There is no denying that video has become an increasingly popular medium of content within the last decade. While sites like YouTube and Vimeo are typically more popular for longer form content, apps like Instagram and TikTok have catapulted short form content into the ranks of the most widely consumed content online.
With more and more users consuming online content in the form of video, it isn’t any secret as to why you should have a video marketing strategy for your business. Whether you sell strictly online, a brick-and-mortar location, or a combination of both, video can be used in a wide variety of ways to bring in more traffic and ultimately more revenue.
The importance of a video marketing strategy for ecommerce
While the pandemic surged, many people that normally would have shopped in a physical store moved over to shopping online for various reasons. The U.S. ecommerce industry reached one trillion for the first time. With the surge in popularity of digital commerce, businesses that didn’t already have an online presence had to quickly adapt if they wanted to remain competitive and not close their doors.
Business owners new to ecommerce had to find new ways on how to market a product to maintain their revenue. Users shopping online have a myriad of options on where to shop, and businesses with a solid video marketing strategy increase their chances of acquiring new and returning customers.
A customer in a physical store can typically touch or hold the item they are interested in purchasing. Though this isn’t an option when it comes to ecommerce, online store owners have to understand why video marketing is important. If a potential customer doesn’t have access to the product, they want to be able to get plenty of information on that product before parting with their money. This is where using video to tell more about your products comes in.
Creating a video marketing strategy for products
Depending on the product, video can be beneficial in many different ways. Users shopping online may want to see a video of the product for many reasons. In these instances, using photos and videos effectively can turn a potential customer into a paying customer.
- Size of the product. Images can be taken in a way that can deceive the size of the product whether intentional or not.
- Noise pollution. The amount of noise that a product may generate in various different states.
- Product operation. Videos showcasing proper use of the product.
- Customer reviews. Reviews from users that have bought the product and use it in a real-world application.
While images and text have been used to describe and inform potential customers about a product for a long time, video can be used to explain things in an easier to understand way. A solid video marketing strategy can also inform prospective customers of any products that you may sell. Of course, not all businesses sell the same things, so different types of videos work better for different types of products.
Clothing
Businesses that sell clothing can use video to easily show off the type of materials that their products are made of, the color of the product in different lighting, and most importantly, how the product looks on a real person. Depending on the target audience, it may be important to show the clothing on various body types.
Culinary
Cooking can be a very personal experience, whether you’re making food for yourself or for others. If you’re selling a product to help make food, a video on how to properly assemble the product as well as safely use it can be important. Additionally, reviews from real users can help a potential customer determine if that product is right for them.
Automotive
While images can be used quite effectively with the majority of automotive content, a potential customer interested in an exhaust system for their vehicle won’t appreciate just an image. Whether they are wanting something quiet or loud, you’ll need a video of the exhaust system installed in a vehicle in order to help the customer understand. Ideally, you’d have multiple videos of the exhaust installed on different vehicles, showcasing the effect on the overall sound.
Software and digital
Not every business is going to sell a physical product. However, you can still use video to effectively sell your product to an interested customer. If you have your own online course teaching users about a particular subject, you can use a video of the course instructor providing a short introduction of what the course contains. This way, you don’t have to give away any part of the course and you can still show an interested customer insight into what they can expect.
Creating a video marketing strategy to showcase your company
The majority of users will most likely be concerned with just the product itself, but there is a subset of users that care about the company selling the product as well. If a product is sold by multiple businesses, a user then has a choice on where to purchase that product. Here’s how you can use video to showcase your brand.
Mission and values
Users interested in more than just the product may want to know why you started your business, how you run your business in terms of the ideas that you support, and not only how you treat your customers, but your employees as well.
Employee spotlight
Here is a chance for you to feature your employees that have a direct impact on the production of the product or employees that handle customer service. While a user may never meet any of these individuals, a friendly face can further persuade them to make a purchase.
Production processes
Depending on the product, you may be able to highlight various benefits of the manufacturing process, such as:
- The use of recycled/sustainable materials
- Craftsmanship
- Vegan friendly
- No animal testing
- Gluten free along with other dietary restrictions
Philanthropy
Some businesses choose to donate a percentage of their profits to one or more charities that they find important. Knowing this, a customer is not only getting a product but helping those in need.
Bottom line on video for ecommerce
Having a video marketing strategy can help boost sales in your online store. But what about when those users get to that store? If it isn’t easy to navigate, doesn’t provide the information that they are looking for, or takes too long to load, they may go somewhere else.
If you’re a business owner and want insight on how to increase sales online, know that a slow loading site can have a significant impact on customer acquisition and retention. That’s why it’s important to have a high performance online store.
When it comes to site performance, that’s where Nexcess ecommerce hosting can help. With the underlying technology built upon speed and reliability, you have one less thing to worry about when it comes to your ecommerce store.
With a variety of different applications available, such as WooCommerce and Magento for ecommerce, the Nexcess Edge CDN powered by Cloudflare helps to improve page speed by serving content to users around the world from over 180 locations.
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