shopping online, some customers just want the basic facts about the product they’re considering buying. Perhaps it’s a new product category that they’re unfamiliar with, or a highly technical category where in-depth feature analysis/comparison is part of their buying process.
Regardless, offering up videos that explain the nuts-and-bolts of your product can be a particularly effective. Individual product pages can be enhanced with not just high-quality photos of a product, but also with videos explaining the product in detail.
A great example of this video theme in action comes from The Grommet. Their entire e-commerce experience is built around high-quality video demonstrations and interviews with the creators of unique products that run the gamut from household goods to office tools. For one of their products, the Green Cycler, they provide this engaging video overview:
Product-feature videos are effective, but some items require a bit more education before customers are ready to purchase. Products that require any sort of setup or application process really benefit from “how-to” videos. These videos can also be helpful in reducing customer-service demands, but they also help reduce any barriers to purchase that are based on fears over how to set up or use the item.
A great example of this video theme in action comes from Luxy Hair. The company sells premium hair extensions in a variety of colors. Naturally, this product requires the right selection regarding color, length and weight. Luxy Hair has put together a video library that addresses all of the aspects of their product that could confuse customers or prevent them from following through on making purchase.
